eBay refund gone wrong - paid £160 to eBay, they're denying all trace of it

NickTheQuick

Hello all,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

My situation without getting into too many specifics:

1. I sold an item.

2. The dodgy buyer opened a case and won the case.

3. eBay/PayPal put a hold on my PayPal funds to cover their costs of making a refund to the buyer.

4. In order to close the case and get my PayPal account out of a negative balance, I sent a refund to eBay from my bank account - as recommended on the transaction page - through the eBay Buyer Protection program.

A full week later, eBay have still not acknowledged the payment and therefore have not closed the case or removed the hold on my PayPal funds. Until they do, I have effectively refunded the item TWICE - once through my payment from my bank account, once through the funds they have put on hold in my PayPal account.

I have spent literally hours on the phone to the eBay "customer service" team and sent numerous emails. PayPal assure me I made the payment and that the case should be closed by eBay. My bank assures me the money left my account. I have the VISA authorisation code for the payment and screenshot proof of my bank statement. Yet the eBay workers insist I have not sent a payment and no money has been taken from my bank account. I feel like I'm talking to a brick wall with these people. Their responses barely make sense half of the time.

Please, PLEASE, somebody tell me there's something I can do or someone I can speak to who could help. I can't believe that eBay could be so incompetent. They've effectively called me a liar when I'm dealing with 100% facts and have 10 years of positive feedback and flawless trading to back me up.

soolin

You say you sent the bank payment to paypal 'a week' ago- that could be the issue, my last one to cover a refund whilst I was away took the best part of 9 days.

Just check that it has definitely gone from your bank account and hasn't bounced back for any reason

Slower than snail mail

NickTheQuick

soolin wrote: »

You say you sent the bank payment to paypal 'a week' ago- that could be the issue, my last one to cover a refund whilst I was away took the best part of 9 days.

Just check that it has definitely gone from your bank account and hasn't bounced back for any reason

Slower than snail mail

Sorry, I should have specified.

The money actually left my account and entered theirs on the morning of Feb 3.

RainbowDrops

I'm confused - have you paid this money into your own paypal account, or to somewhere else?

alykatz

RainbowDrops wrote: »

I'm confused - have you paid this money into your own paypal account, or to somewhere else?

As above im confused?

Also if the buyer won the case then the moneys paid to you will be refunded and the hold wont release the funds back to you but be used to refund the buyer.

Without knowing the case details its a little hard to know.

soolin

So, you haven't paid it twice all that has happened is that you sent a bank payment to your own PayPal account , buyer has been refunded yet the hold on the funds is still there- is that right?

In that case the refund as it has come from bank funds will not clear to the buyer immediately, PayPal allow enough time for the payment to bounce. The funds will be released to you as soon as buyer has cleared funds.

That assumes the refund has been done correctly through PayPal. If however PayPal forced the refund, ie you did not make it voluntarily when the case was first opened then you will not have the full amount released to you as PayPal keep their fees- or so I understand.

Shineupon128

The problem you have described has happened to me... They put a hold the original payment withdrawing it from your account, and then debit your account under a payment protection guarantee, for that amount, leaving your account overdrawn, they then demand you pay the overdrawn amount into your account which you do from your bank and they then deny all knowledge of it...

You need to speak to payal and give them your transaction references which you can get from your balance details. Paypal are acknowledging this is an issue but ebay are not and will speak to you like you are stupid.

I expect there are quite a number of us who this has happened to, how this is going to be resolved I have no idea I have been trying for 3 days solid now.. and I am £604 out of pocket.