Can I get my refund back?

Podster

Hi Folks!

I sold a phone on ebay but the buyer didn't like the colour and it was a gift for her daughter, so I tried to issue a refund. Unfortunately my debit card had expired, so Paypal decided to take the money from my account, subject to a 7 day delay. The buyer did not want to wait, so (on receipt of the phone) I issued a 'friends and family' payment and tried to cancel the refund. This is where the fun started.

Paypal said they could not cancel the refund as it had already been actioned by my bank. I checked with the bank and it had not, so I ensured there were insufficient funds to make the payment (this is a second, basic account with NatWest). A few days later I was advised that the refund had gone through. Upon checking my bank account I was now overdrawn (on an account which is not supposed to allow overdrafts). I contacted the bank who said they will sometimes honour direct debits to avoid customers getting fees! They also said that - as it was a direct debit - they could not not return the refund.

I contacted the buyer who was adamant that they hadn't rceived the refund but I also checked with PayPal and eBay who confirmed she has revceived both payments. I asked the buyer to return the duplicate amount but she refuses. I also contacted the bank to see if they could recall the 'friends and family' payemt. Again, the answer was no.

So I would welcome any advice on how I get one of the payments back from the customer, please. Ebay said they recognise the duplicate payments and will help if they receive instruction from my bank, but my bank won't play (but have said I can make a complaint to them). It's very frustrating!!

Thanks
Andy

soolin

As you basically sent two payments , regardless of the circumstances, your only recourse is likely to be small claims now. You would need to print off proof that buyer has both refunds, keep screen grabs of everything and go down the usual route of a letter before action (which can be googled). Refunds are odd things, many buyers don't see them in their account and assume they haven't been refunded, so it might be a simple mistake.

theonlywayisup

Podster wrote: »

Hi Folks!

I sold a phone on ebay but the buyer didn't like the colour and it was a gift for her daughter, so I tried to issue a refund. Unfortunately my debit card had expired, so Paypal decided to take the money from my account, subject to a 7 day delay. The buyer did not want to wait, so (on receipt of the phone) I issued a 'friends and family' payment and tried to cancel the refund. This is where the fun started.

Paypal said they could not cancel the refund as it had already been actioned by my bank. I checked with the bank and it had not, so I ensured there were insufficient funds to make the payment (this is a second, basic account with NatWest). A few days later I was advised that the refund had gone through. Upon checking my bank account I was now overdrawn (on an account which is not supposed to allow overdrafts). I contacted the bank who said they will sometimes honour direct debits to avoid customers getting fees! They also said that - as it was a direct debit - they could not not return the refund.

I contacted the buyer who was adamant that they hadn't rceived the refund but I also checked with PayPal and eBay who confirmed she has revceived both payments. I asked the buyer to return the duplicate amount but she refuses. I also contacted the bank to see if they could recall the 'friends and family' payemt. Again, the answer was no.

So I would welcome any advice on how I get one of the payments back from the customer, please. Ebay said they recognise the duplicate payments and will help if they receive instruction from my bank, but my bank won't play (but have said I can make a complaint to them). It's very frustrating!!

Thanks
Andy

Re the bit I have highlighted.

Are you saying the payment was via a direct debit? When you contacted your bank [before the payment had been taken] did you instruct them to cancel the payment?

Podster

Cheers folks. I'll get in touch with her threatening a small claim and see if that triggers a response.


With regards the bank, I didn't know I had a direct debit set up with PayPal (I had alsways used my debit card as the back up payment) so that was a surprise! NatWest have been utterly useless!

theonlywayisup

Podster wrote: »

Cheers folks. I'll get in touch with her threatening a small claim and see if that triggers a response.


With regards the bank, I didn't know I had a direct debit set up with PayPal (I had alsways used my debit card as the back up payment) so that was a surprise! NatWest have been utterly useless!

Which still doesn't answer what I asked.

Are you saying the payment was via a direct debit? When you contacted your bank [before the payment had been taken] did you instruct them to cancel the payment?