Not sure if anyone has suggested that the next time such a thing happens after they have refunded ask for and don't pay until you receive a invoice via ebay for the item.
I can see the seller is attempting to stop you from claiming item not received because the paypal account isn't linked to the seller and ebay in any way.
Cheers for the advice. Yeah I've got little doubt now that it was all a deliberate attempt to try and scam me of my money. I hope they don't get away with it and I can still get it refunded, given that its a payment made outside of Ebay for an Ebay related item... I tried everything I could to make sure the description included with the payment had all the item details - ID number etc. and made it clear it was payment for that item.
I mean I know I still have the option of chargeback, but given (have since read up on it) there can be long delays with processing them, I'm hoping I won't be waiting weeks/months - if not longer - to get it back.
Can only blame myself for going through with it all in the first place despite my initial feelings of uncertainty, I guess. Feel VERY stupid now for not pulling out when I had the chance (ie. when they refunded me from the first paypal account) 😞
Good news!!!! The deadline for the seller to respond to Paypal was yesterday. They didn't. So, got this email today from Paypal, concluding the claim, along with my Paypal balance being adjusted with a full refund... 😄
Dear Nikki,
We have concluded our investigation into your case and have decided in your favour.
We were able to recover $190.00 USD, and this amount has been credited to you. Please allow 5 business days for this adjustment to be posted.
If you are due any additional funds, we will make our best effort to recover the balance from the seller.
If the seller's account has insufficient funds to complete the refund owed to you, please be assured that we will take appropriate action against the seller's account, which may include limitation of the seller's account privileges.
Can anyone tell me, with the "we were able to recover $190.00 USD" part - does that mean that the full funds were still sitting in the seller's Paypal account at the time? Or does Paypal automatically cover the full amount these days, regardless of how much is in the seller's account (ie. if they have already withdrawn it), and therefore the seller's now has a debt with Paypal?
Just curious about whether the seller did actually try to scam me or not...
You always get a full refund, sometimes they manage to recover it from the seller's account especially if a dispute is raised before they can withdraw it, if they can't then it may take a few days longer for you to get your money back but you will still get it all.
Many, many years ago buyer protection wasn't as good and you did indeed only get your money back if Paypal could get it from the seller and much of their wording in standard emails hasn't changed.
So pleased you acted when you did and got your money back without too much fuss.
Thanks Phorum_Junkie!!! I probably couldn't have done it so smoothly without all the help I have received on this forum from both yourself and others 🙂
Thank you so much to those here who gave me advice and support during this ordeal, I really, REALLY appreciate it :-x And needless to say, I will be a lot more careful in future when buying from new sellers!!
