35c
New member
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2020
- Messages
- 9
- Points
- 1
CALL UP PAYPAL ON THE PHONE.
Going through the automated services can be a risk. Calling them up and talking to a real flesh and blood person about the issue will go smoother. A lot of people who get shot down through the automated claims find better luck by calling and talking it out over the phone.
You may want to check out Artists Beware. I suggest collating your evidence and posting a beware -- but if you really don't want to, try making an advice post on the forums. Most of the members there are working artists and can provide much better advice because they deal with this more often.
My general advice is talk to the artist and present an ultimatum: provide either the art or a refund, or you will post a public beware about them. Maybe they'll throw a fit and harass you, but trust me, that will just make them look worse, especially to the people that matter -- other potential customers. Start saving screencaps now. PayPal transactions, your conversations, everything. Get the receipts, start putting together a post for insurance, keep it objective. It's manipulative, but in these situations, the cooler head comes out looking better. Ring PayPal directly -- there is no reason they should have denied you a refund. You paid for a service, that service was not provided in the agreed upon terms between you and the other party. Stress that you tried to work things out privately with the other party but they didn't co-operate. Again, get the screencaps and provide them as proof.
Customers have buyer protection for, well, protection. Artists basically only have good faith. There are also so few other instances where payment is expected after the fact, even on the internet. When you buy, say, furniture or a book online, do you say, "Okay, please send it to me and I promise to pay for the item+shipping after it arrives"? No. You buy the product, you pay for the product, you receive the product, in that order. "On the internet" doesn't change the order of things, it just changes the venue. It's not a "demand" to be asked to be paid for your goods and services (and it is a service) up front. It's just the extremely common way business works.
PP very often sides with the disputer, and even if in the end they rule in the artists' favour, it can still leave a permanent black mark on their account, leave them in the red for the duration of the dispute, can cause overdraft fees, etc.
I'll try calling Paypal. If what the other's say is true and purchase protection does cover artwork, then they should be able to help me. Is there a certain position I should take? Like say, I only want half the money refunded because the artist at least sent me drafts. I think it's fair that they get paid for the work they did do. But if I take this position when contacting Paypal, is there a smaller chance they would side with me? Would it be safer to try for a full refund instead of a partial refund?
Like the difference between saying "Hey I never received my artwork" and there like "Okay, here's your refund." Versus saying, "Hey I never received my artwork. But the artist sent me some drafts so I only want a partial refund" so there like "You received drafts? That's artwork right, guess you're not getting any money back"