What is an unauthorised account activity claim?

[charmony]

I sold a small item to a buyer, who paid with Paypal, and I posted the item today. Later today I got an "unauthorised account activity claim" from Paypal. My only multi-choice option for resolving this appears to be providing evidence that I shipped the item (which I don't have, as it was sent regular mail). Failing that it seems I will lose the money, despite the buyer receiving the item in a couple of days' time.

Is there anything I can do about this?

[digital*ghost]

I know the OP has clarified the reason for their problem, but has anyone else noticed the following passage that now appears on a PayPal payment notification?

Reversals:

Please be aware that your payment can still be reversed (e.g. if it is subject to a chargeback), even after you have shipped the item to your buyer. Complying with PayPal’s Seller Protection program and following the guidelines in our Safety Advice pages helps to protect you from things like chargebacks.

That's been on my payment notifications for the last month or so.

I also noticed I'm getting a lot more of the 'Notification of Payment Recieved - You've Received New Funds!' emails instead of the standard one, which don't have that notice on them. In fact they don't mention seller protection at all, unlike the standard emails which have always had whether or not it's eligible for SP. They also say, where the item title is, 'PayPal shopping cart contents', so I suspect that these may be the ones where the buyers have bought / paid via a mobile app. 

On another note, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised PayPal make it look like it's all the buyer's doing, but that's seriously wrong if it's not the case at all. 😮

[charmony]

This is all very interesting, and thanks everyone for your info and comments. Still have not heard back from the buyer. Wrote to Paypal, too.

[*sparklz*]

Sparklz, my point is that even if the seller wants to protect themselves, and knows the funding source, they cannot refuse that payment because the Australian site does not allow it.  Some other sites can refuse CC payments, or at least could in the past. I am not sure what the rules are now as I have not had a payment refused for some years now.

Yes Lyndal that is what I mean. As we are NOT allowed to refuse CC via paypal sellers should still be protected when PP tell us it is ok to post an item.

We are trusting that the payment was ok and all approved by them saying it is ok to post the item thus no needing to worry it is a fraudulent payment.

This is what PP is suppose to be about. PROTECTION

[***super_nova***]

The way i understand it PP protection is available if you proof of postage.  In the OP's letter from PP they are asking for tracking number.  I seriously doubt that teh buyer went and deliberately started chargeback for $3 item.  However, as already mentioned above, if they lost their bag, or mislaid their CC and reported to the bank, all the transactions will be immediately suspended.  Or it could be some bank computer glitch that sets of an alarm .  The best way is to see what the buyer has to say first.

[***super_nova***]

The way i understand it PP protection is available if you proof of postage. 

if you PROVIDE proof   :_|

[kopenhagen5]

Charmony, as suggested I would be calling PayPal with details of where item was sent to, as I am guessing it could be one of their children or relatives that may have made the purchase and now cardholder is claiming unauthorised use. PayPal and ebay can see from which ISP address purchase was made from.

Also if cardholder is genuine they will naturally return the item to you. 😉

[foxette-in-sox]

This is all very interesting, and thanks everyone for your info and comments. Still have not heard back from the buyer. Wrote to Paypal, too.

Did you email them at

complaint-response@paypal.com

& use the PP number as header ?

Have you checked their feedback to see if any mention of chargebacks by other sellers?

[2106greencat]

Greencat, sellers are not allowed to refuse CC funded payments.  Some sites allow/allowed it but the Australian site has never allowed it.

Exactly my point Lyndal, if paypal don't give us the option to protect ourselves against c/card fraud by letting us refuse c/card funded payments, then they have to be willing to protect us. It's only fair. We have it drummed into us all the time, bank deposit bad for buyer, use paypal. Paypal funded by C/Card can be 'bad for seller' but we can't decide for ourselves? Little one sided me thinks.

[charmony]

Just to let you know what happened: I had until today to resolve this. I'd written twice to the buyer, asking them to either "return to sender" if they didn't want the item (in which case I would refund), or inform Paypal if they did want it. No response. I wrote to Paypal explaining the purchase was similar to a previous one and went to the same address, and their only reply was "Well, we still need the tracking number!"

(Incidentally, items under 500g can't be sent with tracking, and my parcels are rarely more than even 50g. Given most are worth well under $10, I doubt any buyer is going to pay for registered mail, so I will never be able to "prove" I sent an item.)

Anyway, imagine my surprise when Paypal today sent me a "Resolution of case" email, and were "unable to find evidence of unauthorised access to the buyer’s account". So I get to keep the funds.

[***super_nova***]

Anyway, imagine my surprise when Paypal today sent me a "Resolution of case" email, and were "unable to find evidence of unauthorised access to the buyer’s account". So I get to keep the funds.

Good news 🙂