"The payment was refunded before it was debited from your account."

[tomo981]

Hi! I bought something on eBay earlier, but cancelled it within minutes as the description was deceptive. Surprisingly enough the seller agreed to cancel very quickly, and I've now got the message "The payment was refunded before it was debited from your account." on the refund status page for the transaction. Is there any chance my account will still be debited? I remember making a purchase on eBay a month or so back; this was cancelled by the seller and refunded within a day or so of the purchase with my account not yet being debited. Despite this, the money was still debited from my bank account (and subsequently refunded within PayPal guidelines for time). I'm just fairly worried PayPal might still debit my account despite the quick cancellation, as I'll need this money to purchase something in the near future and cannot wait to be refunded per PayPal's normal timeframe. Thanks in advance 🙂

[kernowlass]

@tomo981 

Normally when you cancel a payment those funds can't do a u-turn > they have to process through to paypal who will as the transaction was cancelled return them to your funding source (if you paid from your bank account or with a card), or credit your paypal balance (if it was funded from that balance), but that takes a few days and sometimes up to a week.
You may have been lucky and it didn't have time to process, just have to wait and see really.

[Natemare117]

@kernowlass I have experienced a similar issue. Made a purchase on steam, refunded because I got its title confused for another game I wanted.

I got 1.95 back into my Paypal from a total of 24.33. My bank account has nothing on hold, and I don't see anything having been removed. I'd like to know if I'm in the clear, and why only a fraction of the refund has appeared.

[PayPal_DerrickD]

Hi @Natemare117,

We appreciate you taking the time to reach out for support. In regards to your refund, it sounds like the original payment method may have been split up between your bank and your PayPal balance. This may explain why the $1.95 is already back in your PayPal balance. If the remaining portion of this payment was funded through your bank, it can take about 4-7 business days to receive the refund back in your bank. If more than 7 business days go by and you still don't see your refund, I recommend contacting customer service directly so that they can review the transaction further and determine the status of your refund. 

I hope this helps!

-Derrick