Hello,

I don't often run into issues but this time, I'd love to have some advice from the members of this forum.

I just completed a purchase online/return shop with Realitybasedreports. Very easy shop, I have done those many times in the past: you place an order online, take screenshots, return the product and track down the refund.

I purchase the required product using Paypal credit - since it was over $100, it allows me to keep the purchase interest free for 6 months in case there's a delay. The guidelines for the shop stated that any payment method was possible and said I would get a full refund.

Now, the issue started when the store sent me a gift card for the amount of the refund instead of a regular refund in Paypal. I reached out to the scheduler and she advised me to call the customer service of that store, which I did, through their online chat portal. And here's where things go weird: instead of refunding me via Paypal, like many other stores already did, the store is asking for my credit card information (number and expiration date) in order to process the refund. I do not want to give out by chat or by phone my credit card information, especially that I did not use a card to make the purchase. The scheduler (not with the MSC, it's an independent scheduler) said she would reach out to the account manager, I've also transferred a chat transcript so they can see my attempts to get a refund.

Besides the fact that I don't understand why the store would not want to refund me through my original form of payment, ie Paypal, does anyone have a contact email or phone where I could reach Realitybasedreports? I cannot find that information on their website.

Thanks!

This could be an issue between the store and PayPal. If you look in the General Chat section of the forum, you will see a thread titled "PayPal." I describe my nightmare with PayPal rejecting a credit issued me by Michael Kors. Michael Kors ended up sending me a refund by check. If this is the case, there is nothing the scheduler can do.

Thanks for your feedback HonnyBrown, I'm waiting for a response from the account manager. The store has a horrific return policy and I'm stuck dealing with them while waiting to see if RBG will be able to do anything. Needless to say, I'm never using Paypal again for paying online!

This also happened to me. It wasn’t a shop but I made an online purchase at Lane Bryant and when I returned it it was a huge issue because I had used PayPal. Now I only use it for items I know I am not returning.

I changed all of my MSC payments from PayPal to check or direct deposit with the exception of one. They don't offer any options other than PayPal. That experience left a very bad taste in my coffee.

Update : I FINALLY got a full refund from Paypal, but I had to file a complaint with the BBB AND threaten to take the company to Small Claims if they did not refund me through Paypal Credit. I cannot state the name of the company for confidentiality issues since I mentioned the name of the MSC, but my advice for shoppers would be to be very careful when using Paypal Credit!

Just to be clear, it was not a problem with RBG (on the contrary, they've helped me each step of the way) or their client. It was a competitor shop and let's just say that the competition does indeed need to be shopped!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/28/2018 04:49PM by charlhenri.

I'm a little confused. Did you pay using a PayPal credit card, or from your bank account through your PayPal account, or through a non-card PayPal credit account? In any event, if the merchant accepted payment through PayPal, you'd think they could just as easily refund through PayPal.

I have a PayPal credit card that I use often, and there shouldn't be any problem with a merchant refunding a return directly to that card.

I like PayPal, especially since they've divested from eBay again. I sell online and had a customer try to file a false claim of non-delivery against me. Long story short, PayPal looked at the situation, sided with me, and refunded the shipping cost that they originally had credited back to the buyer. I did have to refund her (the package did arrive, and she refused it, then filed a complaint with PayPal) the cost of the item, since I got it back. But I didn't end up out the shipping charge. Any time I've had a problem with an online transaction that has been paid through PayPal, whether I'm the seller or buyer, they've been great, with just one exception.

It sounds as if the OP's problem was not with PayPal, but with the merchant the item was purchased from.

I paid using Paypal Credit, which is a line of credit that is not linked to a specific credit card, but rather to your Paypal account. It's very convenient for shoppers, because it has special financing for anything over $99 (6 month interest free). So if you purchase something over $100, and evaluate the return process (which sometimes can take a few weeks), you don't incur any interest while you wait for the refund to be processed, etc.

My problem was not with Paypal this time, it was with the business I was evaluating. They refused to refund me through Paypal Credit, although the Paypal Credit policies stated very clearly that any purchase made with Paypal Credit would be refunded via Paypal Credit. The business was asking me for a credit card number to process the refund, via email (!), although I never used a credit card to make the purchase in the first place. It only got resolved after I filed a complaint with the BBB of the state in which the business is registered.

Again, not a Paypal issue or RBG issue at all.