Rant - PayPal Refund to a Closed Credit Card

fairyprincess on 29/01/2021 - 14:37
Last edited 29/01/2021 - 14:38

It is apparently an impossible feat to receive your funds if a merchant has refunded you via PayPal to your original method of payment, which is no longer open.

Made a purchase (Christmas present) in November with a credit card via PayPal. I then cancelled that credit card in December. Product then turned out to be faulty. I returned it, and the merchant refunded my original method of payment.

PayPal FAQs simply say, "If the card you paid with is closed or invalid, the payment will still be refunded to your credit card account. It can take up to 30 days for a refund to appear on your card statement."

Wtf does that mean? How can it still go to the account if it is closed or invalid, and how can it appear on my statement if it no longer exists?!

I then contacted PayPal. They informed me the funds should have still gone to my bank who can then rearrange to somehow transfer the funds to me.

So I called the bank. They advised that if the account is closed, then 100% the funds would have bounced back.

I then call PayPal again. They advise me to wait one day to see if the funds will automatically bounce back to my linked bank account. This did not happen. They had also suggested I call my bank again to check if they have somehow received the funds in that time.

In the meantime, I have also reached out to the merchant for clarification. No response.

It's now been a few more days and I have been on hold with PayPal for the last 30 minutes now, while they check. How can this be this hard? You would think this is a common enough occurrence for them to have some sort of process in place. All for a measly $45.

Ridiculous.

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Comments

  • Some Guy on 29/01/2021 - 14:49
    +5

    Not Paypal so maybe not the same but I had a hotel reservation cancelled due to covid closure. The hotel refunded to an Amex card I had cancelled even though I told them that. Then Amex sent me a cheque.

  • Drakesy on 29/01/2021 - 14:52
    +8

    Your CC provider i believe is incorrect, it won't bounce, it's not a problem with paypal.

    Had $5000 in Emirates flights refunded to my closed Credit card that was with citibank.
    Called up citibank and they indicated they'll receive the funds then mail out a cheque for the refunded amount.

    Sure enough 2 weeks later and i received a cheque in the mail.

    Honestly chase up harder with the CC provider.

  • thatonethere on 29/01/2021 - 15:10
    +5

    I've had it go to a close CC - like the other replies - just got a cheque a few weeks later.

    Also had charges go to a close Amex CC 2 years later and Amex happily re-openned the CC and started sending me the statements…

  • fairyprincess on 01/02/2021 - 16:02

    Thanks to everyone who commented! I contacted the bank again (ANZ) and was fortunately put through to somebody more competent who advised they can transfer my funds to a different bank account.

  • nzcoops on 17/04/2023 - 14:21
    +2

    Here is my addition to this topic.

    I will forever neg ANZ CC deals and link to this comment.

    ANZ credit card closed, two days later I received a refund from the Google Store (GS) for a payment made via paypal (PP) with my ANZ credit card. Paypal refunded the money to the ANZ card as per common practise. Three days later (so five days after closing, three days after GS PP refund), I call ANZ, card had a positive balance (I'd overpaid) but no visibility of the GS PP refund, so they transferred to my nominated account the positive balance. Because I had no other ANZ accounts, my access to everything was cut off (app, online login, all old statements etc), was told to ring back in a few days to see if the GS PP refund had landed. Rang back five days later, no sign of the GS PP refund. No it wouldn't automatically go to the nominated account they'd used for the positive balance transfer, no they couldn't notify me if/when it landed - just 'call back'. Another ~five days later, call back, GS PP refund still hadn't landed. ~15 days later (now 29 days since PP refund, note PP say 'up to 30 days') I call, still hasn't landed - I say, please look harder, can't see it. I say, please escalate to someone that can look, transferred. "I can't see it", will transfer you to "Card Solutions". Now, this person says "All refunded money to closed cards goes into a holding account, I can't see the transactions associated with that holding account, I have to request a very specific team to search THAT account for THAT refund", which they were happy to do - apparently, if money sits in that holding account for 30 days or more, they then return it to the original merchant. [How true any of this is, is anyone's guess, how do you trust one CSR over another?]. How is it that none of the four other staff I talked to knew about this alledged 'closed card refund holding account', how is it that the 'Card Solutions' team can't look at their own account?

