Merchant Agreed to Issue Refund in writing, then changed their mind.

[fieala]

My wife purchased admission to what she thought was an online event, but turned out to be a live event at a location she could never attend.  Even though there was a no-refund policy, the merchant sent her a written confirmation that they would issue her a refund.  As time went by and the refund never appeared, she disputed the charge to PayPal sending all relevant the documentation.  PayPal's eventually sided with the merchant and closed the case.  This does not seem right, as the merchant agreed to refund the purchase.  This does not seem fair.  What are her options at this point?

[kernowlass]

@fieala 

Paypal does not cover buyer remorse or buyer mistake.

She ''thought'' it was an online event, maybe check first?

Any refund would be up to the merchant as this does not come under paypals buyer protection policy.

[fieala]

Thank you for replying.  So you are saying that the written agreement of the merchant has no merit, and PayPal has no obligation to enforce it?

[kernowlass]

@fieala 

Why would they?

Paypal cover you for 'non receipt of item', no reason that you would not have received it or didn't receive it.

Or they cover you for 'item received but not as described', seems as if the item was described as a live event but your wife mistakenly thought it was an online event so the venue advertising did not misdescribe it. 

So as neither of those 2 criteria were met then its between you and the merchant to sort out.

Your wife made a mistake, unfortunate but we all do it, take responsibility for the mistake and move on.