Paypal refuses to release a full refund and is keeping the fee!

[artmaiden1]

I am so upset, on my way to deleting my account. Out of the blue I received a payment from a friend on my Paypal. She didn't know that I am no longer using the site. I am trying to refund her entire money but PP tells me that i don't have enough balance. Well, it's because PP is keeping a fee that it charged when she sent me the money! This is absurd! It is theft! I don't want the money, I didn't request, and I'm trying to refund. PP has no rights to keep a fee for money I am not going to use! Please help. 

[kernowlass]

@artmaiden1 

Sounds as if your friend used the incorrect option to send the funds.

If she had used the friends/family option then you would not have been charged a fee.

However as she must have sent it using the goods/services option then paypal charged you a fee.

Paypal no longer returns the fee you are charged when a 'buyer' pays as part of any refund that is issued.
Paypal processes your buyers original payment and then the refund for you, the fee is for providing that service.

[artmaiden1]

I will have the person open a dispute. 

[artmaiden1]

I had written a longer reply and I am not surprised to see that the internet is "reading" all of our words and censuring truth before we post. It refused to post my reply because I was stating that this is pure t hef t. 

[kernowlass]

@artmaiden1 

If that person opens a dispute then yes they will get a refund but you will still pay the fee !!

Also you will have a dispute registered on your account.

[artmaiden1]

With a dispute, will the person get the full amount? How is PP going to charge me a fee if they refund her the full amount? I don't care about the strike. I'm closing my account anyway. I hate Paypal now.

[PayPal_JonK]

Hi everyone! Thank you @kernowlass for your help and guidance on this thread. 

@artmaiden1, welcome to the PayPal Community. I'm sorry to hear you're closing your account and running into some issues with a recent transaction. If a disputed payment were to be refunded, and you did not have enough to cover the entire amount, the full amount would still be refunded to the buyer but your PayPal account would be brought negative. You would then have the opportunity to Resolve the negative balance with the options available to you at that time. 

I'm sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. Best wishes, 

 - Jon K

[artmaiden1 · Accepted solution]

UPDATE: I decided to call Paypal today on the phone. Got a really nice customer service rep. He not only listened to me attentively, but spoke to his supervisor and got authorization to refund the entire amount! Knowing that I intended to close my account, he suggested that if I closed the Paypal debit card, I could downgrade my business account to a personal account. So I did that. And now my family and friends can send me money and i won't have to pay a fee. It's all about finding the right person on the other side of the phone call. I am very happy and thankful. I have been with Paypal for many, man years, in excellent standing. He said that his boss noticed that and it was the reason why the refund was authorized. Thank you, Paypal! I like it when a company is fair to loyal customers! 

[Ocvettek]

What phone number did you call? I can't use my cellphone right now (broken, waiting for replacement) and I can't seem to find a number. When I click "call now" it shows a code to enter but not a number to call.

[PayPal_JonK]

Hello @Ocvettek, 

Welcome to the PayPal Community! We don't allow phone numbers to be shared on the Forum, but here's a link to an article with all the ways to reach our Customer Support teams. 

I hope that helps!

 - Jon K