Hello, @Arosam and @Lisa55L. Thanks for adding your concerns about refunds here on the PayPal Community Forum. I will do my best to clarify things.
In general, money is sent back to the original payment method within 24 hours of when a merchant/recipient issues a refund. That means money paid from a balance is returned to a balance, money paid from a card is returned to the card issuer, and money paid from a bank account is returned to the bank.
However, PayPal is only able to take steps to move money out of our System and into the financial system. From there, we have no control over the time it takes for money to move through the financial system and we have no control over when a card issuer or bank might add a credit to a mutual customer's financial statement. PayPal does not hold on to money that has been refunded. I'm sorry for any misunderstanding on that point.
While most card issuers and banks add credits to a mutual customer's financial statement within a few days after a refund has a status of Completed in a PayPal account, our experience tells us it can take longer. Could it take up to 30 days (a complete billing cycle for most card issuers) for a credit to be added? Yes, that has happened. Is there anything PayPal can do about that? No, not directly.
While PayPal cannot affect money that has been sent out of our System into the financial system, and while we cannot affect how card issuers or banks operate when it comes to adding a credit to a mutual customer's financial statement, we can ask a financial institution for more information if it seems a refund is not on it's way as it should be. This is called a trace.
PayPal can submit a trace request to a financial institution usually about a week or so after a refund is issued (or after a transfer is initiated, if that applies). To submit a request to have PayPal trace a refund, please log on to your PayPal account, click Contact at the bottom of any page and then select the topic that best fits your concern to see options to communicate securely with Customer Service.
You may also send a Private Message via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/paypal) or you may send a Twitter Direct Message to @AskPayPal. Please note, Facebook and Twitter are not secure channels and assistance it limited to providing information and guidance.
I hope this is helpful. Thanks for your patience during this time.
Sincerely,
Michael
PayPal_Michael
