Refund a buyers 'guest' account...

[Elisek]

I have a really awkward buyer in Germany who purchased 2 items from me back in May.

They provided me with an Austrian address and asked if I could ship there, instead of the German address. I did, all was good.

A few weeks later, the items get returned to me because nobody was available to receive the package. He didn't know why the delivery failed as he said it was his home address.

He wanted to send Euros to my address to cover postage but my address is foo-foo and I can't accept mail there. I told him I'll re-ship at my own expense. I also pointed out that somebody needs to be there to receive/sign for it. He was very thankful that I paid the shipping out of my own pocket (it wasn't cheap!).

So I posted the package again, all was good, until last week when it was, once again, returned to me unopened.

I haven't emailed the buyer yet, I honestly just want to refund the transaction, re-list the items and have nothing more to do with him.

The problems I face:

1. The transaction is over 60 days old, so the 'Refund' option is gone. I could refund using the 'Send Money' option to his PP email address but...

2. ...he previously told me he paid for the transaction using a Guest Account. How could a refund work in this case?

3. I could send Euros to his address but is it likely anything I send will just get returned to me again?

4. He doesn't speak the best English. Bad to say that, I know (sorry!), but understanding each other is vital when it comes to money & business.

I would rather just straight up refund him, tell him the transaction is cancelled and be done with it but I can't see a way around this without having to contact him. And the problem with contacting him is he's quite forceful and will insist on getting the items he paid for rather than accept a refund.

I really can't be arsed with the hassle of it all. Do I have any (easy) options?

[Bunneh]

Sounds to me like someone is playing games with you.
How many ratings does this person have??

You can use the 'send money' option for the guest account.

The address he is using is probably ⊗⊗⊗⊗, and so your funds will more than likely get returned if you mail them to him.

What is the reason for the return of your package? No one signs for it? Unknown at address or what..

[Elisek]

The man and the address are real. Both are searchable/verified on Google.

He has ratings of over 2000 and, according to his feedback, he's constantly buying things from various sellers. Which is why I find it hard to believe he's paying for everything with a Guest Account!

Honestly, there is no reason given for the return. The only thing on the package is my original international tracking sticker and the one they replaced it with at a German sorting office.

The strange thing is, I searched the German tracking number and it says it was delivered in Germany on July 22nd. But then it gets sent back to me unopened :/ I wouldn't mind but its destination was actually Austria!

So, if I send a refund to the PayPal email address he used to pay, the funds will reach him? Even though he reckons it was a Guest Account?

I fully plan on messaging him and telling him about the refund/cancelled transaction after I've processed the refund.

What I don't want is for him to deny ever receiving the refund and the money being lost...

[Bunneh]

no if you refund the money as 'send money' he wont get it on a guest account.. since those are only a once off payment system.

If the refund button was available it would work but you dont have this.

[Elisek]

The other strange thing is the buyer hasn't been in touch to say he hasn't received the order yet - it's been over a month since I shipped it for the second time!

The only thing I can think of is to get in touch with him and insist that I am cancelling the transaction due to the package being returned twice. I'll ask him to provide a PayPal address where I can send a refund - I just hope he's reasonable.

I really can't understand how somebody can be an active buyer, buying things every week, and yet pay for all these purchases using guest accounts. He MUST have a PayPal account!

Anybody have any ideas?

[GreenBean]

Sounds more like a dropkick.

Why risk international shipments under these circumstances?

[Elisek]

Originally Posted by GreenBean

Sounds more like a dropkick.

Why risk international shipments under these circumstances?

I don't understand what you mean.

In the beginning when he won the auction, there was no problem. He won, he paid, then sent a message saying "can you please ship it to 'Address A' instead of 'Address B' as 'Address B' is my business address and I'd like to receive it at my home address".

He never gave me a reason not to trust him. I wasn't to know all of this would happen. I just don't know what to do now I'm in this situation!

How the hell do you refund somebody when nothing arrives at their address AND they have no PayPal account?!

[Bunneh]

Originally Posted by Elisek

I don't understand what you mean.

