PayPal Item Not Received Chargeback: UK Seller Guide

A dispute, a claim or an external card chargeback?

Use the case description and current action in PayPal, not the word “chargeback” in a buyer message.
Case type	Who handles the decision?	Seller’s immediate task
A · PayPal dispute	You and the buyer exchange messages; PayPal is not yet deciding the complaint.	Open the Resolution Centre conversation, answer the receipt concern and check the escalation date.
B · PayPal claim	PayPal assesses the escalated buyer-protection claim.	Answer the claim’s request for evidence by its displayed response deadline.
C · External card-issuer chargeback	The buyer’s card issuer decides. PayPal gathers the seller’s response for that process.	Use the chargeback response action and notice cutoff in PayPal; do not wait for an internal dispute conversation.

PayPal explains the distinction between disputes and claims; its chargeback Help page identifies the issuer as the final decision-maker for external card cases. A PayPal logo on the notification does not identify who will decide it.

Read the reason as well as the process. “Unauthorised” concerns permission to pay; INR concerns receipt of goods. Do not relabel an INR chargeback as unauthorised to seek protection. If the notice is unclear, ask PayPal which process and reason apply while preserving the earliest displayed task deadline.

Save Transaction Details and the live case notice

In PayPal, open the original payment’s Transaction Details. Save the transaction ID, payment date, amount/currency, shipping address and any Seller Protection eligibility wording.
Open the linked Resolution Centre case. Copy its dispute/chargeback reference, reason, stage, notification date and the exact action requested.
Record the deadline and any time zone shown. A date without a time remains a date-only cutoff; do not invent midnight.
Connect the payment to your order, invoice, dispatch record and carrier tracking. Check whether the buyer bought several items or received split shipments.
Check for a refund, replacement or existing marketplace case for the same payment. Record those references and current statuses before taking another money action.

Keep a local copy of the notice and your attachments. A transaction reference and a dispute reference serve different purposes: one identifies the payment, the other identifies the task you must answer. Put both on the evidence index so a reviewer can connect the records.

If a marketplace hosted the sale, confirm that the disputed payment actually went through PayPal. The marketplace’s own payment-dispute route may be different. For wider provider comparisons, the cross-provider seller INR chargeback guide remains the general resource.

Shipment evidence and delivery evidence answer different questions

Build the evidence around the PayPal transaction address and the buyer’s actual receipt objection.
Evidence	What to prepare	What it does not establish
Proof of shipment	Carrier acceptance receipt, shipment date, verifiable tracking number and destination details tied to the payment.	Buying a label is not proof of carrier acceptance. Dispatch is not proof of receipt.
Proof of delivery	Carrier documentation with online verifiable tracking, delivery date, delivered status and recipient destination matching Transaction Details.	A cropped “delivered” badge without the destination leaves an address question unanswered.
Destination comparison	Place Transaction Details, the label and carrier delivery record together. Preserve city/country or postcode information and request fuller confirmation where needed.	A buyer’s later message asking for another address does not amend the original PayPal transaction address.
Buyer and carrier records	Dated buyer messages, any receipt acknowledgement, investigation findings and any corrected scan.	A buyer reporting a delay is not admitting receipt. An investigation request is not a finding.
Money and remedy history	Completed refund reference, amount/date, any replacement order and its own tracking.	A promised refund or a newly printed replacement label does not prove the remedy was completed.

For physical-goods INR protection, PayPal’s programme requires delivery proof, alongside its other conditions. The destination evidence must meet the policy’s address requirements; city/state, city/country or postcode information is specified in the documentation rules. Retain the full available address rather than deliberately reducing it to a broad area.

For an external case, use the issuer-facing evidence request as well. A record adequate for one protection test may leave a card reviewer needing more detail. If tracking is already marked delivered, the PayPal delivered-tracking chargeback guide explains how to investigate the remaining gaps.

Why PayPal Seller Protection may not cover this INR case

External card-funded INR chargebacks are excluded. PayPal’s UK Help dates this treatment to transactions received after 16 January 2023. PayPal can still use your evidence to contest the chargeback with the issuer. Assistance with contesting does not restore Seller Protection.

An internal INR claim has a different protection assessment. Save the eligibility wording and check the transaction, address, delivery evidence, timely information requests and exclusions. An eligibility label alone is not an approval. The current programme terms also exclude SNAD and other specified transactions; they contain separate conditions for unauthorised-payment cases.

For an unauthorised case, those terms require eligible/partially eligible Transaction Details and shipment or delivery proof showing shipment no later than two days after PayPal’s notification. That is a shipment eligibility condition, not a two-day evidence-response deadline. Check all basic requirements and any instruction not to release the goods.

