Paypal pending payments on Returns

[starwood2111]

I notice now that if a return is initiated for any reason by the buyer the payment becomes pending/on hold by paypal. Is this new or have I just noticed it ?? Generally all my returns are just to swap a size and in most cases the buyer doesn't follow up to say all is complete. How long before the payment is unfrozen then ?? 

Is it me or is ebay is the ebay culture becoming all about the buyers... ?

[pennyforum14]

It's been all about the buyers for a long time.

You'd have thought that when eBay and Paypal management separated, there might have been less collusion between the two, but it seems to have only made things worse.

[phorum_junkie*]

It has always been the case that if a dispute is opened the funds are frozen in Paypal. Once the dispute is over the funds will either be released or they will be refunded to the buyer if you lose. If it is a change of mind return and your return policy says return of item price only then the whole payment will be frozen and once tracking shows you have it back the buyer will be refunded the correct amount and the rest will go back to being available in Paypal.

If the buyer does not escalate the claim within 20 days then the dispute is closed in your favour.

[allfixelectrical]

It is illegal for paypal to hold funds for change of mind or remorse return reasons under Australian law.

They are well aware of this.

I suggest that if this is the case then you contact paypal and politely ask them to release the funds and if they fail to do so then you should file a formal complaint with the FOS.

If the buyer has claimed it is not as described, either by accident, or deliberately, then you will need to get them to admit that is not the case and close the case for you from their end.

If they fail to do so but don't escalate it and otherwise ignore it, then as other posters have said it will eventually time out and the funds will be released.

If the buyer has claimed it was not as described deliberately, when that in fact is not the case, then the buyer is guilty of fraud and you can pursue that. Sometimes simply pointing this out to the buyer in a message is sufficient to get them to close the case.

[starwood2111]

Its only customers wanting to return shoes for exchange to a different size. This is a very common return for me. There doesn't seem to be a mechanism to handle exchange on ebay. Ebay keep requesting I refund the buyer who has returned the item for exchnage. But there is no way of saying exchange shoes sent  and closing the return.... And so with every exchange I have to wait an extended period to get my payment because ebay and paypal only understand refund....

[phorum_junkie*]

It is illegal for paypal to hold funds for change of mind or remorse return reasons under Australian law

What makes you think that? Ebay and Paypal both have policies, terms and conditions which every member agrees to when they sign up. Do you really think both ebay and Paypal don't have a bevy of lawyers well versed in Australian law whrn they decide on the wording for the policies etc?

People used to say the same thing about ebay having a Paypal only policy but of course it turned out that it was not a legal breach, they had just underestimated the number of people who wanted to continue buying without protection and along with a request, not a demand, from the financial authorities to continue to allow other forms of payments ebay discarded the policy.