If you're reading this from an advanced social engineering perspective, whereby you've been hitting companies on just about every level for refunds and/or replacements, you'd be well aware of the complexities Involved In getting the job done right. Of course, I'm referring to SEing online stores such as Currys PC World, Logitech, SteelSeries and stating the obvious- Amazon. On the other hand, If you've just started your career In the art of human hacking, then you've got a lot to learn, hence I suggest to not only read this, but also every other guide I've documented on this blog and be sure to fully absorb Its contents prior to moving onto the next topic. The problem with a lot of SE'ers, Is that they tend to only focus on the company Itself, without having a backup plan In place.
For Instance, unless the representative you're dealing with at the time Is about to hand In his resignation and simply doesn't give a damn and approves your claim with no questions asked, you will face quite a number of obstacles throughout your attack vector. This can Include (but not limited to) Investigations opened, police reports requested, affidavits or statutory declarations Issued to be signed & returned, and the list goes on. Every SE, regardless of Its nature, Is not guaranteed to work on each occasion and If (for example) the company Identifies Inconsistencies with what you've said against the details of their Investigation, then your SE will fail- there's no Ifs, ands, or buts about It!
Records of all communications, transactions and the like are stored as a point of reference and used by reps/agents as the need comes to hand so essentially, you basically only have one shot to achieve a successful outcome. Don't think that by contacting another representative at a later time (with the Intention to change your story and/or method), will have a fresh start- they will refer to their notes and see exactly where your claim Is at. As an SE'er yourself, have you given much thought as to what steps you should take next, when your SE for a 2k laptop has failed with the company In Its entirety? If your answer Is "No", then you shouldn't be SEing without something to fall back on, and that something Is "PayPal".
If you've yet to create an account, leave this blog, open another browser tab and Immediately sign up. This Is your gateway to resurrect your SE, by filing what's called a PayPal "Dispute" and that will then get escalated to a "Claim", with the objective of getting a full refund for the Item you're social engineering. It's of paramount Importance that you familiarize yourself with the Ins and outs of how this Is done (Inclusive of "chargebacks"), so please read my tutorial here. When you have a clear understanding of that, the next port of call, Is to acquaint yourself with "PayPal's Terms"- which Is precisely what this article pertains to.
As with all payment systems, their terms, conditions and policies are not user-friendly and some are longer than the Declaration of Independence (so to speak!). Moreover, It can be an arduous process to locate what you're looking for, particularly when you're unaware of their terminology. As such, It can be a rather difficult task trying to make some sort of logic of what they're referring to. Well, that's where I come In. "I will cover the most relevant terms that're associated with a PayPal claim from a buyer's standpoint", thereby you will have all the Information you need when filing a dispute/claim, thus you'll be well-prepared to pursue your SE effectively and In an Informed manner. To avoid congestion, each topic Is only one paragraph and written In a very simple fashion , so without further delay, let's this get started.
PayPal Buyer Protection:
The main reason SE'ers use PayPal as their preferred payment system, Is because It protects their purchases by offering "Buyer Protection". This means that If something goes wrong with the purchase (which It seemingly will!) such as the package did not arrive or a different Item was received, PayPal will try and correct It. SE'ers use this for the "DNA" and "wrong Item received method". To be eligible for Buyer Protection, you need to open a dispute within 6 months (180 days) of when your transaction was made, and the Item must be paid In one hit, that Is, a single payment. Your account must also have a good record- without heaps of chargebacks nor any suspicious activity. Now some things like "cars", are not covered by Buyer Protection but obviously you're not going to SE that, so you're good to go.
PayPal Account Limited:
Due to the risks Involved when SEing companies, It's of the utmost Importance to ensure your account does not get limited by PayPal themselves. If It does, then you may not be able to send, receive or withdraw any funds for up to 6 months (180 days). This pertains to temporary limitations which can be lifted/removed, but If PayPal "permanently limits" your account, then you will be banned from using their service altogether- new accounts cannot be opened under the same account holder. To prevent this and keep SEing, make sure you don't perform too many chargebacks, and allow a sufficient gap from one SE to the next. It's also good practice to not always opt for high value Items- throw a few Inexpensive ones In between. If you haven't used your account for quite a while, It can get limited due to Inactivity, so keep this In mind.
PayPal Deadlines:
On the grounds that you've filed a dispute to (apparently) try and reach an agreement with the seller but It failed, the next step Is to launch a claim through PayPal's Resolution Center, with the Intention to obtain a refund. This however, does have a certain deadline, that must be done within 180 days of when your payment was "processed by PayPal". Notice how I've quoted "processed by PayPal"- meaning It's not from the date of purchasing your Item, but rather the date of when your funds cleared through PayPal themselves. Do note, that your delivery has to be accepted within the 180 day period, otherwise your eligibility to file a claim "may" be declined. I've emphasized "may", because there are exceptions that're taken on a case-by-case basis. To play It safe, be sure to comply with the said deadline.
