Canceling PayPal account won’t resolve mix-up
Q. Recently I bought a guitar amplifier on eBay at a price agreed to by the seller. However, by the time the seller saw the payment, someone else used “Buy it Now.’’ The seller refunded my money, but because he chose the wrong option, PayPal fees were deducted. After a couple hours on the phone with PayPal, he got them to refund the fees to me. Unfortunately, they billed him twice the full amount (minus the fees). PayPal didn’t fix the situation, so the seller went to his credit card company and filed a dispute. They put it in the category of “item not received by the seller.’’ Now, PayPal says I have to pay them. Can I just close my PayPal account?
Andrew Weinstein
Concord
A. That’s not a great idea. Canceling an account won’t eliminate a debt. So, the key here is to clear your account of any money owed since you didn’t actually make a purchase.
After subsequent discussions with you, it became clear that despite your best efforts the eBay/PayPal (they’re the same company) issue was not getting resolved. So, I asked eBay to figure out what happened.
EBay spokeswoman Evonne Gomez spoke with her colleagues at PayPal and issued this statement: “Due to our privacy policy, we cannot disclose specifics surrounding the case between Mr. Weinstein and the seller. However, we can confirm the issue has been resolved and that Mr. Weinstein has been fully refunded.’’
It seems like this situation went in so many unusual directions that lots of wires got crossed. Thankfully, the combination of persistence and a nudge from a third party achieved a good resolution.
Disputes are not unusual on eBay since so many private parties are transacting business. So Gomez urges consumers to read eBay’s policies on dispute resolution and noted that some changes are afoot.
“We’ll be taking a more active role in ensuring transaction problems are resolved. In some cases, when we determine the seller was not responsible, we may refund the buyer at our own expense,’’ eBay said in a statement. The new system began in April and should be fully in place by the end of the year.
EBay also recommends that all orders that are shipped should be sent using tracking numbers and delivery confirmation.
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