Problem With Refund

[lovemypommy]

(This is my posting ID)

Got a message from a buyer that the item she bought from me didn't fit, so she needed to return. She promptly shipped said item and I received it yesterday. This is where the problem starts. Whenever I clicked on "Issue Refund" I got this message:

"There was a problem issuing this refund.

To refund your buyer, please try again later. If you're still having trouble, ask us to step in and help."

I called eBay customer service twice yesterday and received the same answer. The reason the refund wasn't working was because of not having any $ in my PayPal account. My bank account is connected to my PayPal account, so in the past when I needed to refund, even if there was no $ in my PayPal account, the refund would still go through because I always have $$$ in my bank account. Not understanding why this is now no longer a viable solution.

I was told by one of the eBay customer service reps that I can either transfer $ from my bank account to my PayPal account (this process takes 3-5 business days) which I can't do because I have to refund by 2/10 or use the "send money" option. I said "I thought sellers wouldn't be able to get the FVF back if the refund was done that way?". She said as long as I had proof (a screenshot) that I would be fine. Now, we've all heard that the reps say whatever they think the customer wants to hear in order to get them off the phone...consequently I am unsure (and frustrated!) about what to do. Unfortunately, I seem to be in a bit of a sales drought right now and some sales would really solve this problem for me!

Sent a short synopsis to my buyer about what was going on in order for her not to worry about why the refund was taking so long. She sent back "Hmmm, that's odd. Thanks". I hope she's not thinking I'm trying to scam her or something! 

PS: the rep mentioned other sellers were calling in about this issue, too. 

Has anyone been in this situation and how was it resolved? TIA

[upgradedendmills]

Whatever it takes, the first priority has to be to get the buyer refunded. Even if it means losing a few dollars in FVF refund, it still needs to happen. You might be able to use a CC through PayPal to fund the refund or if you know anyone with a PayPal account maybe you can get them to make a deposit to your account. How much money are you talking about to get this done?

[city*satins · Accepted solution]

Do you have a friend or spouse who can send you money?  That's what I do when my Paypal account is empty and I need to do a refund.  I generally keep my Paypal account empty, so if an item is returned I ask my husband to Paypal me $ and I pay him back  in cash.

I haven't tried to issue a refund with an empty account for some years now because it would go through as an e-check and then take so long to clear that the buyer would gripe  - eBay didn't count the e-check as a refund until it actually cleared and since now it's 2 days, I know I could never meet the deadline.  So that's my workaround.

[kensgiftshop]

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@lovemypommy wrote:

My bank account is connected to my PayPal account, so in the past when I needed to refund, even if there was no $ in my PayPal account, the refund would still go through because I always have $$$ in my bank account. Not understanding why this is now no longer a viable solution.

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I don't know why they changed it, but starting last December, we can't issue a refund if there isn't enough money in our Pay Pal accounts to cover the refund.

[lovemypommy]

Thanks, city*satins! Just did this and it worked perfectly 🙂

Luckily my husband was in a good mood, lol

Now that I know about this situation, I will make sure to keep some $ in my PayPal account. 

[this*old*attic]

It happened to me a few months ago.

I only had debit cards attached (although this was never a problem before). I tried adding my actual bank to Oaypal and EBay, and I just got errors messages. I tried transferring money INTO PayPal, and got error messages on that too.

Ebay CS, PayPal CS, and my two different banks CS had no clue (although Ebays reps said it was a glitch at that time).

A friend sent money so I could refund.

About 2 weeks ago I had a refund and was pretty darn nervous. PayPal let me add my bank, no problem... and no idea why it worked.

So, it’s some mess going on.

[this*old*attic]

Ahhhhhhhh, so it’s a legit (if annoying) change?

[cmdallas]

This just happened to me what was the final answer and what did you end up doing.

Thans

[squeakyvoice]

I'm having this same problem. PayPal won't allow me transfer money to  my own account in order to refund a return. It's frustrating and doesn't make much sense.  I've been on the phone with both eBay and PayPal, and their reps don't seem to understand the situation either. The set-up really needs to be improved!

[amberkelly06]

I'm haveing the same problem too. I have the money in my PayPal at least it says I have money on hold for the refund from other purchases of mine. It still says that there is a issue with this refund. Its frustrating. I haven't contacted ebay or PayPal yet.