Refund closed but no money returned to my account.
I am new to the refund process as a seller. I sold an item and about 10 days later the buyer complained that it wasn't working. (User error probably). I authorized a return a month ago (didn't look like I had a choice). Now I have never received the item back and have not seen a tracking number. The refund shows to be closed, but my funds show 0 and the money never returned to my bank account. Any ideas? Anyone I can talk to at eBay?
22 comments
sextons-sweet-deals
·2 years agomy comments are also based on the O.P. response to another poste yesterday.
Yes.. I never received the item back, never got any tracking info, the return shows closed and I never got the money back. At this point, I don't know if they sent the refund to the buyer or are holding it in escrow still. Although the status on the refund shows closed and states that my funds are now available, I never received notification of such and the balance in my account shows $0. I checked my bank records and nothing there either.
Is there even a phone number to call eBay?
mam98031
·2 years agoIf the seller had sent a refund to the buyer at some earlier date, the INAD would have closed then.
The status of the INAD [not refund] is closed in the favor of the Seller.
I would suggest that you contact Ebay for Business on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter for the better trained CSRs.
Here are your options for contacting Ebay Customer Service. Please be aware that for social media CS, you send them a Private Message and briefly explain what your problem or issue is. Feel free to leave your Name, address, phone number and/or your email address in this message. It is private and secure and it may help to speed up the response for you.
https://twitter.com/askebay
https://www.facebook.com/eBay/
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/
Your options will be on the left. If you use the link below you can only get to the Automated Assistant or Chat box type AGENT in the box and hit enter. You will then get more options. Not all options are available 24/7. It will depend on staffing available. So sometimes you can request a call back and sometimes you can't. Sometimes you have the Chat option available and other times it won't me. If it is important to you to use one of those options, just try back later.
If you use a cell phone or other mobile device, you may need to turn off your Spam filter so that Ebay can call you.
If you are a seller outside of the US or Canada, you will need to use the Chat Option.
https://www.ebay.com/help/home
sextons-sweet-deals
·2 years agothis sounds like the scam of requesting return, seller issues a label which they will never see the tracking number to follow. My understanding this is a USPS policy.
Buyer manipulates the label and probably shipped an envelope to some address within the seller's zip code.
The O.P. needs to review all their eBay mail notices. My guess they received a notice that item has been returned and buyer was refunded.
To the O.P. Have you looked at your buyer's profile and all feedback history? Is there anything that stands out as a possible bad buyer?
mam98031
·2 years ago@sextons-sweet-deals
What? The OP's INAD was processed like Ebay processes INADs for everyone. I've had a few like this over the years myself.
Buyer opens an INAD, it gets approved by the seller and the seller issues a return label.
The buyer never uses the label nor do they ever ship the item back.
After a few weeks, Ebay will Auto close the INAD in the Sellers favor for the buyer's non compliance in the process.
The OP is just confused. The buyer was never refunded, so Ebay didn't need to return their money. It actually should have been on hold in their MP account and would get released in about 24 hours or less.
I'm not sure why some are unaware of this process.
FYI the seller also will NOT be charged for the shipping label because it was never used.
az93
·2 years agoYou are the seller. You don't get any money back, the unhappy buyer does. You get the item back to try and sell again. Often you are even charged return shipping to get your own item back. When seller receives the item back, the buyer's funds (which were on hold) are released to the buyer. If you did not receive the item back some of the return steps were done incorrectly.
mam98031
·2 years ago@az93
What? The money should have never left the Seller's account in this situation. The Request for return was opened and the return label issued to the buyer. The buyer did not return the item. Ebay closed the claim. A refund to the buyer would have never been issued.
As for the charge for the return shipping. Unless the buyer used the label the seller is never charged for it. And since this buyer did not ship the item back, the seller will not have a charge for return shipping.
robbie31415
·2 years agoI think you are missing something.
You need to look at the transaction details from the original order and look at the breakdown.
You also need to look at your return information history and closed reason.
So much lacking information and I doubt this is an eBay mistake but not understanding.
Your return should look something like this.
 
mtgraves7984
·2 years agoThe refund shows to be closed, but my funds show 0 and the money never returned to my bank account.
@nearlyfifty
A bit confused... was the refund pulled from your bank account?
nearlyfifty
OP2 years agoYes.. Including the return shipping cost.
mtgraves7984
·2 years ago@nearlyfifty
If that's so, I'd be reaching out to eBay beginning with a message on the eBay facebook page.
lonebuck-books
·2 years agoTypically eBay does one of two things on a return while the return is in process. They either put a hold on your funds for that amount or they don't hold your funds because your track record says you can be trusted to fund a refund once it is completed. Either way, eBay doesn't take your money away before the buyer has returned the item and you have confirmed the returned item arrived and is in the correct condition.
