Protecting Event Planners

Good Evening,

I just had an experience with PayPal where a customer purchased four tickets to an event, attended, then got their money back a week later. After two weeks of fighting this, I still haven't received my money back. Because PayPal has not protected me as a seller, I am taking this to a wider audience and will be using this as the first post of my new event planning blog at http://blog.nycexp.com.

I apologize in advance for the length of this post/email - however the detail will be helpful.

FACTS:
- Tickets were purchased for our New Year's Eve Party held at Hill Country BBQ
- All four guests checked-in at the event (they did not sign in, but their names were highlighted/checked off)
- They received wristbands and attended the event
- After the event the buyer processed a chargeback through their credit card company (a week later)
- We paid the venue for these four individuals, covering their food & beverages
- The buyer got their $300 paid back in full
- PayPal charged me an additional $20 for a settlement fee

TIMELINE:
- The buyer purchased four tickets, $75 each for the December 31st event. Total of $300.
- On January 7th I received notification that the purchaser "filed a chargeback and asked the credit card issuer to reverse a payment made" to me on December 31st, 2010.
- Within a couple of hours of receiving the initial email, I responded with a photo of the guest list with names highlighted/checked-off as attended plus a screen shot of the purchase instructions (web page). I received a confirmation email shortly after saying that my email was received.
- On January 21st I received an email stating that PayPal "determined that (they) won’t be able to dispute the reversed payment successfully" resulting in my account being debited $300. PayPal claimed to not have received the documents I sent even though I received a confirmation email.
- That same day I spoke with a rep, followed by a supervisor (Melissa). Details of this conversation below.
- On January 21st, following Melissa's instructions I resubmitted the documents I had sent January 7th. I promptly received a confirmation.
- On January 22nd I received an email stating that I would have to resubmit the files because PayPal didn't recognize my email address.
- On January 24th I resent the January 21st email from the account email address and subsequently added two email addresses to my account. I received a confirmation of my email shortly after.
- On January 25th I received a response stating that my transaction did not meet their user guidelines, and as a result would not be covered (Deborah).
- Shortly after that email I received a promotional email by PayPal entitled "Safer Selling Online Can Boost Online Sales" - what poor timing!
- On January 26th I called and recapped the conversation for a rep, then asked for a supervisor to review. I followed up with an email, bringing up the $20 charged to me for the settlement fee. I received a confirmation of my email being received shortly after.
- On January 27th I received a response stating "I regret to inform you that we have no further recourse to assist you in disputing the chargeback. Please contact the buyer directly to resolve any remaining issues."

What the reps said:

The first rep I spoke with said there was nothing they could do because we did not send them hard tickets and didn't have a tracking number. I explained that it is common practice for people to purchase tickets online and to be placed on a guest list. Then they divulged that even with a tracking number and them signing in at the door, that they are at the mercy of the credit card companies. They said once a chargeback is issued, it's pretty much over. Melissa, a supervisor stated that they hardly even talk to the card companies, but there was still hope and hence I resent the docs that they mysteriously did not get the first time around. With the exception of Melissa and the first rep, everyone else kept referring to the user agreement and harping on a seller not being covered if they do not send a product in a way that generates a tracking number. According to Melissa (who was great by the way), even with following their user agreement and other precautions (tracking number + sign-in at door + security footage)... it doesn't matter because a client can just go through their card company and get a chargeback processed!

My question is if PayPal can't protect me/my business, who can? As a producer of events every couple of weeks with thousands of attendees each year, what do I do? I obviously could have done more to protect myself/my company - namely sending people confirmations w/tracking numbers and having attendees sign in. 

This is a HUGE issue, not just for me... but my fellow event planners and future ones in the class I'm teaching. I'm looking for answers, and I will broadcast them far and wide. I teach an event planning class at St. John's University and run one of New York City's largest event planning networking groups (www.meetup.com/sketchnyc).

I'm sending this to everyone I can think of. This is an opportunity for a company to step up... either PayPal to fix this issue and make good on my $320 or for another company to be the better option. The credit card companies should address this as well. I should be able to contest this with the credit card company who agreed to the chargeback.

As a note, I have emailed the buyer but they have yet to respond. I am giving them the opportunity to make this right, but I believe this is much bigger than them.

I look forward to your responses.

Best,

Damien L. Duchamp
Managing Director

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