The clock
10 days to respond once it is a claim
The dispute stage runs 20 days for you and the buyer to settle it directly. Miss 10 days on an escalated claim and PayPal decides for the buyer. Escalation does not reopen the evidence request: the dispute-stage file is what gets reviewed.
reason code, as PayPal shows it
No numeric network code. You get PayPal's own reasons: item not received, significantly not as described, unauthorised transaction. Map them yourself — item not received is Visa 13.1 territory, unauthorised is 10.4.
Where you submit
- 01Resolution Center, and find the case
- 02Respond next to the case, then Respond again
- 03Choose I'd like to submit the requested info
- 04Upload the document with a short description
- 05Submit — and keep messaging the buyer afterwards
What the form accepts
- what they ask for
- third-party shipping receipt, tracking, signature confirmation
- digital goods
- proof of receipt or download
- refund proof
- date, amount and transaction reference
- upload
- drag and drop, with a short free-text description
- carried forward
- yes — your dispute-stage evidence is reused at claim
- buyer contact
- stays open, and a withdrawn dispute is the best outcome
What PayPal does for you
- yesCarries your dispute-stage evidence into the claim review without asking again.
- yesKeeps the message thread with the buyer open, where most disputes are actually resolved.
What it leaves to you
- noNo integration-based dispute tool covers you here — this is manual, always.
- noPayPal uses its own reasons, not network codes, so template letters keyed to Visa numbers read as noise.
- noSilence for 10 days on an escalated claim ends it in the buyer's favour with no review.
the common misreading
The dispute stage is the one that matters
Merchants wait to see if the buyer escalates, then discover the escalated claim reuses the thin answer they gave on day two. Build the full file at the dispute stage, before escalation, because that is the file PayPal reads.
Now build what PayPal will accept
- The timeline and the exhibit index attach as one document, with the short description as its cover.
- Because PayPal will not re-ask, the first upload has to be the finished one.
- The merchant statement in your own voice is also the message you send the buyer directly.
Single case — €39 · Five-pack — €79
Free until you see your own file.
No account, no password, ever.
codes that land here
- Visa 13.1merchandise or services not received
- Visa 10.4other fraud — card-absent environment
- Visa 13.3not as described or defective merchandise
other rails
stripe·shopify payments·mollie·klarna·adyen
We build the file, the issuer decides.