In the beginning when he won the auction, there was no problem. He won, he paid, then sent a message saying "can you please ship it to 'Address A' instead of 'Address B' as 'Address B' is my business address and I'd like to receive it at my home address".

He never gave me a reason not to trust him. I wasn't to know all of this would happen. I just don't know what to do now I'm in this situation!

How the hell do you refund somebody when nothing arrives at their address AND they have no PayPal account?!

When you ship to a different address other than the one stated on paypal/ebay you have NO seller protection.

How do you know his account hasnt been hacked? because someone with that many ratings, surely has a long standing paypal account.

[GreenBean]

Originally Posted by Elisek

I really can't understand how somebody can be an active buyer, buying things every week, and yet pay for all these purchases using guest accounts. He MUST have a PayPal account!

Anybody have any ideas?

Originally Posted by GreenBean

Sounds more like a dropkick.

Why risk international shipments under these circumstances?

Originally Posted by Elisek

I don't understand what you mean.

!

Sometimes it is not worth the hassle of an international transaction.

That was what I meant. Look at the mess now.

[rsot]

Originally Posted by Bunneh

When you ship to a different address other than the one stated on paypal/ebay you have NO seller protection.

How do you know his account hasnt been hacked? because someone with that many ratings, surely has a long standing paypal account.

@OP, read what Bunneh wrote - for future shipping, come to the forum before you do the international stuff

[Elisek]

Originally Posted by Bunneh

How do you know his account hasnt been hacked? because someone with that many ratings, surely has a long standing paypal account.

That's why it seemed strange to me that he said he paid with a guest account, yet seems to be buying things on a regular basis.

I've Googled the address he provided and it turns out he sells the same things I do. So it looks like he was buying from me so he could sell elsewhere.

But I still don't know how to get the money back to him!

[Elisek]

I have a feeling I'm going to have to email him, tell him I'm cancelling the transaction due to the returns and just demand that he provide me with a PayPal account to refund to.

[danshan]

You can ship and be covered as long as the ship to address is in the ebay messaging system for ebay transactions. Paypal only transactions are different you must ship to the address he provided in shipping address on the payment, notes and messages dont help for paypal only transactions. I would just wait for him to contact you and once he does arrange a refund with him directly since the clock ran out.

[Elisek]

Originally Posted by danshan

I would just wait for him to contact you and once he does arrange a refund with him directly since the clock ran out.

I would love to wait for him to get in touch. But I feel a responsibility to tell him the package has been returned for a second time. If I leave it, could he not get irritated that I didn't inform him?

[danshan]

I would just wait and really I would not refund it anyway other than back to the received payment method because if you send it any other way and he files a claim with cc company you are out. I would wait he will contact you and why would he be irritated?

[rsot]

Do you have his phone number to ring up?

[Elisek]

Originally Posted by danshan

I would just wait and really I would not refund it anyway other than back to the received payment method because if you send it any other way and he files a claim with cc company you are out.

The problem is the received payment method was a PayPal Guest account. He has previously told me that the account doesn't really exist. And 60 days have passed so the official 'Refund' option that PayPal allows is no longer available, so a refund via his original payment method is no longer a valid option in PayPal's eyes.

Originally Posted by danshan

I would wait he will contact you and why would he be irritated?

He may get annoyed after knowing that it has been back in my possession and I didn't get in touch with him to tell him.

[danshan]

I kinda agree but I have tons of orders and dont really track if people got their stuff until its an issue. I am pretty sure that method is pretty common

[Elisek]

Would everyone wait until the buyer gets in touch?

@rsot, no phone number. I wouldn't know how to speak his language anyway!

[danshan]

My vote is yes

[rsot]

Yes, then best to wait for buyer to reach out

[Elisek]

Something I've just found:

When he told me he had a Guest account, it was because I had sent him an invoice to cover the re-shipment.

When sending the money request, the only thing I entered was his email address. Thanks to the new (sh*t) PP design, I've just found the pending money request still unpaid. But PayPal have clearly showed his name next to his email address, when I never entered his name. They've retrieved that info on their own.

Would that actually happen if his account was really just a guest account? Or are they just plucking that information from the original order details?