I've purchased a software which I got, but some modifications also on this software which the developer never delivered. I paid him thourgh PayPal using my Credit Card, and when I filed a claim on this transaction, PayPal immediately closed the case since it's a non-tangible product!

The software is useless for me without these modifications, so I asked the seller to refund my money back, but he didn't, and this why I filed a claim on this transaction

Now as long as PayPal closed the case, what can I do to get my money back? Can I ask for a chargeback against PayPal transaction on my Credit Card?

Now as long as PayPal closed the case, what can I do to get my money back? Can I ask for a chargeback against PayPal transaction on my Credit Card?

If it's really worth it to you, you can try. The bank might buy it. But in all likelihood, you'll never be allowed to hold a PayPal account again... which locks you out of a huge chunk of eBay's auctions, for example.

Generally, refunds aren't allowed on software because it is impossible to actually return without the buyer still being able to use a copy. On the other hand, if you have good documentation on enhancements you've paid for but weren't delivered then you may have a valid case for trying to get your moneyback through your credit card issuer.

Do you think if I asked my bank for a chargeback, then PayPal would take this action in personal and close my account?? :)

Do you think if I asked my bank for a chargeback, then PayPal would take this action in personal and close my account?? :)

Most definitely.

1) PayPal pays chargeback fees, has to maintain a chargeback ratio, and most likely has clauses in their TOS that if you perform a chargeback against them you'll lose the account. I 100% think you will and not be allowed to reopen it. Like I said, you may be able to convince your bank to do it, but you may not be able to ever use PayPal again afterwards.

2) Your contract with PayPal was to transfer funds from your account to another account. It did not involve software enhancements. That's a contract with this other developer. A chargeback against PayPal is against PayPal, alleging they did not fulfill their contract. You really need to be taking action against the developer -- be it small claims court or collections or whatever.

You have no case. You asked PayPal to transfer funds to another person. PayPal performed this. Your case is against the other person. Yes, a chargeback against PayPal would be taken VERY personally.

Yeah, like the others have said... it's between you and the other guy who's acting like a jerk. Don't issue a chargeback against PayPal, it will not work out in your favour in the long run. :S

I thought if I asked for a chargeback against PayPal, then PayPal will look at the transaction and put this chargeback on the seller! And eventually, who is going to lose is the seller not PayPal!

Paypal wont put the chargeback on the seller... they will close your paypal account and never let you use the service again. Period.

Paypal wont put the chargeback on the seller... they will close your paypal account and never let you use the service again. Period.

Yup. That's pretty much how it works.

Paypal did nothing wrong, they paid the money to the other guy, and received a fee out of that amount for the service, which is what they are supposed to do. If you want protection for your purchases, pay directly with a credit card instead of using Paypal.

Aha, now I got it! I should've asked the seller to use the PayPal web pro to get my payment then. I see

"If you want protection for your purchases, pay directly with a credit card instead of using Paypal." That's incorrect. PayPal has to follow the credit card companies rules like everyone else.

You made 2 mistakes, don't blame someone else:
1) Software purchases are non-refundable. Know what you're buying before you buy it.
2) Structure payments for enhancements so that you see the enhancements are complete before paying.

Well, we do mistakes to learn :) Thanks everybody

I believe PayPal wants to protect the sellers which is potentially their customers. Because when buyers make payment to sellers, PayPal earns a commission for each transaction.

On top of that, it can easily be abuse by buyers if they keep performing chargebacks although they did receive the service (Intangible). As such, PayPal wants to protect the sellers.

Am I correct to say that?

I believe PayPal wants to protect the sellers which is potentially their customers. Because when buyers make payment to sellers, PayPal earns a commission for each transaction.

On top of that, it can easily be abuse by buyers if they keep performing chargebacks although they did receive the service (Intangible). As such, PayPal wants to protect the sellers.

Am I correct to say that?

Closing an account that does a chargeback against PayPal is PayPal protecting themselves over anyone else. They need to keep Visa and MasterCard and their bank happy just like everyone else that processes credit cards online, and chargebacks do not make them happy.

