Has anyone had a problem with OMIO refunding payments?

[Clare66]

I purchased train tickets through the OMIO online service and paid via PayPal. When the tickets were sent to me, they were for the wrong dates, so I asked them for a refund. They refused, saying the tickets were non-transferable and non-refundable. I said I would open a dispute through PayPal as it was their system that was at fault, which I did, which prompted them to offer me a full refund. They now say they can't refund me while the dispute is still ongoing, so I should close it.

This was their message:

"We have successfully cancel your bookings ##### and ##### and processed an exceptional refund for the full ticket price. However, since the PayPal dispute is still open, we are not able to complete the refund in our system. This due to that, every time a dispute gets open for a booking that happens to be in our system, a block is automatically placed in it. I kindly ask you to please close the dispute, so we can fully process the refund back to the original payment method. " (the spelling and grammatical errors are theirs)

When I tried to close the dispute, I got a warning from PayPal that I should ensure the refund is through before closing as once it is closed I can't re-open it. OMIO insist that I close the dispute before they will refund me!

Anyone had a problem like this, and how did you resolve it?

[Vinceyww · Accepted solution]

I am an attorney, but not an American attorney. My recommendation is that unless and until you get refunded your money in full, do not, under any circumstances, close your complaint. As long as your complaint is open, you have a leg to stand on with both OMIO and PayPal. If you close your complaint without having been paid, you have, for all intents and purposes, closed your case. Once you close your case under current circumstances, you run the risk of never getting paid. Stand your ground. Companies like OMIO value their public reputation and your case if it becomes public dissuades other customers from using their service as they run the risk of never getting reimbursed. Additionally, I suggest you go to OMIO's website and make the same complaint on their website, where their customers and potential customers will see how you have been treated. You impact these people through their wallets, which is all they are really concerned about anyhow.