Olympus camera 166409204997 Returns case 5327661781
I sold a camera (listed uk buyers only) with a stated serial number, on 31st Oct '23, but it was bought by a buyer in Georgia, Eastern Europe, with a delivery address in Finchley, London. This was of course a shipping company, in order to get around UK buyers only rules.
On 24 Nov '23 I receive a returns request from Georgia, with the goods having arrived allegedly faulty. I disputed this with Ebay, as the goods had travelled outside the UK and I should now NOT be responsible for their condition. Ebay however, sides with the buyer and issues a Returns label, goods to be returned to me by 14 Dec '23.
Goods WERE NOT EVEN SENT by that date, so Ebay closes the buyers Returns request on 14 Dec '23 .
On 30 Dec '23 the return label is activated in Finchley and on 2 Jan '24 a package arrives when I am away and within 48 Hrs, the buyer has appealed the Returns closure, Ebay agrees and refunds the buyer AT MY EXPENSE.
Upon my return on 5 Dec '24, I open the returns package and find a DIFFERENT CAMERA WITH DIFFERENT SERIAL NUMBER and also missing items that were in the original listing / package I sent. Plainly the shipping company has muddled goods/original suppliers either on the way out or on the way back from Georgia, via opening multiple packages and amalgamating into one large package for onward despatch.
I submit a Fraud Report but Ebay stonewalls all my requests and reasons for a refund eg. Wrong Goods returned and Goods received Outside stipulated shipping time limits.
Ebay customer service says that they allowed the Return request to be re-opened because the buyer was able to provide tracking details before the case was closed on 14 Dec '23.
Plainly this is UNTRUE, as the returns label serial number proved posting did not take place until TWO WEEKS LATER at 1028hrs on 30 Dec '23 at Greenford Mail Centre !
Ebay customer services also said that they would not accept any verification from me via photo evidence that the wrong goods had been returned as..quote " due to our platform being completely online, we have no way of verifying the condition the item has been returned to you. " Ritesh C. Ebay customer services 0728hrs 5 Feb '24.
This means I could have had a piece of wood returned to me instead of a different camera and the buyer would still be refunded !
Apparently if I had enhanced seller protection, I could PRETEND the correct camera had been returned but in a lesser condition, upon which I would only be liable for 50% of a refund.
It seems the stipulations in the Money Back Guarantee for buyers can be ignored and customer services will still refund them providing something turns up at some point in a returns package on the sellers doorstep !
To say I'm seething about the whole process is an understatement and Ebay customer services expects me to just suck it up !!!
I have about 1400 transactions, 100% favourable feedback and more than 19 years loyal membership and it seems to count for nothing.
I have all correspondence on record if anybody at Ebay can help me with the issue.
I am absolutely disgusted with the way my case has been treated after presenting all the dates and facts to customer services and receiving in reply, only platitudes in very poor grammar and links to regulations that don't really apply.
The word "condone" is one they do not understand - I received the following passage a couple of times....
"I have checked the case details and I want to re confirm that your report was successfully registered and our back end team has already begun a investigation on this. Be assured, appropriate action will be taken on their account. I want to inform you that we totally condone this kind of behaviour on our platform and want the platform to be fair for both buyers and seller's."
