Transfer Fee & Credit Card charged after Refund - why?

[amane8]

Hi all,

I gave a partial refund to a buyer as they opened a return request, and since they opened a return request, the payment was on hold. The on hold amount (~£200) was more than the refund that I gave them, which they accepted (£191). Since the on hold amount was greater than the refund, why was my credit card - the Amex I have stored on the account - charged the £191 amount? I see a transfer but that transfer shouldn't have happened at all, as the on hold funds was sufficient to cover the refund. I have checked and I haven't received the on hold payout - so I don't get the payout AND I was charged the amount of the refund? How does this make sense?

[mtgraves7984]

Well, it confuses me, too... as the Hold seems to have been released two days before the billing. Hopefully someone with some understanding will come along. Wait for it...

ETA: What does it say when you hit the hot 'View' button beside the Hold's release?

[amane8]

So, when I click "View" it tells me that the hold was released today (the 27th, not the 25th as indicated on the first view). Released where, exactly? There has been no payout of that amount to my bank account.

[kare-bearb]

Any chance that you initiated the refund BEFORE the hold was released?

Even seconds matter.

[amane8]

I don't think it would have been possible for the hold to have been released while the buyer opened the return request - the buyer opened an 'item not as described' return so ebay initiated the hold for that reason. I believe, though I'm not 100% sure - that the act of offering the refund in the return case and the buyer accepting that resolution is what triggered the release, if that makes sense.

In any case, you only have two days to respond to your return case before ebay steps in, so it could have turned out that the hold wasn't released until after than 2 day limit anyway.