Buyer opens unauthorized transaction case 5 MONTHS after purchase

[ratingrolls]

Paypal says the buyer only has 180 to open a dispute and the USPS only retains tracking info for 120 days.  The purchase was made on May 26th, and the buyer claimed unauthorized transaction through paypal on Oct 31st (I just found out about it because the notice went to my junk mail).  Additionally, the buyer returned to to my ebay store and made a second purchase in July.  No contact was ever made to me that there was an issue.  Firstly, how was this allowed to happen 5 months after the purchase, and am I SOL out of luck because the USPS no longer has the tracking info?

[frodobagginskennedy]

180 days is approximately November 26th.  That is how they were able to open it.

[pburn]

To defend yourself against an unauthorized transaction claim, you need to provide proof that you shipped the item to the "ship to" address the customer used in eBay's checkout process.

You do not need to prove the item was delivered. That proof would be required for an "item not received" claim, not an unauthorized transaction claim.

[lilbama911]

Check your Paypal Transaction History and see if the transaction is there with tracking number.   Hopefully, you are not being fleeced by this buyer.    After all, it took this buyer 5 months and possibly some days to realize an unauthorized transaction had occurred.  Just enough time for tracking information to disappear.

What was the dollar value of the item?

[johnwhiplash]

You can get tracking for up to 10 years if you still have the tracking number. Premium tracking  only costs a couple of bucks. You should be covered by paypal seller protection. I would be giving paypal a call.

[carolynnq]

I just had my first unauthorized transaction case in 20 years of selling on eBay. It was from July for only about $15. The email from paypal said they had the tracking # - which was good because I couldn't retrieve it. The buyer had left me positive feedback so I took a screen shot of it and replied to my paypal case with that. The message from paypal upon submission said that the case would be responded to within 30 days.

At the same time, I emailed the buyer (who had about 600 excellent feedback) with something like: "Hello, I just got an email from paypal that you are disputing your purchase of xxx on July xx . You left me positive feedback for it [feedback pasted in here].  There have been times I haven't  recognized items on my charge card statements before, so I understand...just wanted to remind you of what it was you purchased and that you apparently did receive it. Best regards,"

Paypal responded the following day that I was covered under the paypal protection program.

The buyer responded, terribly embarrassed - she had used her husband's card and he didn't recall her using it, and disputed it with his credit card company when he was going over statements and didn't recognize the charge.

[ratingrolls]

Yes, I realized about the dates after I posted it (morning caffeine deprivation), but I was on my way out the door and didn't get a chance to fix that.