To dispute a charge on PayPal, log into your account and go to the Resolution Center to open a dispute within the required timeframe, then escalate it to a claim within 20 days if the seller does not resolve the issue. This two-phase process is your path to recovering money for an item that never arrived or was significantly different from its description.
How to dispute a charge on PayPal: An immediate, no-intro walkthrough of the two-phase dispute process
Disputing a charge on PayPal follows a strict two-phase process. First, you open a dispute in the Resolution Center to communicate directly with the seller. If that does not resolve the issue, you must escalate the dispute to a formal claim within 20 days. If you miss this deadline, the dispute automatically closes and cannot be reopened or escalated.
Know your dispute deadlines before you start
PayPal enforces strict time limits depending on the type of problem. For an item not received, you must open the dispute within 180 days of sending the payment. For an item that is significantly not as described, you have 30 days from the date of delivery or fulfillment, or 180 days from the payment date, whichever comes first. For billing errors that are not unauthorized transactions, you must notify PayPal no later than 60 days after the first statement on which the problem appeared. Unauthorized transactions should be reported at once through the Resolution Center. If your transaction is still in a temporary holding state, you may need to wait until the status changes from a PayPal payment pending mean before a dispute can be filed.
Open a dispute in the Resolution Center
- Log into your PayPal account and navigate to the Resolution Center.
- Click "Report a Problem."
- Select the specific payment you wish to dispute and click "Continue."
- Choose the reason for your dispute from options such as unauthorized activity, issues with your purchase (item not received or significantly not as described), issues with the seller, or billing errors.
- Select the option that best describes your issue and click "Continue."
Once you open the dispute, you will first attempt to resolve the issue directly with the seller by exchanging messages within the Resolution Center, which is the central hub for managing all disputes and claims.
Escalate to a claim within 20 days
If you cannot resolve the dispute with the seller, you can escalate it to a claim, asking PayPal to investigate and decide the outcome. To escalate, go to your Resolution Center, click on the dispute, click "Need Help?", then "Review my case", and add any relevant information. PayPal often requires at least 7 days to have passed since the payment date before a dispute can be escalated to a claim. However, the dispute will automatically close after 20 days if it is not escalated, and closed disputes cannot be reopened or escalated. PayPal typically reaches a decision on a claim within 14 days, though some cases may take 30 days or longer.
What PayPal's purchase protection covers
PayPal's Purchase Protection program may cover the full purchase price of the item plus original shipping costs for eligible claims. However, return shipping costs are not covered by this program. Note that if you sent a payment through the Friends and Family option, you lose these protections, disputing a PayPal friends and family payment is generally not possible through the standard dispute process because those transactions are not covered by Purchase Protection.
Consider a chargeback with your card issuer
If you used a debit or credit card through PayPal, you may also have the option to dispute the transaction with your card issuer, which could offer broader chargeback rights than PayPal's Purchase Protection. This alternative route can be useful if your PayPal dispute is denied or if the transaction falls outside PayPal's coverage. Additionally, if you are having trouble with transactions that have not yet completed, you should review the rules around PayPal pending, blocking and cancelling payments to understand your options before a dispute becomes necessary.
