Recommendation? Advice on PayPal dispute? - SOLVED

[David Mary]

I asked PayPal for an answer about the situation this morning, through chat, but have not had a response back, even though the system said a response typically comes with a few hours.

I have an active case against a seller (not knife related). I ordered a product, but regretted the decision and asked them to cancel the order and not ship it, as well as provide a refund. I also told them I would not mind if they keep a certain amount for the inconvenience. They agreed, and cancelled the shipping, and issued a refund, minus the inconvenience tax. But then the refund cancelled. The seller initially claimed the refund was not cancelled but the order. So I proved it with screenshots, but got no response from the seller. I documented our correspondence up to that point by screenshots, and opened a dispute in PayPal.

The seller contact me again, and agreed that I was right, and that their bank never released the funds to me on the original refund. They asked me for my PayPal ID so they could send the funds through another PayPal account, and asked me to cancel the dispute I opened. I said I would once they transfer the funds. I should have specified F&F, because then the seller sent me the refund using another PayPal account in China, but I had to pay fees on it, and it called for tracking information, like a regular G&S transaction. My concern is that they could later open a case on me, claiming that they ordered something and never got it. So I refunded it back to them, emailed them and thanked them for it but explained that they should send the refund as F&F since I am not selling them something and so that I do not have to pay fees as though I am selling them something.

I did not get a response right away, so I sent a simple money request (not an invoice) with the following in the notes: "Refund amount per our agreement. Once paid I will cancel paypal dispute."

They emailed me back, and explained that their Chinese PayPal account does not let them send money as F&F, and sure enough, when they paid my money request, there were fees again, which I did not think would be the case. And of course, it has a spot for tracking info.

How should I proceed? Should I simply accept the payment and cancel the case, and hope they don't mess with me? I would think that if they did try to open a dispute, it would be a simple matter to prove that their dispute is invalid, since my documentation in the case I opened, plus the note I put in the money request proves that this was not a sale I made to them, but a refund they agreed to give me. But I would be leery of opening myself up to such a dispute in the first place, and do not know how it would affect me in the time before it gets resolved (assuming they try to pull that, and that it would indeed be resolved in my favor).

So should I accept it and cancel the dispute I opened on the original cancelled refund (note I am not able to re-open a dispute on one that I have closed), or should I refund this payment as well and pursue a better way to go about this? And what would that better way be, if it exists?

Thank you for any info or advice you can share.

 

[WValtakis]

That's all pretty convoluted at this point...if you already closed the dispute for the initial purchase then you might just have to accept the payment and hope for the best

 

[T.J. H]

I’m sorry but I don’t have an answer for you. I don’t use PayPal at all anymore. They have convoluted policies, little recourse to make your case, and nearly impossible to get a person on the phone. They hold your money hostage and there’s little you can do about it.

 

[David Mary]

Thank you both for answering. So far I have had no problems with PayPal. I didn't close the dispute yet. I am debating whether to do so and hope for the best or to refund the money and find another way. But it is looking more and more like it will be the former.

 

[crn3371]

I agree, seems awfully convoluted. TBS, if the refund you’ve received is acceptable I’d just take it, walk away, and chalk it all up to experience.

 

[David Mary]

I did. I cancelled the dispute, emailed the seller, thanked them for their attention to the matter, and now I hope that it is over. I have sufficient documentation to protect myself if they should open a case against me, I just hope that we don't have to go down that road.

 

[charlesf20]

Good luck with that. I'm not certain I would have closed the dispute just yet.

 

[Peter Hartwig]

I don't know how much these fees are, but I might just take what I could get and be done with it. It would all depend on how much money in losses we are taking. But I am guessing you already put too much time on this, that could be used to make money.
I have heard of the no F&F in some countries, so I believe that is true.
Best of luck on this. It's a tough one.

 

[Jack O'Neill]

You ordered something paying with G & S , so therefore that is how it has to be refunded less the fee charge . Now the seller could have sent you a refund F&F as a separate different transaction , ie: giving a family member some bucks .

 

[dkolds]

I’m sorry but I don’t have an answer for you. I don’t use PayPal at all anymore. They have convoluted policies, little recourse to make your case, and nearly impossible to get a person on the phone. They hold your money hostage and there’s little you can do about it.

What do you use that’s better? Just curious.

 

[T.J. H]

What do you use that’s better? Just curious.

Right now I only accept Zelle or Apple Cash. It’s not a perfect solution, but on my end it works great. I understand a potential buyers trepidation as their basically unprotected. Positive feedback is crucial in earning a potential buyers trust.