Refund for a laptop bought with eBay's 20% discount, what do I do?

LPerth027 on 10/08/2016 - 15:27

I recently bought a Dell XPS 13 from Dell's eBay store in the recent CTEC20 deal (now expired) 1. However, upon arrival, the laptop had a faulty trackpad, so I am returning it for a complete refund. So, thanks to their excellent (being sarcastic) customer service and making phone calls to them 7-8 times (I had to follow up each time, they never sent me a phone call/ email as they promised even though I made my complaint 2+ weeks ago).

So finally after talking to a CS rep, who said after I ship it to them and give them my bank details, they will refund me $2099 as it is stated in the invoice. However- I paid only $1679 for the laptop as I bought it with an eBay coupon, and I told it to him. But the CS rep was still confused, and said it would be $2099 as stated in the invoice.

I would not feel good being refunded with money that isn't rightfully mine. From my understanding, eBay paid the 20% to Dell, so is there a way of reaching eBay and paying them back the amount? Or should I keep asking for a $1679 refund from Dell instead?

  1. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/258279 ↩

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Comments

  • oscargamer on 10/08/2016 - 15:33
    +12

    if you have told them they should refund you a smaller amount, and they want to refund more, then that's their issue

    your call to them should have been recorded

    you are in the clear

  • hamza23 on 10/08/2016 - 15:34
    +5

    They should refund you via the payment method used to purchase the item, which was PayPal. This would also take care of the refund to eBay and you'll just receive the $1679, the $420 which was paid by 'coupon' will go to eBay. So just ask they refund the PayPal transaction instead of bank account (they are acting outside of eBay, which they shouldn't do). Dell would also have their eBay selling fees of $150-$200 or so refunded from that transaction if processed through eBay/PayPal.

    If they refuse for some reason and insist on bank account then the last thing you should do is ask for $1679 refund as Dell are pocketing $420 of eBay's money as such, it is better in your hands and you can then follow it up with eBay.

    • Perth027 on 10/08/2016 - 16:03

      The CS rep I spoke to asked me to send my bank account info even though I paid using PayPal, which they should be able to find. He said to reply with my bank details on an email he said he was writing to me just now (3 hours later- still not received). It's a shame I have to get a refund as this is a fantastic machine otherwise with a small hardware issue that many people have just ignored, but for $1.7k of my hard earned cash, I really expect not even the slightest hardware issue. But the reason I am done with Dell for now is their atrocious CS, even though I am eligible for Dell's "pro service".

      Thanks for the information.

  • sparkles on 10/08/2016 - 15:45
    +3

    If they process the refund through PayPal by doing it via the original transaction on their end it should reverse out the coupon and you will only receive back what is rightfully yours.

    It makes sense, as far as the CS can see you "paid" $2099. As a seller you cannot tell whether someone used a coupon or not.

    If you do receive back the full amount worry about what to do then. It is kind of dirty money, but it's not like eBay are going to miss it.

    • Perth027 on 10/08/2016 - 16:13

      If that is the case, I might just send eBay an email and tell them what happened, and ask if I could return the discount amount to eBay, and do according to what I am instructed from them. I would also ask Dell to pay me with PayPal instead (but so far they only offered payment to my bank account).

      At least then even if I am allowed to keep the money, I won't feel that bad.

  • v2 on 10/08/2016 - 16:16
    +5

    you should accept the 20% for the inconvenience given you experienced poor customer service.

    • Perth027 on 10/08/2016 - 18:47

      Lol, that would be great if it was from Dell. The CS rep has't sent me the email that the guy said he was "sending now", and that was 7 hours ago. And I have a "pro customer support" apparently, so I wonder how people with regular customer support are doing. Just 2 months ago I bought an Inspiron 15 7559 with $1.1k (EOFY sale) from Dell. I have spent $3k on Dell products over the past 3 months. Instead of treating me like a valuable customer, they have been treating me as if I am a pain in the ### to them. Oh well… Sadly most Windows OEMs are not well known for their customer service.

      But the money was from eBay Inc., a company whose services like ebay.com and Gumtree I frequently use. So I guess even if I have to get a bank refund, it is important that I make sure Dell doesn't keep the money.

  • jelko on 10/08/2016 - 16:35

    Who cares! You've told them CS rep that you paid less, if they insist on paying you the full price then let them. All the extra work that Dell would need to spend into paying you LESS will end up costing them MORE money. Just accept the refund and move on with your life!

  • wukachuka on 10/08/2016 - 16:38
    -1

    Just do a paypal refund and let the rest sort it out themselves.
    Doing anything else is a waste of time.

  • t_c on 10/08/2016 - 16:50
    +2

    Would you be able to maybe donate the $420 to say one of those disadvantaged people that sell the big issue on the street corners?

    • Perth027 on 10/08/2016 - 18:50

      I wouldn't feel great keeping dirty money. So, if I am unable to return it to the rightful owner (eBay Inc.) - I would consider putting it to donations.

      • MrMcHairyHead on 11/08/2016 - 20:38

        Dude it's PayPal. You deserve the money more than they do.

  • [Deactivated] on 10/08/2016 - 18:12
    +2

    Well… What happens with a cashback?

    If I paid the store $1,000 and $100 cashback from the vendor.
    The store gets the full amount back from the vendor when the item is returned. They don't try to refund you less than the CB amount.

    This discount is in a way an instant cashback.

  • Savas on 10/08/2016 - 19:12

    Wow a person worried about getting $400 for free? I wonder what people would think on OzBargain, oh wait.

    • Perth027 on 11/08/2016 - 11:53

      The problem is, it would be dirty money, that I am not the rightful owner of. I will write to eBay to let them know of the situation.

      • Gerry H on 09/11/2019 - 17:55

        dirty money is money obtained from illegal means, like pimping/dealing coke.

  • bobbified on 11/08/2016 - 00:29

    I can't believe I'm reading this…

    There's only so much you can try - if it was the other way around, do you think they'd try anywhere near as hard to refund your money?

  • Perth027 on 11/08/2016 - 13:03
    +3

    UPDATE: I just talked to eBay CS via phone. Since Dell has offered to pay me back via bank account transfer, I can keep the money.

    I would likely donate some/ most of this amount to charities, as I won't feel good keeping the money.

    • Obey on 11/08/2016 - 14:45

      Unnegged you. Great gesture OP :)

  • itmatters on 13/08/2016 - 09:18

    Donate the extra monies to charity. Win- win.

  • mitmiu on 09/11/2019 - 10:41

    Hi Perth027, Want to ask a question, I'm the same sitiation. Do I have to retset my laptop before send it back to get the refund? I tried to reset clean the whole disks a few times but it stop at 84%, then fail. Nothing change

    I'm good with sending back without reset. I have deleted everything, except face recognition login and PW to the laptop.

    • Gerry H on 09/11/2019 - 17:58

      deleting file wont clear them from ur hdd. u need a special software to truly delete the files

  • Gerry H on 09/11/2019 - 17:53

    well well well, arent u a unicorn. dont feel guilty, these are big greedy corporations.

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