Claiming Multiple Items:
If you're familiar with the good old "partial method", whereby you order a bunch of Items and say that a couple were missing when you received the package, then you'll understand precisely how PayPal's coverage for multiple Items works. It's structured In a very similar fashion to the partial method. For example, let's say you purchased around 5-6 Items "together on the same consignment" and want to SE only two of those, then you're well within your rights to file a claim via PayPal's Resolution Center for both of them. Given goods are weighed when dispatched and at the carrier's depot, It's crucial to SE very lightweight Items, or else It will most likely result In an unsuccessful outcome. I recommend opting for stuff no heavier than 120 grams.
When An Item Must Be Returned To The Seller:
I have very little doubt that you've come across the "wrong Item received method", by saying that the Item you bought and received from an online retailer, was different to the one you ordered. Of course, the correct one was In fact shipped, but you're evidently using this excuse for social engineering purposes. As such, almost every company will ask to return the Incorrect Item, and the same applies with PayPal- they will ask you to send It back to the seller, and your claim will not move forward until you comply with their request. To circumvent this, you can either "box them" or send a much cheaper stock Item that you've already purchased. I'd like to point out, that the cost of freight when dealing with PayPal, Is at your own expense, so do remember this.
PayPal Time Frames:
To the best of my knowledge and research, there doesn't seem to be anything definitive of "PayPal's time frames", of when you're required to respond to PayPal's demands In a timely manner. It seems to me, that It's based on one's Individual circumstances with no hard and fast rules enforced. In short and simply stated, they will give you a certain window (such as 7 days) to get back to whatever It Is they're asking of you and If you fail to meet this criteria, they can decline your claim. That said, there are exceptions- If It's way beyond your control to reply, then PayPal may extend their time frame but as said, there's no clear-cut details to suggest how they deal with this policy, nor the amount of time that It will be extended to.
PayPal Payments:
In order to be covered by the Buyer Protection, the Items that you purchase must be "directly associated with PayPal", and not performed via some third-party website that has nothing to do with PayPal as a whole. For example, In terms of allowed payments, hitting the "Pay Now" button on eBay Is fine and obviously the same applies when you click "Send Money" when logged Into your PayPal account. Also, your purchase must be made In one hit (a "single Installment"), and not by making a deposit with the Intention to pay off your Item periodically. As an SE'er yourself, you should already be aware of this. If not, make a mental note of It.
Item Not Received:
To make this easy to follow and comprehend, I'll refer to the SEing side of things, In this case being the "DNA" (Did Not Arrive) method whereby you pretend that the package you received, was not delivered by the carrier. The company will most likely open an Investigation, by cross-checking the details with the carrier's manifest and If It's satisfied that you're telling the truth, they'll Issue a refund thereafter. PayPal has a similar policy, namely "INR", which Is an abbreviation for "Item Not Received", which can be claimed by filing a dispute through their Resolution Center. If all goes well, your account will be credited for the cost of the Item you've SEd. As a rule of thumb, It's suggested to wait a few days prior to the dispute- just to give time for the seller to ship your order.
Significantly Not As Described:
As mentioned a few paragraphs above pertaining to the "wrong Item received method", PayPal's "Significantly Not As Described" policy Is Identical, but simply worded In a different context. In other words, the Item that was sent to you, was (seemingly) different to the one you ordered from a given online store. You will need to send It back, which can be easily bypassed as stated In the aforementioned topic of: "When An Item Must Be Returned To The Seller". Although It's not always the case, there are occasions when you will need to foot the bill for the cost of shipping, so don't forget this. It's also Important to know, that this Is commonly used In Internet forums and the like In Its shortened form as: "SNAD" (meaning: Significantly Not As Described ), so you'll now know exactly what It means when reading messages/posts.
In Conclusion:
What you've just had the pleasure of reading does not cover everything there Is to know about PayPal's terms, conditions and policies and It's way beyond the scope of this article to elaborate on the lot. Moreover, a lot of their content can be disregarded when using the traditional SEing methods such as the sealed box and stale food method, hence another reason to not bother documenting Irrelevant material. What I have done, Is hand-picked the ones that will most likely have some sort of Impact when using PayPal to perform disputes and claims. As a result, you should now be well-Informed of what to expect and how to tackle claims that are smooth sailing, and those that're problematic to a certain degree.
