Advice about chargebacked payment please

[fluffytinybark.livejournal.com]

Last month I made a fursuit to someones specifications and asked for payment once it was finished. They warned their paypal does not work properly and asked for other ways to pay, to which I requested a gift card to a website in exchange for the fursuit. A few days later the gift card was charged back and the balance taken from me. When confronting the customer they confirmed that they/their bank did a chargeback and apologized. After two weeks they told me their bank will not give them the money back but the gift card was not reinbursed and the website confirmed that there was a discrepancy and it will not be given to me. They offered to try to pay me in january but that is a long time to wait, so I offered them a trade theyll consider in November. I want to be a understanding and kind person however its hard to understand how a chargeback would be unstoppable and random without any of us receiving that money. Even though it wasn’t my fault that the chargeback happened I offered to pay half to said person once the suit is sold but they do not want me to sell it, and giving it further thought I struggle financially and wonder if it is on me to pay for half the chargeback when i made a fursuit and received nothing? The suit was done in a very generic design, nothing original. Id like if theyd be able to just do a trade as I cannot trust another chargeback not to happen but they havent done anything to make that happen other than a consideration next month. I dont want to be a unjust person but this whole situation is over my head and input is appreciated. Thank you

Comments

[jamesalesto.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, this looks incredibly fishy and it isn't wise to continue this transaction. They avoided paypal, because any viable tracking that reads as "delivered" would prevent them from being able to win a fraudulent chargeback against you.

This person is either attempting to use payment methods that do not belong to them (credit cards belonging to their parents or other people), or they are attempting to get you to send the item via a method you can't gain any recourse from when they filed the fraudulent chargeback.

Do not send them anything. They've already proven to you once that they are unreliable. Chargebacks do not happen randomly. They are always initiated by the card holder.

If the suit is generic enough, then definitely sell it and stay away from this person.

If you decide an item trade do not let the suit leave your hands until you have your items in hand. Treat it as a payment, and please do pay up front for now on to protect yourself.

[gatekat.livejournal.com]

If you haven't been paid (and you haven't been) then you own them nothing. Not the suit and not any money.

I'm very much with celestinaketzia on this.

Blacklist this person.

Post a beware on this person.

Sell the suit and only accept PayPal (or similar service with seller protection). Include a tracking number for PayPal and depending on the value require a signature delivery. Some credit cards don't consider the tracking # enough for valuable items.

Maybe someone with a better memory knows more. I know it's come up. A couple custom horses, I think. One was under the limit and one over.

[zaukodar (from livejournal.com)]

As mentioned above, if a chargeback occurred it is because someone specificially raised the alarm: either the owner of the card alerted the bank and told them to dispute the transaction, or the bank saw something suspicious and the owner of the card said "yeah that's suspicious" and then disputed it.

Also, in the event of a chargeback, the owner of the card is given back the amount in dispute unless it's revealed everything was in perfect order. Offering to pay them back would be incredibly unwise, as they've already gotten their money back. In addition, the owner of the card is charged nothing for disputing any transaction.

The story your client is telling does not add up. Your best bet, as mentioned already, is to part ways with the client.

[zarphus.livejournal.com]

hate to say it, but this is very likely a scam. the chance they intentionally performed the chargeback is very high. ALWAYS be extra suspicious when people want to buy with anything other than a mainstream, well supported online payment method, or if they want to pay with 'friends and family' options. these are methods they use to avoid the protections you are entitled to as a seller.

if you still have the suit in your possession, sell it to someone else. alter it if you must, but unless you can get this individual to pay using legitimate means, in full, (and even if they do they might still attempt another chargeback) they are playing the long game of a scam that didnt go their way when you didnt ship the suit before noticing the chargeback.

[cknsausage.livejournal.com]

First red flag is this:
"They warned their paypal does not work properly and asked for other ways to pay"
I wonder why it doesn't work properly because millions of others do, and paypal is usually alright about sorting out account-specific problems (if they're even present in the first place).

The second one is this:
"When confronting the customer they confirmed that they/their bank did a chargeback and apologized"
Can't say I've ever heard of bank starting a chargeback without the customer's approval, in which case - how did they try and justify that one?

Third one:
"They offered to try to pay me in january"
They're hoping you either get bored and forget or are just going to keep stringing you along until you give up (or rinse, repeat chargeback cycle).

I wouldn't even consider a trade at this point because they will find a way to spin it so they get their item and you get sweet f all.

You say this:
"The suit was done in a very generic design, nothing original"

Great! Block them, modify identifying parts (if any) and sell it to someone else. They didn't pay you, right? So not their suit or right to say what happens to it. That is just about your only course of action for recouping costs on this suit I'd say, that person is not planning on paying you and is taking you for a ride.

[kaliedosock.livejournal.com]

Resell the suit. They're not going to pay you, and are going to keep jerking you around. Block them, change any identifying parts of the suit, and sell it premade.

Do not wait until freaking JANUARY for a "hope". Just say you're done, cut ties, and resell the suit. You don't want to drag this out.

[amocin.livejournal.com]

Any and every time I have had a chargeback it has always been because the customer disputed it and wanted their money back along with getting free goods... they were buying digital goods so I couldnt really prove I sent them anything other than showing the email exchange with the attachments... still they got their money back and got free stuff out of it... apparently its very common for people to pull this stuff so I wouldnt even give him the benefit of the doubt.

As others have said as well, if a bank sees a suspicious charge they will put a hold on their card, contact them to confirm if they made the purchase, but at no point do they hold the money in a limbo like this.. you go "Yes I purchased that" and the payment goes.. or you go "nope, that wasnt me" and they return the money to you and usually cancel the cards.

This all sorts of fishy and I would report it further.