Some shoppers who bought items on eBay through Microsoft's Cashback program reported problems in getting the money deposited into their PayPal accounts. eBay participated in Microsoft's Cashback program and promoted it during the holidays as a way for shoppers to lower their total purchase price by as much as 30 percent on qualifying transactions.

An online discussion started on January 24th on FatWallet.com shows some shoppers became so frustrated they recently began reporting the problem to the Better Business Bureau. Microsoft sent a letter on Wednesday to shoppers who had reported problems, saying the company had encountered a technical issue while processing some payments for recent eBay cashback purchases. "We are actively investigating the root of the issue, in close partnership with eBay and PayPal, and are working to resolve this as quickly as possible."

One AuctionBytes reader said he was owed over $25, money that was due into his PayPal account on January 17, 2009 for a purchase made on eBay in November. The program had promised shoppers that Cashback Rewards would be deposited into their accounts approximately sixty days after they paid for their qualifying purchases.

Another reader said she was owed over $100 in her account on January 31st and had yet to receive it - "I've gotten the failed failed failed messages from them," she wrote.

A spokesperson for Microsoft provided AuctionBytes with the following statement from Whitney Burk, Director of Live Search, on Wednesday: The Live Search cashback team is working aggressively with eBay and PayPal to resolve this issue, which has impacted a very small percentage of our customers. We're asking those customers to provide an email address and the details of their order here https://support.search.live.com so we can keep them updated as we work toward a resolution. We appreciate customers' patience as we sort through this issue and offer our sincere apologies for the inconvenience.

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