If Goods delivered after refund issued?What action can a seller take?

[orbital90]

I have a situation where the buyer has yet to receive an item that was sent first class and was due to arrive on the 26 th March.I have checked the reference  number on the receipt and it looks as if it has either been lost or not scanned.Normally first class service at least tells you that a delivery was attempted even if there was no answer at the door.In the meantime the buyer has opened a case against me.Royal Mail states that an item is deemed 'lost ' after ten working days .Easter bank holidays have compounded this time frame.I'm happy to refund the customer but what happens if the item gets delivered to the buyer after the refund has happened?The buyer in effect gets the item for free?Any info much appreciated.Thank you.

[**peaseblossom**]

There is no way of getting a refund back so you're reliant on the buyer being honest and paying again.   They can use any method you both agree, eg. Paypal or bank transfer.

[tobiasd4]

You have to refund buyer within 3 days of case opening or they can escalate to ebay.

You can't make buyer wait until RM 10 day limit.

Once you refund, case closes.

If item arrives then, it is between you & seller, ebay won't help.

[red_magpie]

This situation over late or non-perfectly describes how differently eBay treats buyers and sellers.

eBay takes the buyer's word for faults, almost without question, and allows buyers to return items for a full refund if they arrive even a day late - with the seller also having to pay the return postage.

Worse, eBay allows buyers to open an "item not received" case when an item is just one day overdue (despite the fact that delivery dates are only estimated, and Royal Mail doesn't accept parcels as lost for 15 days).

On eBay however the seller must agree to the refund within three working days, or the buyer can escalate the case for eBay to step in and enforce it (for which the seller is penalised).

If the buyer then keeps both the refund and the item when it arrives eBay does nothing to support the seller, even with tracking proof of delivery. IMO this is scandalous, totally unjust on sellers and almost tantamount to eBay turning a blind eye to dishonesty by buyers.