Thread: How long after a credit card purchase can you dispute it?

Hello, I am hoping to get opinions on a situation that just occurred yesterday. I sold an account for a popular online video game to another individual on June 9th, 2010. What this amounts to is an account and the specific information/data on the account that the user can use to play the game. There is no tangible goods involved. Payment was made via paypal and I'm lead to assume it was made via a credit card, though paypal does not provide information as to which one.

This account comes with security information involved that cannot be changed after it is created. I provided the buyer with this information upon sale. This is to prevent hackers or others from being able to permanently steal an account from the real user. Yesterday, November 19th, 2010, I received an email from the person I sold this account to and they claim I used the security information to steal the account from them and that they were opening up a dispute with their credit card company to retrieve the money they paid. I obviously did not take the online account back and I feel they are simply trying to defraud me of money and keep the account.

Now the question I have is this even possible? The sale was made on June 9th and the account was in the buyer's possession on that day. It has been 164 days since the transaction and I feel this has to be past some time limit on the ability to dispute no matter what possible card was used.

Are there any steps I can take to possibly stop this fraudulent dispute? Also, what can I expect if this dispute goes through and what are the dispute time limits on goods. It seems impossible to me that someone can dispute a charge over 5 months and get away with it.

Thanks in advance for any possible help or information anyone can provide.

Yes, I am in Canada.

This sale was for a single online account of a video game and nothing like a subcription or ongoing thing like that. I know on Paypal you can't file a complaint after 45 days so I'm not worried about that. Should I consider removing my credit card and bank account from Paypal? I don't keep any money in my paypal account either.

I've been able to talk to the potential fraud and I may have sorted it out but I'm half expecting to be notified of a dispute at some point. Any idea how long that could take? Potentially, his credit card company can't just rule in his favor and grab the money out of my account, could they?

Paypal almost always sides with the buyer even if their complaint is groundless. Removing your information from Paypal won't help much either, they still have it.

Your best bet is to hash this out with the buyer and learn a lesson about this kind of thing.

Also note that often these kinds of accounts are not supposed to be sold. So what that means is that if he complains to teh game company they might say it was a fraudulent sale and support his claim.

Here is a detailed overview of credit card disputes that you may want to see. For unauthorized charges there is no time restriction. For disputes regarding the quality of goods or services it is typically 60 days. The article will tell you more about this.

Good luck,
CreditCardGuru

I have successfully attained a refund with a dispute that was initiated nearly 6 months after the transaction.