This just happened to me also, 3 days ago. A customer purchased a crochet pattern from my etsy shop, then emailed me to say she made a mistake because she thought she was buying a completed crocheted item. She wanted to know if I'd mail her the completed item for the price she already paid for the pattern. Since there's no way I could ever sell a completed item for $3.25 AND ship it for free, I refunded her payment. Paypal kept 30 cents of the 39 cent transaction fee and left me with a negative 30 cent balance.
I emailed through the system, and though I got a message telling me someone would get back to me within 24 hours, it's been 3 days and no response. So I called instead and after spending an inordinate amount of time going around and around with an automated system, I was transferred to someone who had a very thick Slavic accent. I couldn't understand anything he said. So I asked if he'd transfer me to someone who speaks English as their first language and he gave the phone to a co-worker, who had a very thick Asian accent that I couldn't understand. After we all talked to each other without being understood, one of them finally said something I did understand: "Phone number for Paypal in USA". Yay! I copied it down and quickly called, but it turned out to be the same automated system that finally connected me with another person in the Phillipines, who I could understand even less than the first 2 people.
Is Paypal trying to alienate its American customers? Why is Paypal keeping a portion of a payment that is being refunded to the person who sent it? If I am not able to keep the payment, why is Paypal keeping the fee? And why is it so hard to get a response to an email and to speak with someone in the US who speaks English as their first language?
