IMPORTANT INFO:

The latest 7.2.6 updater has two files (not one) that need to be replaced to address the PayPal issue:

vsadmin\inc\incthanks.asp/php
vsadmin\ajaxservice.asp/php


Many thanks to the ECT developers for addressing this latest PayPal issue.

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During the past several days some customers have complained that PayPal orders on our website are returning the error message "Sorry, there was an error with this transaction." However in each case there is no sign of any issue with each New Order in the cart Admin Orders page and the orders have valid PayPal authorization codes. We also didn't see anything unusual when looking at our webhost error logs.

We've seen these sorts of issues before when there were network problems or one of the recurring slow-downs that occur at PayPal from time to time.

Given that our Cart pages show no errors, can anyone suggest how to troubleshoot this?

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

- Paul D.

Hi Paul, Since January, there has been an ongoing Paypal issue and it's discussed here - https://www.ecommercetemplates.com/support/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=113731

There is a fix in the updater, in the incthanks.php page..

Thanks,
David

Dave, thanks for this.

We're currently on PHP v7.2.6.

Am I right that the PayPal fix should be in that latest version of the Cart code, or are there changes we need to make to the website?

The fix just came out a few days ago, so unless you undated in the last week or so, you will want to get that fix...
Being that you are on a recent version, I think you can just replace the vsadmin/inc/incthanks.php file and be good to go.

David

We've verified that the v7.2.6 PHP updater that we downloaded on 2/17/2021 does not have the PayPal fix in the incthanks.php file, but the updater downloaded just now on 3/11/2021 does have that fix in the file.

Thanks a million for this, Dave.

Now, only for orders paid by PayPal Payments Standard, in the Private Order Status box we're seeing error messages like these examples from two orders today:

(15005) This transaction cannot be processed.

(10069) Payment could not be completed due to a sender account issue. Please notify the user to contact PayPal Customer Support.

In each case the orders appear to authorize normally in the Cart and when we login to PayPal to check the transaction.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions to troubleshoot this.

- Paul D.

For this one, (15005) This transaction cannot be processed, We see that one most often, and it comes from Paypal Payments pro (paypal direct) and it means the card was declined by the issuing bank.
It looks like the customer then decided to pay via paypal standard.

You should see the failed payment in your admin Activity log.
It should record all failed payments for paypal pro and record them there in red.

Also good to bookmark is the paypal codes lookup... Put those codes in the search to get the meaning...
https://www.paypal-techsupport.com/s/?language=en_US

Maybe it's just a coincidence, but keep an eye on it and post back if it continues.

David

David, thanks for this.

The only cart Activity Log I've found is the EVENT LOG page (/vsadmin/admin.php?act=events) that seems to show only our update history.

Is there another Cart page with detailed transaction records? I tried searching online and didn't see this.

Or, are you referring to a system log at our webhost?

Thanks in advance.

Yes, this is the activity log you get to from your admin dashboard, when logged in with the main user.
Maybe I have a setting in my includes that causes payments to be recorded there, but all paypal payments pro payments are recorded there, and the failed payments are in red...

David

Thanks for this, David.

PayPal Standard orders are once again appearing in our cart without a warning message in the Private Order Status box, so perhaps this is just one of those recurring mystery issues at PayPal that has nothing to do with the cart software.

Speaking of recurring issues, for a time today all PayPal transaction acknowledgements were arriving French, then reverted to English a while later. We've also had some unusual slowdowns when we access payment screens on their website. Hopefully PayPal isn't entering another stretch of instability like we saw in 2016.

I've always been a Paypal lover, but in recent years they have taken away many of the things that made them stand out...

They are no different than all the other payment processors at this point.

David

I still think it's worth having them especially because there are a lot of people that trust paying with PayPal but wouldn't enter their CC number into an unknown website.

Vince

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Today we got a call from an irate customer who tried twice to enter an order on our store, and was declined both times - with the following text appearing in our Private Order Status box:

(10069) Payment could not be completed due to a sender account issue. Please notify the user to contact PayPal Customer Support.

The caller was so harsh that I called PayPal 'fraud and security' support for an explanation.

The PayPal rep said that a 10069 error comes from the PayPal fraud prevention system - not from the customer's payment card issuer - and is likely the result of too many merchant chargebacks and disputes by the cardholder.

This seems to make sense given the unpleasant, aggressive nature of the caller.

Hi Paul, that's right. We used to see this with them too.
We left Paypal completely over a year ago, but that code is definitely a situation where Paypal has flagged their card and they must contact Paypal to sort that out, or use a different card.

In a few cases, customers told us they didn't have a paypal account. Regardless, somehow that card was flagged and we just gave them the phone number to Paypal and asked them to call them, or use a different card.

Maybe in this case though, they did you a favor...

Thanks,
David

Dave, thanks for this.

We were tempted to leave PayPal, too, but their integration with Shipstation gives us UPS rates that are half-off the "super negotiated discount" we had from our local UPS rep.

Fortunately PayPal has been running pretty smoothly during the past 12 months.

Hi Paul, I understand. Each store owner should do what's best for them.
David