I don't know what happened to those vendors or their money. However, I do know that if you choose to finalize early, you are no longer protected by SR or its escrow system. So in those cases of FE'ing, no, you would not be receiving any kind of refund. There is no way to "force" someone to FE -- so those who DO FE are doing so through their own volition. They would not get a refund because they should be well-aware of the rule against FE'ing which is an out-of-escrow transaction that cannot be reversed by SR.