Quick Paypal dispute question...

The tax man

I ordered 3 items from a big power seller last month.(18/11/08) 2 items arrived without delay but the third item never showed up. Contacted seller and was told it must have been lost in the post and a replacement would be dispatched(5/12/08) Still no sign of anything arriving so opened a dispute through Paypal looking for a refund on the missing item.
I had to use the only transaction number I had which contained all 3 items but stated and ticked the box with the item I had a problem with and explained my case.

This is the reply a got this morning....

Hi there, We apologize for the inconvenience , we'll issue a refund for the ************ equivalent price to prevent further inconvenience. However we can only initiate this once the Paypal Dispute is closed because you have placed a PayPal dispute for the 3 items. Kindly close the dispute so this can be resolved. We appreciate your usual cooperation.

Now I've only ever had a dispute over a single item transaction before so I don't know if they're trying to pull a fast one asking me to close a dispute.
Yes the transaction number is for 3 items but on the console you get to pick which item the problem is with and what the problem was ie not received.

I've no idea how things work on the sellers end when it comes to refunds but I can't see how they unable to initiate a refund until I close the dispute. Any sellers out there,can you shed some light on this

I know not to close a dispute until completely satisfied but just thought I'd put it out there to see if anyone else ever had a similar request from a seller.

jor el

If you close the dispute, then you're at the mercy of the seller. He'll be under no obligation to do anything, and you'll have no come back.

Pretty sure he's lying too, as he can issue a partial refund on any purchase. I'd escalate to a claim right now, and ask him to issue a partial refund for the amount owed. You can then accept this, and close the claim.