Paypal gets instant refund from reluctant retailer

We often advise readers to use Paypal’s Buyer Protection ( www.snipca.com/24258), so we’re delighted that it has come to the rescue of Jenny Prentiss, whose case we covered in Issue 501. She had returned her faulty Asus laptop to the retailer, which then sent it to Asus for repair. That was over two months ago. The retailer kept insisting that the laptop would be returned “within days”, but Jenny got fed up with waiting and contacted us.

We couldn’t get a response from the retailer, so asked Jenny how she had paid for the laptop. When she said Paypal, we advised her to immediately open a dispute through the service (for instructions visit www.snipca.com/24260, see screenshot). Paypal then contacted the retailer with Jenny’s details, asking it to resolve the dispute. A couple of days later the retailer phoned Jenny to say that she could have a full refund (£1,000), or receive a repaired laptop with £200 compensation as an apology. She took the full refund, and was paid through Paypal within 24 hours.

Even had the company refused to refund Jenny, Paypal would have returned her money if it ruled in her favour. It would then have chased the retailer for the amount.