My refund is still pending after 5 days

redrook
Contributor
Contributor

Title says it all. I was refunded by an online retailer last Thursday and I still can't access my money. You were happy enough taking my payment instantly so why can't I have MY money back?

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13 REPLIES 13

redrook
Contributor
Contributor

I have just noticed that my refund has been "placed on temporary hold while we're reviewing it". What's with that Paypal!? This doesn't sound like it's anything to do with bank times (the usual excuse) and everything to do with YOU!

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redrook
Contributor
Contributor

Just discovered this post from the archive which clears up everything.

 

"I understand we signed the agreement to use Paypal for the sake of convenience.  And I fully accept that.


But this is not a matter of simply "A lot going on behind the scenes" as if there are legalities that Paypal has to perform.  That may be what they tell you reps, but it's actually more of a matter of business strategy.  This is what I do for a living, so I'm quite clear on how this works. In my line of work, I deal with brokerage clearing houses, capital markets, brokers and banks.

 

Transfers could be instantaneous.  Absolutely instanteous.  Perfectly legal, and I transfer money instanteously myself all the time.  The problem, is one of cost.  Paypal wouldn't be able to make any money that way.  So I understand, Paypal has to make their money.  But there is no 'legal requirement' to hold the money 3 or 4 days.  That's simply not true. 

 

Paypal is in the business to make money.  The money that paypal has at any one time, they take a percentage of that and buy short  term paper.  Which is exactly that.  Commercial paper of the credit markets with a return for a very, very short time period for a specific return.  And I understand the 3 or 4 day time frame is not really Paypals "fault".  With prime funds where they are at, the only short term paper that Paypal can make any money from is on a longer time period.  Thus, that money is held for 3 days rather than 24, so Paypal can make more on their money; since they are dealing in very much a "volume" business.  At least until interest rates go back up.  So there is really no advantage to referring a refund case to the BBB.  Paypal i sstuck, because with prime fund interest rates so low, the only way Paypal can make ANY profit whatsoever is to buy longer term commercial paper for the return, which is going to torque off their customers in such situations that a refund takes place.  Sellers don't want to make their clients wait for refunds, so sometimes they are a little too quick to refund the money, before something can be worked out (that one has happened with me), and then there is the buyer in the middle. Paypal is just stuck with buying the paper that they can make the money with, so that they can continue to provide the service.

 

As someone that is waiting for my refund to clear, it's just that I resent that this is somehow framed in the context that Paypal could not (as if it was a legality or something) transfer the money sooner if they wanted to."

 

So there you have it.

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PayPal_Anna
Moderator
Moderator

Hi redrook,

 

Thank you for posting and welcome to the Community Forum!

 

I’m very sorry to hear about the challenge you are experiencing with the refund. I understand that having a refund pending might be inconvenient.

 

From the information you’ve provided it sounds like you’ve funded the payment with a bank account and it has been refunded before the original transaction cleared from your bank.

 

Let me clarify this for you.

 

When you send a bank funded Instant Transfer payment, two things happen simultaneously:

 

- PayPal sends a request to your bank for the funds for the transaction. It takes 3-7 business days for funds to come from your bank.

 

- PayPal pays the seller up front for you, instantly, so that the seller will not delay in processing your order.

 

When a refund or a cancellation occurs for that payment within a few days of it being sent, the funds that PayPal paid up front for you are returned. However, the funds from your bank account are still in transit. They haven't reached your PayPal account yet. As soon as those funds clear, they are available for you to use or withdraw.

 

You can also learn more here: http://ow.ly/K6Ogv.

 

I hope the transfer will complete soon so you will be able to use your refunded money.

 

Thank you for your patience. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Anna

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PayPal_paula
Moderator
Moderator

Hi Garrett8696, 

 

I am hoping by now that your refund has cleared. If not then you should consider contacting us directly so we can have it reviewed for you. You can contact us by phone or email by clicking on the "Help &Contact" link at the bottom of any PayPal page. You can also contact us on  Facebook.com/PayPalUK or Twitter @AskPayPal. 

 

If a seller issues you a refund and there are no funds available on their account or their bank do not honor the payment request then your refund can fail. If this happens we would then recommend to open a case for the transaction so we can help you get a refund. You can do this by going to the Resolution Centre on your PayPal account. 

 

I hope this helps, 

Paula 

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BRic1
New Community Member

It is not fair that PayPal uses our money to make money. In Australia that method of trading was long gone decades ago.  Traders can not get interest on such trusts accounts. We should not be using PayPal you are not covered in most cases and eBay refunds you too. So use your credit card to pay instead and you will be covered if it turn out to be a fraud.

Regards 

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Temp20230525GC
New Community Member
My refund is still pending to. I would like to know why but never an answer. I also would like to know what happens if seller issues a refund but has no money?
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HayleyD2
Contributor
Contributor
Im having the same issue, what ended up happening for you?
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shelia213
New Community Member

I returned 9 items to Macy's on Feb 26, same-store minutes apart from each other. and 5 of the refunds were credited on March 1. 4 of the refunds have been pending on my account for 19 days. I talked to 4 reps and one live chat, and one Supervisor SAM P (of course not his real name) who told me he once waited 31 days for PayPal to pay him on a pending transaction as if I was supposed to feel good about that since it is only 19 days. Macy's shows all credits were complete and that PayPal is holding my money. One rep said my bank didn't complete the credit. Which was wrong as well since my credit goes to my PayPal account and I have to transfer the balance to my bank. Then Sam P said it's an algorithm problem like algorithms write themselves and hold pending refunds. I think it is the beginning of a second class action suit. They just had to pay 3.2 million for doing this exact same thing.  So who do you go to when PayPal has made up 5 different stories on why my money is in pending. I told them they have the ability to do a manual refund and should so they aren't breaking federal regulations like they are now. Basically after 3 hours total on the phone on multiple days and multiple people, bottom like from SAM P, don't call us we will contact you when it's fixed. That was 6 days ago and as advised a total of 19 as of today they have held my 4 refunds. It's absurd they can get away with this. If anyone knows what other actions I can take please advise. I'm tired of hearing from PayPal I'm so sorry but can't help you and the best is when they saw Have a good day after they just ruined yours and wasted your time.

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uncommon_INTJ
Contributor
Contributor
I am also having this problem. It is after banking hours on day #5, and the money still isn’t in my bank account - the refund isn’t pending, it was marked as refunded FIVE days ago on the PayPal app. Yet, I do not have the money. None of it. And it is quite a lot. If *my* money is not in *my* hand in 48 hours, I am going to close down my PayPal account and recommend to everyone I know NOT to use PayPal.
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