"We can't process any refund at this moment due to technical reasons..."

howipig
Contributor
Contributor

 Folks,

 

I have got this message when trying to issue a partial refund to a buyer...

 

"We can't process any refund at this moment due to technical reasons. Please try again later."

 

I have searched for answers / resolutions in the community and it seems I am not alone. Anyone could chime in?

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howipig
Contributor
Contributor

Folks,

 

Yesterday, I have contacted PayPal by Twitter, (both by DM and its @AskPayPal feed). fill in the email form... in the end, I called in for help with a live human agent. The agent has tried to troubleshoot with me i.e. log in, log out, clear the cache, using different browsers... And I have got 2 different computers in 2 different OS (Windows and Mac) with 2 different internet connection from 2 different ISPs as well... still no dice. So the agent has escalated to the "technical team". Hopefully, they would resolve the issues within 24 hours.

 

Meanwhile I have tried again myself several times... same error message. I have searched for discussions of this specific issue and it seems not something new - tracking all the way back since 2010. Unfortunately, most have not updated with their outcomes.  Among all PayPal users, I do not know how significant it is because not everyone needs to issue refund at all.

 

My objective is to honour my promise to issue the partial refund to my buyer with the difference of actual shipping and handling. But knowing the issue could be dragged on for days if not weeks like one has experienced before, I told my buyer that I would send him the fund directly instead of the form of partial refund. A workaround but the prorated fees involved may not be recovered as with the refund facility... This is the story I told the PayPal agent on the phone about half an hour ago. 

 

Though he has been sympathized with my situation and insist "all the options are exhausted", I have a hunch the "technical team" should able to do more than just the scripted responses i.e. issuing the partial refund to my buyer. So the agent agreed to transfer me for a try.

 

I also have a feeling the agents are told not to attempt for the refund on behalf of the affected PayPal users... it is a valid concern from the perspective of security. After comparing notes with another agent, he understood where I am coming from and simply want to resolve the issue with the access on his side. Then he tried, it worked. 

 

While I appreciate all the help and efforts from the 3 agents I have contacted with, PayPal should take this specific issue more seriously. I acknowledge that nothing is 100% fail-proof but based on my own experience along with others affected, I do not believe PayPal have done enough to mitigate underlying issue (for whatever it is) and offer viable alternatives as backup.

 

I post this topic here is to allow other affected PayPal users to discuss, to share with their own experiences; rather than "read this notice sign and be patience". Surely, there are procedures and checklists for troubleshooting we are better to go through first...  this community message board is part of the resources for us to troubleshoot in my point of view. Hopefully, someone would find it useful with  this thread and able to offer some insights of the viable alternatives or resolutions. 

 

 

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10 REPLIES 10

kernowlass
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@howipig

 

Surely the answer is that they have technical problems and can't process your refund and so advised you to try later?


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howipig
Contributor
Contributor

@kernowlass

 

Greetings. Surely this is something new I am learning everyday 😉

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Solved

howipig
Contributor
Contributor

Folks,

 

Yesterday, I have contacted PayPal by Twitter, (both by DM and its @AskPayPal feed). fill in the email form... in the end, I called in for help with a live human agent. The agent has tried to troubleshoot with me i.e. log in, log out, clear the cache, using different browsers... And I have got 2 different computers in 2 different OS (Windows and Mac) with 2 different internet connection from 2 different ISPs as well... still no dice. So the agent has escalated to the "technical team". Hopefully, they would resolve the issues within 24 hours.

 

Meanwhile I have tried again myself several times... same error message. I have searched for discussions of this specific issue and it seems not something new - tracking all the way back since 2010. Unfortunately, most have not updated with their outcomes.  Among all PayPal users, I do not know how significant it is because not everyone needs to issue refund at all.

 

My objective is to honour my promise to issue the partial refund to my buyer with the difference of actual shipping and handling. But knowing the issue could be dragged on for days if not weeks like one has experienced before, I told my buyer that I would send him the fund directly instead of the form of partial refund. A workaround but the prorated fees involved may not be recovered as with the refund facility... This is the story I told the PayPal agent on the phone about half an hour ago. 

 

Though he has been sympathized with my situation and insist "all the options are exhausted", I have a hunch the "technical team" should able to do more than just the scripted responses i.e. issuing the partial refund to my buyer. So the agent agreed to transfer me for a try.

 

I also have a feeling the agents are told not to attempt for the refund on behalf of the affected PayPal users... it is a valid concern from the perspective of security. After comparing notes with another agent, he understood where I am coming from and simply want to resolve the issue with the access on his side. Then he tried, it worked. 

 

While I appreciate all the help and efforts from the 3 agents I have contacted with, PayPal should take this specific issue more seriously. I acknowledge that nothing is 100% fail-proof but based on my own experience along with others affected, I do not believe PayPal have done enough to mitigate underlying issue (for whatever it is) and offer viable alternatives as backup.

 

I post this topic here is to allow other affected PayPal users to discuss, to share with their own experiences; rather than "read this notice sign and be patience". Surely, there are procedures and checklists for troubleshooting we are better to go through first...  this community message board is part of the resources for us to troubleshoot in my point of view. Hopefully, someone would find it useful with  this thread and able to offer some insights of the viable alternatives or resolutions. 

 

 

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cannotrefund
Contributor
Contributor

Hello,

 

I am having exactly the same issue.  I have contacted paypal 4 times now - the second time (about 10 days ago) they had to do a partial refund for me.  I cannot make any refunds as I get the following message each time.

 

'We can't process any refund at this moment due to technical reasons. Please try again later.'

 

It seems I have to waste over half an hour negotiating their telephone options and talking to an agent each time I want to refund for too much posatge paid on ebay or anything else... This is extrememly annoying.  Three times thay have raised this issue with technical team and three times I have been told it will be solved in 24 hours!  I am having to apologise to customers for delays.

 

Paypal, you are in the business of transferring money.  Kindly recognise this as a PRIORITY issue and stop flogging me off with nonsense.

 

One very annoyed customer

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cannotrefund
Contributor
Contributor

having not haveing - i can spell!

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kernowlass
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@cannotrefund

 

If you make a typo or want to change a post just click on ''more options'' just at the bottom of your post and you can click on edit reply and change it.


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Kudos / Solution appreciated.
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jjbuckley
Contributor
Contributor

We are also having this problem and from all the instances reported in Community going back to 2010, I have not seen any explanation or posted resolution. Has anyone had luck getting this fixed? 

 

In addition to not being able to issue refunds under one of our PayPal user IDs, we are also unable to issue PayPal refunds in the ChannelAdvisor integration with eBay. Super frustrating.

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MasonM
New Community Member

So I ran into the same error message for issuing a partial refund for an item I sold through eBay. I called Paypal, was received by a clerk and then transferred to an account specialist. She informed me that I could not issue a partial refund on a payment that is pending (the money was sent to me on 12/27/2017 and Paypal is holding it until 01/16/2018) and advised me to issue a full refund and then ask the buyer to repay me the difference. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

 

/sigh. I'll just mail my customer a personal check with my apologies. I'll never quite trust Paypal with my business needs again.

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AMarinos
New Community Member

Same problem, dozens of efforts from different PCs, different browsers, different locations, nothing works. And the support from Paypal is practically non-existent, all you get is "read this FAQ and best of luck with your problems".

 

At least when I'm using one of my credit cards, there is an actual phone number, a real human being, with whom I can converse, discuss my problem, and maybe reach a solution. Paypal is completely opaque, and this does not bode well for the users. And of course its the exact same deal with eBay.

 

Such a pitty...

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