Temporary Hold on Refund

[fruit_fling]

I paid for something through paypal (not on ebay) but then almost immediately cancelled as I found a problem with my order. I made and cancelled the order on 17/09, got my refund back on 20/09 but it a temporary hold has been placed on it. I understand that this has something to do with the payment actually being taken from my bank account. However, the payment has now cleared from my bank account, but my refund is still being held. Does anyone know how long it will take for my refund to be released? Thanks!

[kernowlass]

 A seller can only issue a refund via funds in their paypal balance or an echeque So if its an echeque it has to clear through to the sellers paypal account and then it is credited to you and the hold lifted.

This is because paypal don't "refund in advance" like they do when you pay for an item.

[PayPal_paula]

Hi guys,

When you send a payment using your bank account, PayPal pay these funds on your behalf. We then go to your bank account to recover our funds. This process takes 5-7 working days to be completed.

As you were refunded before this process completed PayPal put a temporary hold on the transaction. Once the funds clear from your bank account we will then release your payment.

I hope this helps

Paula  

[JBT]

Hi Paula,

Thanks for the logical and succinct response. Using the information you provided, is it correct to assume that once the funds are shown to have left a bank account, the money is in PayPal's possession and they  will immediately release the hold?

It appears that there is opportunity to earn exponential sums of interest on 'temporarily held' monies. In reviewing the PP agreement, I saw no mention of earning interest on money that has cleared a financial institution, but has not yet been credited because it is suspended in some sort of magical 3 to 5 to 7 day transfer limbo.

As this appears to be a topic of epidemic concern, it also seems apropos that the "temporary hold' information (rather, passive transaction consequences and letting PayPal earn with your money) be easily accessible, instead of apparently surprising. It certainly causes one to ponder investigating alternative payment arrangements for future purchases; then again, why should we think PayPal is more ethical than any other financial 'service'?

Thanks again,

JBT

[PayPal_barry]

Hey there, in the case of bank transfers. This is real money processing in real time; as a result clearing houses are involved in the process. Funds may leave your account after 2 or so days following a request from PayPal. But they must be then cleared through the banks system and then onto PayPal’s system. Hope that clarifies that issue somewhat.  We do appreciate your concerns though, and they are all taken on board. In fact other viewers and posters out there wish to contribute their thoughts and views to this thread, please do so.

[Timh250]

HI I also have a problem with this, all be it slightly different.

I have issues a refund from my paypal balance, to a buyer that has a temporary hold on a refund, even though this was funneded totally from a cleared paypal balance and has nothing to do with any bank transfers.

I am at a loss to expalin how this can be when I am sending cleared funds and not making an debit from a card or bank account.

I anyone can enlighten me that would be helpful as the buyer is not please about this and I can't see how I should be effected by this policy?

Thanks

[PayPal_lucy]

Hey there Timh250,

If the funds came from your balance, it is possible that the funds are still clearing from the buyers bank account.

The buyer sees that the funds have left their bank account and just assumes that the funds have reached PayPal when in fact they take the 5-7 working days.

If you have issued a refund within 5-7 working days of when you received the payment, ask the buyer to wait the full 5-7 working days and the refund should clear.   

[whonoes]

The answers provided by the PayPal team don't explain why a refund sent to my paypal account on 1st of Feb is still on termporary hold on 3rd of March... there is no dispute, it's a simple refund.

I bought some lanterns off a friend's new business for my wedding, and he very kindly agreed to refund these less the shipping cost two days later as a wedding present.  The original transaction was on 29th Jan, the refund shows up on 1st Feb, it's now 3rd of March and still nothing from PayPal.

This is why I tell everyone who will listen, don't use PayPal unless you absolutely have to...  $80bn in annual transactions; if they sit on that money for an average of 7 days (including both the payments they actually clear quickly and the tens of thousands in "dispute") then $80bn / 365 x 7 = $1.53bn.  Doesn't take a genius to work out that the interest on that alone is worth hanging on to!!

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to get my £56 back...

[PayPal_barry]

Hello, the process for adding funds from your bank/Instant Transfer is soon to be reviewed and hopefully updated, so that it is a much quicker process. The time lag is as much an inconvenience for PayPal as it is for the customer waiting for their funds. Please also note that our funds and profits come from the receiving fees that are charged on transactions atht take place all over the world on an a hourly and daily basis.

In relation to your refund. Please do follow the steps outlined here to find those funds.

1. Go to www.paypal.co.uk and log in to your account.
2. Click ‘History’ near the top of the page to see your most recent transactions.
3. To display more transactions, change the date range and click ‘Show.’

After you find the transaction you’re looking for, click ‘Details’ for more information.

By default, you will automatically be shown the ‘All activity’ page in your History log. If you wish, you can click on the links near the top of the page to view ‘Recent Activity’, or ‘Find a transaction’. By selecting the relevant links you can filter the activity you want to see, such as 'All activity (with balance)' or 'Payments received' etc. Good luck

[Derezzer]

same problem, this a joke right? i mean the person i bought it off didnt even recieve any money over paypal so why the did it come out my bank in the 1st place, why do i have to wait for MY!!!!!!! money?

[Robb187]

If people's concerns are taken on board explain why you still continue to hold on to people's money to make money on interest? You really think we are buying it?