HI Guys, Could you please view my case. I worked for a guy for 100$. After the completion of work i received 80$ from the guy, and the rest i was supposed to get from him once i handover the done job to him. But instead he cheated me by placing a dispute on Paypal stating that his credit card was used without his consent. Paypal asked the evidence of communication with him.So i provide the chat communication as i had only that. After 2 days paypal reversed the payment of 80$ back to him. How come this happen? Could any one suggest me what should do? Will i still be able to get the money back.
It probably happened because the credit card company decided it was likely a fraudulent transaction. If all you have is a chat transcript, that probably isn't enough to prove you had an agreement - and if the person you chatted with was using a stolen credit card number, it wouldn't matter if you had an agreement or not. It sucks, but unfortunately the occasional thief is part of doing business - there is always a risk if you are getting paid by anything other than cash. The first thing you should do is call PayPal, and talk to a person who may be able to suggest other evidence you could provide or other steps you can take. If that doesn't work, pretty much your only option would be to find the person and take him to small claims court to retrieve your money. However, it's rarely worth doing that for only $100, and wouldn't really be possible if you are in different countries. And, again, if the credit card number was really stolen, the person who owes you is the thief, not the credit card holder. You don't say what you were being paid for, but if it was content - text, images, etc - he shouldn't be legally allowed to use it if he didn't pay you. If you see he is using your work without your consent, send a DMCA takedown notice to his host and to Google (follow the links for instructions - Google has its own reporting system). He shouldn't get what he didn't pay for. In the future, you should make sure you get a more formal agreement than just a chat transcript. I always send an invoice from my Paypal account for the money owed, so that there is a record - for both of us - of what the person is paying for.
You are better off going after the scammer if possible, rather than trying to fight your case with paypal. They are just a third party and can't do much in cases like this. The original card holder has most likely done a charge back with their credit card issuer, claiming the card has been used without their authorization. The credit card your client used might be a stolen one, or they may simply be trying to fraud you. Can you pull the clients details from wherever you've booked the job? And then try to get in touch with them directly and/or reporting them for fraud to relevant authorities if necessary.
Hi guys, Thanks for your answers. I am not being able to contact the guy as he doesnot reply me. From now onwards, i ll be sending the invoice before i receive any payments. Well,i think this will help me be on safe side,won't it?
Hi Guys, Can you tell me where it appropriate to post about such scammers in DP. I want to reveal what they have done to me, so that others will know.
Sending an invoice won't really protect you from fraudulent credit card use, or from scammers. You are better off using an escrow service when you first deal with new clients, or asking them for an upfront deposit of 10-20% if they pay with paypal. You can also consider using Paymate. It's a similar service to PayPal, but there is one huge security difference. They check each transaction (check the credit card, buyer's billing location, ip address...etc) before they process the transaction. So the like hood of fraud is greatly diminished when compared to PayPal.