A buyer has asked to cancel their order; the request has been made after eBay sent our payout so there are no "eBay funds" to cover it. Normally this isn't a problem because eBay just debits selling fees/costs (including refunds) from the linked bank account. However, when I try to refund this order eBay is insisting on a card being added to fund the refund.
Sensing something was wrong I went to the "Payments" page and noticed the linked bank account was enabled for payouts but not selling costs (I definitely never changed that setting). As no card has ever been added to this account there was no payment method selected for anything. So, I selected the bank account as the funding source for selling costs and thought that would solve the problem. It hasn't; I can't refund the buyer unless I add a card.
I have no idea if the company's business account has a debit card or not and I will not be able to find out until next week. Even if it does I don't understand why the variable direct debit can't be used instead of the debit card (it's the same bank account). The company and bank account are only used for online sales i.e. eBay, Amazon and the company's website. This is something the owners and the accountants put in place to simplify accounting and they don't want to provide card details for a different company's bank account as it would complicate accounting.
I realise the answer is going to be to change the payout schedule to monthly so there will always be an "eBay balance" available for any refunds. I've just never come across this problem before.
Give me ambiguity or give me something else.