If the shipment was redirected away from the Transaction Details address, the protection terms exclude it. Explain the address history honestly. Carrier compensation is a separate question: ask the booking provider to investigate without letting the PayPal response task expire.

Not sure whether this is a PayPal dispute or card chargeback?

The free assessment can help organise the provider, process, dispute reason, notice deadline and evidence gaps before you decide whether to open a Seller Case.

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Keep escalation, response and buyer filing periods separate

Use the deadline displayed in the Resolution Centre or chargeback notice for the seller’s current response. If it is missing, record UNKNOWN and ask PayPal promptly; keep preparing the available evidence.

Internal dispute escalation: PayPal’s dispute guidance provides 20 days from opening the dispute to escalate it to a claim; otherwise it closes automatically. Either party can escalate. This is not 20 extra days to answer a claim or a card chargeback.
Internal claim response: PayPal’s UK claims article describes a seller being asked to respond within 10 days after a claim is filed. Follow the actual claim task; do not start that clock from the original sale or apply it to external chargebacks.
Buyer filing: the Buyer Protection policy allows an INR dispute within 180 days of payment. That is the buyer’s opening window, not your response allowance.

Any further-information request has its own cutoff. A carrier investigation, ongoing buyer discussion or replacement shipment does not itself extend the deadline shown by PayPal.

Send a reason-specific response through the existing PayPal case

In the Resolution Centre, open the case and use its response action. For an external chargeback, PayPal describes options to supply tracking, show a refund or accept liability, followed by the requested supporting evidence. Choose the option supported by your records.

A useful response starts with the case reference, states whether the allegation is non-delivery or a disputed delivery location, then points to numbered attachments. Give the payment address, shipment chronology and precise result of any carrier check. If delivery has not been established, say which record is outstanding rather than claiming proof you do not have.

Case [reference], transaction [ID]: the allegation is item not received. Attachment 1 shows the PayPal transaction address. Attachment 2 records carrier acceptance on [date] under [tracking]. Attachment 3 shows [current delivery finding]. The buyer reports [specific concern]; the carrier’s response is [finding / still awaited]. The refund position is [status and reference, if any]. Please assess the attached records against this case’s reason.

This is an organisation example, not a PayPal-approved form. Remove statements you cannot substantiate. Keep your submission confirmation and continue checking the existing case for requests.

After submission: track the decision, fees and any new facts

If a refund already completed, send its amount, date and reference through the case before arranging another payment. Replacements need their own dispatch/delivery evidence and buyer agreement; sending one does not automatically withdraw a chargeback. Record any carrier correction or changed receipt account as new information.

PayPal’s merchant fee schedule separates chargeback fees from dispute fees by payment route. Check the actual debit, currency and applicable terms; do not assume a universal fee or that evidence preparation waives it.

For a closed internal PayPal claim decided against you, PayPal’s seller appeal Help gives 10 days from case closure to seek an appeal in the Resolution Centre with new information. Open the closed case and check Appeal Outcome promptly. This is not an appeal of the issuer’s chargeback decision. A missing control or unclear deadline needs urgent clarification from PayPal.

For an external chargeback, read the issuer outcome relayed by PayPal and ask what further route, if any, is available. Keep a protection decision and the actual funds credit separate. If a carrier refuses a separate loss claim, the courier rejection guide deals with that recovery route.

Keep the PayPal evidence and timeline together

A Seller Case can organise manually entered case facts, refund state, evidence gaps and a prepared response. Use Something Changed when the process, carrier findings, deadline or provider decision changes. Where a closed internal claim’s facts support the route, a Seller Case can organise the new information and prepare an appeal response. Confirm the actual Appeal Outcome action and cutoff in PayPal.

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Free assessment and preview. No payment required to assess. £6.99 one-off if you choose to open the Seller Case.

You enter the facts, check the prepared response and submit evidence yourself. ParcelClaim does not retrieve PayPal transactions automatically, submit to PayPal or contact the card issuer. Seller Protection, success and reimbursement are not guaranteed.

Sources and policy review

Policy checked: 5 November 2026. First-party PayPal UK pages were checked for this guide. The Seller Protection and Buyer Protection legal pages show an update of 12 October 2026. This check date is not a new policy effective date. Follow the actual case instructions and deadline.

The decision tables and example wording are editorial evidence-organisation guidance. They do not create eligibility, replace PayPal’s instructions or bind the buyer’s card issuer. ParcelClaim is independent of PayPal.