    Current status: 'Card Solutions' member has asked the 'keepers' of this holding account to search for the specific GS PP refund I mentioned, and if they find it, they'll return it to my nominated account. If they don't find it, I am supposed to be advised via SMS within 2-4 days. [I'll provide an update].

    HOWEVER. Compare this to another experience. I closed a CommBank CC at about the same time (whatup OzBargin brethren!). Two weeks after closing, I received a moshtix refund for a payment made via PP (cancelled concert ticket). The day after PP tell me about the refund, CommBank send me a notification they'd received the PP refund both within the CommBank app (which unlike ANZ, they had noy cut off (no, I had no other CommBank accounts keeping it alive)) and via email, both notifications complete with details about how to claim my refunded money.

    Chalk and cheese.

    • nzcoops on 19/04/2023 - 14:08
      +2

      UPDATE: ANZ obviously found it, and it was in my nominated account within 2 days. 1.5h of on hold (with 'two escalations') to talk to the right person that solved it in ~3 minutes.

    • hotdish on 21/04/2023 - 09:46

      The problem here is that you just wasted weeks of time. Give them an opportunity to resolve, document the issue (keep notes of when you've called and who you've spoken to) and then lodge a formal complaint with ANZ. You'll get a case manager and when/if they don't resolve, you lodge a complaint with the The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). Your issue will suddenly get resolved very quickly, and in your AFCA complaint ask for the money to be deposited into your account plus compo for your time in having ANZ dick you around ($50-100). Works every time.

      • nzcoops on 21/04/2023 - 10:29
        +1

        Appreciate the reply.

        Not always that clear cut though. You have to have something first to then be able to complain, so you're at least making the first call beyond the first CSR. Their complaints department has as many delays as any other department, so that route could be months on months, especially if you then go on to an external (AFCA, and fill out more forms). I can verify this as I did lodge a complaint after the second call, about 15 days now and just got a text yesterday to say "sorry for delays, we're busy" etc.

        Most of my time was on hold while at work anyway, and if I'd missed the 30 days then it might have been sent back to paypal and got lost in limbo.

        Works every time? How many times have you had to do it, 2? 5? Surely not :P

        • hotdish on 21/04/2023 - 21:41

          Sorry to hear about your experience. It seems that i've been lucky, i've had all my complaints (4-5) turned around within 2 weeks.

    • Robot16 on 24/04/2023 - 17:35

      Omg I am in the same boat. It has been over 30 days and only today did a rep mention the credit solutions team and how it gets sent back after 30 days.

      • nzcoops on 24/04/2023 - 17:51

        Oh no, I feel for ya.
        Interested to know what happens from here in your case. Given the "sent back after 30 days" is just something we're being told over the phone.

        (Update) email this morning confirms a case manager now has my complaint, and they'll "send me something by the 28th of April"

    • rarelyscene on 08/05/2023 - 16:53

      Thanks for the tips.

      Currently 18 days into a wait for a refund to a closed credit card. Today ANZ told me they can't see it and that it has probably bounced back to the merchant (Amazon in my case). The guy I spoke to said a couple times that Amazon can alter where the refund goes but they prefer not to as it costs them money to mail the cheque. He then says after 30 days ANZ can initiate a dispute over the lack of refund, based on your comments I'm starting to think this is intentional so it is no longer ANZ's problem.

      Also a couple times I've tried calling them my calls have been met with automated message about "current events and we can't take your call". Will try to get hold of ANZ's card solutions team now.

      • nzcoops on 08/05/2023 - 16:59
        +1

        So I finally got a closing letter for my complaint from the complaints department.
        This part may be relevant to you https://ibb.co/pf6RyBP to provide some black and white specifics around their processes, rather than just what you're being told.
        Good luck!

        • rarelyscene on 08/05/2023 - 17:53

          Thanks again, got through to the card solutions team, I’m up to the stage now where they’ve asked for a couple days to check with the suspense/“keepers” team for the transaction.

  • webtonmoy on 21/04/2023 - 10:04
    +1

    Had similar problem with NAB. I visited a branch and they took notes. It took them about 2 months to resolve this, but absolutely no problem at all.

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