# time limit for VISA or paypal chargebacks



## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Recently, a company that I put down a pre-production deposit for items has disappeared. The company for all intents and purposes seems to have gone out of business. There is no contact information listed on their website (which recently went from a big box format to a blank white page with no information) and the owner and all employees have vanished. I paid my deposit probably more than a year ago and have been patiently waiting for the item to be produced. The item was made on a demand basis and would only be made to satisfy pre-orders. No extra stock available. 

Is there a time limit to chargebacks? Any consumers out there with similar experiences?

The amount of money involved for me is around $60 but I know there were others affected by this as well, so the impact reaches a lot of people. Someone recently raised the idea of 'class action' so it would seem the money is gone and not coming back.

What would you do? Chalk it up to sh-t happens and move on? Attempt chargeback through paypal or VISA?


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## Andre (Sep 13, 2012)

I don't know what the time limit is, but I'd still call VISA and tell them what you told us. Credit card companies are very diligent about protecting their clients, so you might even see them credit you back the $60 while they go after whoever was running this company (or just chalk it up to their own loss).

I mean, they also might not, but it won't hurt you to report it.




the-royal-mail said:


> Recently, a company that I put down a pre-production deposit for items has disappeared. The company for all intents and purposes seems to have gone out of business. There is no contact information listed on their website (which recently went from a big box format to a blank white page with no information) and the owner and all employees have vanished. I paid my deposit probably more than a year ago and have been patiently waiting for the item to be produced. The item was made on a demand basis and would only be made to satisfy pre-orders. No extra stock available.
> 
> Is there a time limit to chargebacks? Any consumers out there with similar experiences?
> 
> ...


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

The usual rule is 180 days _from the date of shipment_.
In your case, no goods were ever shipped.

Also, it is entirely possible to do a successful charge-back after 180 days.

So IMO you have a case for chargeback.

Call your CC and open a case.
Their first action is to issue a temporary credit and then contact the merchant.
In your case, they won't receive any response and chances are the credit will become permanent.

Good luck.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Thanks Harold. Very helpful as always. Since it was a CC tx that was processed through paypal, after waiting on hold with my bank for 45 mins and listening to their endless automated sales pitches, I went to the paypal site and dug up the old tx and tried to submit a claim. Seems they lose interest after 45 days and post this cryptic response:
_
"We Have Registered Your Dispute

Thank you for registering your complaint about this transaction. Unfortunately, this type of transaction is not eligible for PayPal dispute resolution. We encourage you to continue to work directly with your seller, as we have found that many misunderstandings reach amicable solutions through communication."_

I guess I'll have to go back and sit on hold for another hour to try and reach my bank. I hope you're right.


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## jgueld (Jan 28, 2011)

*never paypal*

Several years ago, paypal stiffed me and just told me 'too bad' for you ... we don't guarantee anything - sucked up a $500 loss; I thought I was protected.

I'll never intentionally use paypal.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

45 mins. is a long time.
On regular weekdays it shouldn't take that long.
Now you know why you need a hands free phone ;o)


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

paypal has 45 day limit on disputes.if you charge back on the visa I can assure you that paypal will close your acct.it happened to me for a larger amount but all you have to do is sign up new acct with different email address .I lost $1000+ to fraud and after my visa paid me ,i got the paypal police after me lol.They limited my account so all i could do was deposit to cover that chargeback.I have a working paypal now and use it to buy new clothes for my daughter and my dad's diabetic socks ,the whole thing turned me off purchasing anything of high value again.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Well, my chargeback was denied both through Paypal and my CC. Nice.

The amount I've lost is only $60 but a small number of other victims have contacted me and collectively we have over $800 in losses.

Should we all forget about it and move on or is there any point to dealing with these folks, keeping in mind the company is defunct (but not bankrupt)?

http://www.sse.gov.on.ca/mcs/en/Pages/default.aspx


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## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

Life is too short to worry about $60 IMO ,write it off to a lesson learned and remember the 45 day cut off rule in future


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