Newer versus Older Unpaid Item Disputes Process

In October 2009, changes were introduced in the Unpaid Item Disputes process around a DisputeReason value of BuyerHasNotPaid.

It is the request version that determines which process applies: If you created a UPI dispute with a request version lower than 637, the older process applies and the various platform notifications for messaging are still supported. If the request version is 637 or greater when you create a UPI dispute, the newer process applies, and several platform notifications no longer apply. (The reason the notifications are not needed is because messages between buyer and seller are no longer added to the dispute.)

Compare the left sides of the "before and after" diagrams, Unpaid Item Dispute Diagram, Newer and Unpaid Item Dispute Diagram, Older.

Table 17-2 Changes Related to BuyerHasNotPaid

Older Process	Newer Process
Supported through March 2010. Developers are to migrate to support the newer process.	Applies to all disputes created with request version 637 or later.
The soonest a seller can open an unpaid item dispute is seven days from the creation of the transaction.	The soonest a seller can open an unpaid item dispute is four days from the creation of the transaction.
The latest a seller can open an unpaid item dispute is 45 days from the creation of the transaction.	The latest a seller can open an unpaid item dispute is 32 days from the creation of the transaction.
The soonest that eBay or the seller can act on a dispute when the buyer has not responded is seven days from when the dispute was opened.	The soonest that eBay or the seller can act on a dispute when the buyer has not paid is four days from when the dispute was opened.
If the buyer has not responded in some way within seven days, the seller can close the dispute with MutualAgreementOrNoBuyerResponse.	MutualAgreementOrNoBuyerResponse is no longer valid in the BuyerHasNotPaid flow.
If an Unpaid Item dispute is still open 60 daysafter the transaction was created, eBay closes it automatically, regardless of what actions the buyer or seller might have taken.	For BuyerHasNotPaid, if an Unpaid Item dispute is still open 37 days after the transaction was created, eBay closes it automatically, regardless of what actions the buyer or seller might have taken. eBay emails a reminder to the seller on day 36. (No change for MutualAgreementOrNoBuyerResponse: it is still 60 days.)
If the buyer has paid with PayPal, eBay closes the dispute with DA = SellerCompletedTransaction.	If the buyer has paid (whether electronically or the seller has marked as payment received for an offline payment), the seller closes the dispute with DA = SellerCompletedTransaction. (If the dispute was opened by UPI Assistance, eBay closes the dispute.)
—	There are three more DisputeStates: UnpaidItemOpen, UPIAssistanceDisabledByeBay, UPIAssistanceDisabledBySeller. For each of these, the valid DisputeActivities are SellerCompletedTransaction and SellerEndCommunication. When payment has not been received, SellerEndCommunication can be used four days after the creation of the BuyerHasNotPaid dispute.
—	There are five more DisputeExplanations: BuyerNotPaid, BuyerPaymentNotReceivedOrCleared, SellerDoesntShipToCountry, UPIAssistance, UPIAssistanceDisabled.
—	The Unpaid Item Assistance feature automates the process of opening and closing BuyerHasNotPaid disputes. See Unpaid Item Assistance.
A seller can use AddDisputeResponse to comment on a dispute.	Comments are no longer passed via or stored in an unpaid item dispute; a seller can no longer add comments to a dispute with AddDisputeResponse (buyer and seller are to communicate via other normal means, outside of the dispute record itself).
Platform notifications are triggered upon creating a dispute or adding a comment to a dispute.	These platform notifications are not triggered by AddDispute or AddDisputeResponse for unpaid item disputes : BuyerResponseDispute, SellerClosedDispute, SellerOpenedDispute, SellerRespondedToDispute. (Note that for the case of mutual agreement to cancel the transaction, the applicable notifications still apply.)

User-Contributed Notes