Seller sent refund as payment from different PayPal account instead of using refund link

[grandmas-great-items]

I opened a dispute after I didn't receive an item from a Feb.10 purchase and the seller is no longer a registered user.

The seller contacted me and said they would refund.

Instead of using the refund link on the PayPal transaction they sent a payment from a different PayPal account. I was charged fees and therefore didn't receive the full refund.

I have told them they were supposed to search for the Transaction ID using the search box and use the refund link in the transaction page.

I don't want to accuse the seller of setting it up to scam this back in the future but I feel like they will have the ability to dispute this payment in the future since it wasn't done via the refund link and it was from a different PayPal account and I will not be able to do anything about it, is this correct?

Also, when I get the actual refund from my purchase and then refund this mistake payment refund, will I lose the PayPal fees on this? Will I be able to refund just the amount minus the PayPal fee that PayPal keeps since this was the seller's mistake trying to refund this way?

[retroman_studios]

Did you open a dispute in eBay? If so, don't close the dispute. When you can escalate. 

If this is a scammer, that PayPal account they "refunded" you from is probably a hijacked account, it likely will be clawed back in due time.

eBay most likely removed them for a good reason.

Give us some more details as to your situation and how your disputes were made.

[femmefan1946]

they sent a payment from a different PayPal account. I was charged fees and therefore didn't receive the full refund.

Because you have used PP as a seller, PP decided this was a commercial transaction.

The seller should have used Friends and Family to avoid those fees, although technically... it's complex.

Really he should have, as you say, used the refund on the same account which would have cost you nothing.

Well.... there might be foreign exchange in there if the original listing was not  on dotCA.

Don't close the dispute, or if you didn't start one, do so now. Keep everything examinable.

Be prepared to return that partial refund.

And be patient. Either the seller is stupid or scamming, and you may have to explain this to a minimum wage clerk in a crowded call centre in Utah, who has never heard of Canada.

As a buyer, you will not pay any fees for a refund from a seller. Sellers cover all those fees. The buyer gets her payment back.

Well- again-- currency exchange.

If you go back to selling, be aware that Paypal is not refunding fees they charged to sellers when a transaction is refunded.

[grandmas-great-items]

Thanks for your replies!

Yeah, I opened an ebay dispute because they were NARU and it was about 3 months since purchase.

The refund from a different PayPal account is making me kind of leery.

Since PayPal will keep the fees if I refund the refund and since the seller made the mistake do I just refund the amount minus the fees that PayPal will keep? and then just go through the ebay dispute if they don't refund using the refund link in the transaction?

Is PayPal now keeping all fees and not just the $0.30 fixed fee when you do a refund?

Thanks again 🙂

[femmefan1946]

Are we talking $1.00 or $100.00 in fees here?

The minimum wage in BC is 24 cents a minute.

If the fees are less than you would earn at minimum wage, I'd just stop now.

Paypal has been keeping the 30c service charge for some time. I don't remember if they will start keeping the percentage fee as well mid-May or sometime in July. 

For me personally, it's going to be rare enough (all fingers and toes crossed) that the "minimum wage" criterion kicks in.

But I will be annoyed.

YMMV.