Why is my refund pending?

[ErikaBear]

Why is my refund pending? I am supposed to get a refund for a product that I canceled. The payment says pending. So what do I just wait? The seller said I should get it between the 5th and 7th of May so if I don't get it by then or by the 10th should I just escalate it? Also where will the funds go bc I no longer have the card I used to pay it with/the bank account I used is negative so i dont want it going into my old bank

[kernowlass]

@ErikaBear 

Pending refunds can only happen for two reasons.

1. The seller has issued a refund from their bank account which takes time to process.

2. You funded the payment to the seller using bank transfer. What PayPal do here is credit the recipient on your behalf (so there is no delay in despatching your item). Then if you receive a refund in the meantime they are unable to issue this until the original bank transfer completes.

https://www.paypal.com/us/selfhelp/article/i-want-a-refund

Paypal automatically sends the refund back to the card used to purchase the item in the first instance.
If the card ACCOUNT that both cards belong or belonged to is still open then it should go through fine.
However if its a completely new card / account then it may decline so ask your old card issuer if they can help you recover your refund.

[ErikaBear]

Well the account is open but it's negative balance so I didn't want my refund to go into that account. The card I used to pay is locked

[kernowlass]

@ErikaBear 

It goes back to the card you used to pay, if its locked then you need to sort it with your card issuer.