Good posts everyone :-) Its accurate that filing a chargeback against pur transaction goes to the actual merchant account holder. Which in this case would be paypal. Charging back against them not only gets your account closed, but to the best of my knowledge, if they win, paypal counter strikes and does collections on the chargeback funds. This is in their TOS, and Ive heard it from one of my merchants.

Software is considered intangible just like a service. Its something that was manually created but doesnt take a physical format... Now if you would have bought the item on CD and had tracking on it - that would give you a lil leverage, but not much.

It is not PayPal's policy to automatically close accounts that issue chargebacks for purchases made. However, PayPal does reserve the right to close or limit accounts that abuse the chargeback process. You may want to review the Buyer Complaint Policy within the User Agreement, particularly this section:

4. Relationship between Buyer Complaint Policy and Credit Card Chargeback Rights. If you used a credit card to fund a purchase of goods or services through PayPal, you may have chargeback rights granted by your credit card issuer. Credit card chargebacks, if they apply, can be filed more than 45 days after the transaction, are not limited to funds in the seller’s balance, and cover cases where the goods are not as described by the seller as well as cases of non-delivery.

You can choose to pursue the Buyer Complaint process or your credit card chargeback rights; however, you cannot pursue both at the same time or seek a double recovery. If you initiate a Buyer Complaint claim and, while the claim is pending, you file a credit card chargeback, PayPal will cancel your Buyer Complaint claim, and you will have to rely solely on your credit card chargeback rights.

If you cancel your Buyer Complaint claim or it is denied or results in no refund, you may still be able to pursue credit card chargeback rights. In many cases, your credit card company will allow you to file a chargeback for 90 days or more after the date of the payment. If PayPal resolves a Buyer Complaint claim in the buyer’s favor but the buyer does not receive a full recovery of their payment, and if the time for processing of the claim results in the buyer’s loss of credit card chargeback rights, then PayPal will provide a full recovery to the buyer.

PayPal encourages all buyer purchase disputes that cannot be resolved directly with the seller to be filed and resolved through the Resolution Center. PayPal reserves the right to terminate or limit account access privileges of buyers who misuse the credit card chargeback process to get their money back and keep the goods, or to recover payment twice for the same dispute, or who file three or more chargebacks per 12-month period that are ruled invalid by the applicable card association or card issuer. PayPal reserves the right to contest credit card chargebacks, in accordance with the rules of the applicable card issuer or card association.

If a chargeback claim is initiated by a buyer, whether as a result of a dispute with the seller or for any other reason, the buyer and seller agree to provide to any requesting party on a timely basis any and all necessary documentation to resolve the dispute. PayPal DOES NOT act as the agent of either party in any transaction or resulting dispute, though PayPal does decide the outcome of disputes initiated through the Buyer Complaint process.

As you noticed, PayPal's Buyer Complaint process was not able to handle your dispute. As long as your Buyer Complaint has been closed out completely in the seller's favor, you can still file a chargeback and it will not appear that you are trying to abuse the system by disputing the transaction with both PayPal and your credit card company at the same time. However, if the credit card chargeback is ultimately reversed by your credit card company after PayPal disputes it, it may count against you (notice the clause about three or more "invalid" chargebacks per year in the quote above).

If it's really worth it to you, you can try. The bank might buy it. But in all likelihood, you'll never be allowed to hold a PayPal account again... which locks you out of a huge chunk of eBay's auctions, for example.

Why would you not be able to hold a PayPal account again??

There was a scammer on WHT a while back whom I made a payment to for software that was never delivered. I contacted paypal and they closed the case. .Call my bank and the charge was immediately reversed and my PayPal account was never affected.

No point reading my guess when you've got the official one a post above.

If your chargeback is legit, they will charge the seller a $25 chargeback fee, and not do anything bad to you. If your chargeback is shady, then the outcome may not be so good.

If you really did get scewed from this transaction I would call your bank and ask them to chargeback the transaction. When I used to accept paypal I recieved far more chargebacks than on my Merchant Account and they take the funds away from the seller paypal sees to it they dont lose a dime. In my experience even if the seller has rock solid proof a physical product is delivered paypal wont fight the chargeback on the sellers behalf.