A chargeback is when the credit card holder disputes the transaction with their credit card company, calling it an unauthorized purchase, and believing that they have been cheated out of their money in some way. Then their credit card company (e.g. Visa) reverses the transaction, and goes after PayPal for answers, who then comes to us for answers, who then goes after you for answers. This can easily happen on our site if some young user gets a hold of their parents' or relative's credit card, or otherwise accesses their PayPal account without permission. Then, about a month later, they look on their statement and see ELDEMORE.COM and say "OMG HACKER THIEF!!!" and dispute the transaction, probably not knowing what the heck Eldemore is. If this happens to you, then your account could potentially be banned permanently, with all your pets being taken away and fed to Oblivion.
Now, I will preface this by saying that we are reasonable people. We know that there are misunderstandings, and if you help us out, we will help you out. But if these cases are not resolved properly, Eldemore will get hit with chargeback fees, and worst case scenario, lose our PayPal account. When someone files a chargeback, they are calling you a thief. Wouldn't you want to defend yourself? So let me explain how this works...
If your purchase gets disputed - Then we will be alerted via email and PayPal notifications. First, I will take the baubles from your account. If you have spent them, then I will take the pets you bought. If you have traded those away, then I will either take some other valuable pets, or freeze your account altogether. Then I will send you a message (both via private message and via your primary account email) asking for a very detailed explanation about why this happened, and if you were authorized to make that purchase, because I have to provide evidence that we are a legitimate business, and that we had nothing to do with this fraudulent activity. You will then have 7 days to get back to me with your response, because I have a limited amount of days to get back to them. I expect your response to explain why you were using someone else's credit card, who they are to you (parent, guardian, friend, uncle), and most of all, why they disputed the transaction.
What are the penalties involved? - If you do not respond within the allotted time, or depending on how you respond and how the case is handled, your account could be banned either permanently or temporarily, because as far as we know, you could have stolen someone's credit card. Basically, the more information you provide, the better.
If the case is resolved - If you are cooperative and you help us resolve the issue to our satisfaction, then you will not be banned. Although, any pets and/or baubles taken away can only be given back if you provide an alternate form of payment for them. If that payment then gets disputed, then you may likely be banned from purchasing anything else for a while.
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I hope I've made this clear for everyone. Credit card chargebacks are a pain for everyone involved, and ultimately hurt Eldemore. All that said, I do want to thank everyone who supports us by buying from the Bazaar. It allows us to grow as a business, as well as continue doing what we love. It means that we are able to have something to show for all of our work, as well as have money to put back into the site. We do appreciate your business, just please make sure that you have permission to use someone's credit card first.
