How do I know funds exist in the vendor's account to fulfill the refund they've authorized?

[wiregems]

A vendor has authorized a refund which is pending. How do I know she actually has monies in her account to fulfill the refund? I have good reason not to trust her.

[Grimreepr · Accepted solution]

f it is pending, the funds are on their way, they will not complete until the funds are in the destination, whether that is your PayPal account or your bank account.  The money is incoming via an E-Cheque.  These take time to clear (7 to 10 days) for a national transaction and even longer for an international transaction. 

The fact that it is pending means the money is on the way and has already been subtracted from the sellers account.  All you need to do is be patient and it will show up.  If after 14 days you still have not received it, Contact PayPal support via PayPal.com, click help, then scroll down and click "contact us" choose the method you wish to use and submit the information.  They will advise you from there.

[wiregems]

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Since I paid by credit card, it might take 30 days, so I've read. But it's good to know the funds are actually on the way and not just "promised." since the refund was sizeable ($1500), you've given me some peace of mind. Thanks again!

[kernowlass]

@wiregems 

Even if the funds are pending they can still fail if the sender does not have enough funds in their bank account to fund the refund.

All you can do is wait for the echeque to either clear or fail.

[wiregems]

This refund was in response to a dispute I filed, and the dispute automatically closed. Can I re-open the dispute if the vendor never adds enough funds to her account? Will any funds credited to her account be applied to the refund immediately? Thank you for your time.

[kernowlass]

@wiregems 

You should never close a dispute until you either have the refund or item.

You should escalate to a claim if you are near the 20 day marker.

If you closed it on the promise of a refund and the refund is only pending then if it fails you won't be able to open a second dispute or start a new one unfortunately.

However do you mean that you did escalate to a claim and won that claim? Only disputes time out at 20 days post opening them.