It happened with me as well, but a much smaller amount of $50. After looking into it, the $50 charge was under a mysterious "professional fees" which PayPal ref

It happened with me as well, but a much smaller amount of $50. After looking into it, the $50 charge was under a mysterious "professional fees" which PayPal refused to explain. I did get my money back after repeated enquiries though. On the other hand, there have been several disputes though where I didnt get a fair shake and was essentially ripped off. Let's face it, for those outside of the US, PayPal is a necessary evil. I loathe having to use them. They seem grossly incompetent in terms of customer support. Continue to try every PayPal connection you have. Go to the Consumerist, media outlets etc about this. Make some noise. If you make a big enough stink about it, maybe the money will show up.