So, if you have a buyer who wanted to return an item, never did and eBay closed it out because it passed the time limit, eBay doesn't have to 'put money back' into your account because they never took it out in the first place. The most they will do is release funds on hold if that is what they did.
If however it was an INAD that you didn't handle correctly so eBay refunded the buyer and you were hoping to get it returned, that's not how it works. eBay won't return the money back to you because the buyer took advantage of the money back guarantee which eBay makes you pay for.
mam98031
·2 years agoIt is all about word choices and how it changes the meaning.
Buyers open a Request for Refund when they file an INAD. It is called that because the buyer has to actually return the item before the seller is obligated to refund the buyer. So since your buyer did not return the item to you and it has been 30+ days, Ebay automatically closed the REQUEST for refund and found it IN YOUR FAVOR. Which means there was NO REFUND.
Just read your screens and emails a little closer, you would have seen all this info.
I'm glad it worked out for you.
nearlyfifty
OP2 years agoBottom line.. The buyer never returned the item. No tracking info received. The refund shows closed, but
I still don't have the money ! Not in my eBay account or my bank. Am I missing something here, or is it just possible that eBay screwed up?
mam98031
·2 years agoAnd you won't have the money returned to you as it was NEVER refunded to the buyer. You still have the funds. I think if you look at your detail transactions in your MP account for the time period of when the buyer filed for a return and now, you will find the money is still in your account.
This isn't an "ebay screwed up" situation. It is merely a learning process for you. Ebay did exactly what they should have done which was to protect YOU!
rockyroadtradingpost
·2 years agoIn the case of an INAD, is there a legit reason for the seller to tell the buyer to go through ebay rather than simply sending sending a return label?
An item I bought was misrepresented in size. As a courtesy to seller, I messaged with a photo showing the measurement that was misrepresented and asking for a return label. Seller told me to go through ebay.
I wasn't sure why a seller would want to involve ebay when they could have handled it directly.
mam98031
·2 years agoThat would be a judgement call. I've had buyers with an issue after the sale that on our own we did a return for refund. It worked just fine. Your buyer doesn't have to use Ebay if they don't want to, but do this selectively. Not all transactions that the buyer may want to return should be handled on your own.
If you had done that with me, I would have agreed and said fine, I'll send you a label.
Involving Ebay allows a certain amount of protection, mostly for the buyer but a little for the seller too. If I were to have an uneasy feeling about a buyer, I'd have them open a Request for Return in Ebay.
But there is nothing wrong with handling it yourselves as long as you are communicating and working well together.
lakefor94
·2 years agoAre you saying the return timed out because the buyer never return shipped and there is/was no movement shown in carrier tracking in the return case?
If that is the case, eBay sends a communication stating that they are closing the return and then shortly after that, they release the Hold on funds
Can you give any more Information on what all has transpired so far?
nearlyfifty
OP2 years agoYes.. I never received the item back, never got any tracking info, the return shows closed and I never got the money back. At this point, I don't know if they sent the refund to the buyer or are holding it in escrow still. Although the status on the refund shows closed and states that my funds are now available, I never received notification of such and the balance in my account shows $0. I checked my bank records and nothing there either.
Is there even a phone number to call eBay?
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoWhen the buyer filed the INAD, did you provide a shipping label in the time Ebay allowed?
If a shipping label wasn't provided, the buyer could ask Ebay to step in, then Ebay could refund them from your account and let them keep the item.
nearlyfifty
OP2 years agoMy understanding is that eBay was sending them the shipping label. They deducted that amount from my bank. Did I miss that? We are talking about a $600 item here.. not exactly chump change.
mam98031
·2 years agoWhen you respond to the INAD a buyer files, you accept it and have a return label sent to the buyer. Ebay is the one that sends the return label to your Buyer for the return at YOUR expense. Ebay is not responsible to fund your return shipping.
This is yet another thing you can verify through looking at your detailed transactions in you MP account. The seller does NOT get charged for the return label until the buyer actually uses it by putting the package in the hands of the carrier.
No one has suggested it is "chump change". You just need to do your own research to show you that what has been shared here is correct an the normal course of how an INAD gets closed when a buyer does not return the item.
There is one exception here. If you Refunded the item voluntarily before the buyer actually shipped the item back [this is NOT something Ebay would do], then you would be out the money and it would be a good reason why the buyer didn't ship the item back.
monster-deals
·2 years agoYou never would have. It is done with your pending payoyuts.