Returns & Refunds, UK Consumer law
Summary: e-breaker raises concerns about eBay's return policies, particularly regarding the refund of enhanced delivery costs when a customer cancels an order without fault on the seller's part. They argue that UK consumer law does not require the refund of such costs. c_of_e84 and papso22 point out that eBay's rules often favor buyers, and that sellers agree to these policies when they create an account. jonatjonatjonat and others discuss their experiences, noting that eBay sometimes credits the delivery cost but finding direct support challenging. santlache_sales shares a story of a delivery issue resulting in a refund claim, and stevetheboat expresses frustration over bearing return costs due to buyer errors. Some participants suggest limiting express delivery options as a precaution.
There has been quite an impact on our selling activities on eBay lately from what is increasingly beginning to feel like carte blanche customer returns.
We already operate in a sector where returns caused by customers ordering the wrong item, changing their mind, or simply deciding they no longer want something are fairly commonplace. That is part of distance selling and something we have dealt with for many years.
However, adding further unavoidable costs to sellers every time this happens is getting close to being the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back.
A recent example cropped up again today and I think the issue is worth discussing.
A customer purchases an item and, at checkout, voluntarily chooses and pays extra for an Express delivery service instead of the standard delivery service offered.
The goods arrive correctly, on time and exactly as described.
There is nothing wrong with the product whatsoever.
The customer subsequently decides, entirely of their own free will, that they no longer want the item and returns it.
Under UK consumer law, the seller is not required to refund the additional premium paid for that upgraded delivery service.
The relevant legislation is the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, Regulation 34.
Regulation 34(2) states:
“the trader must reimburse any payment for delivery received from the consumer, unless the consumer expressly chose a kind of delivery costing more than the least expensive common and generally acceptable kind of delivery offered by the trader.”
Regulation 34(3) then makes the position even clearer: where the customer selected that more expensive delivery option, the trader only has to reimburse the delivery cost up to the amount the customer would have paid for the least expensive acceptable delivery method offered.
In plain English:
If standard postage was £3.50 and the buyer voluntarily chose £8.50 Express delivery, then on a straightforward change-of-mind cancellation the statutory requirement is to refund the goods plus £3.50 delivery.
The additional £5.00 the customer voluntarily spent upgrading to Express delivery does not have to be refunded under the Regulations.
Obviously this is entirely different where goods are faulty, incorrectly supplied, misdescribed or otherwise not in conformity with the contract. I am specifically talking about returns where there is absolutely nothing wrong with the goods and the buyer has simply changed their mind.
So the question is:
Why should an eBay seller be forced to refund an enhanced delivery service that the customer voluntarily selected, used and received, when UK consumer legislation specifically does not require the seller to refund that additional cost?
This isn't really about £3, £5 or £10 on one transaction.
Multiply it across hundreds or thousands of orders and combine it with the increasing cost of customer-error and change-of-mind returns generally, and it becomes a significant additional operating cost.
More importantly, when buyers know there is effectively no financial consequence whatsoever for ordering something using premium delivery and subsequently deciding they don't want it, the system becomes unnecessarily open to abuse.
Consumer protection is absolutely necessary.
But there has to be some balance.
If Parliament has specifically recognised that a customer who voluntarily chooses an enhanced delivery service should bear the additional cost of that choice when they subsequently cancel for no fault of the seller or the goods, I struggle to see why an online marketplace should automatically transfer that cost back onto the seller.
pillarboxred
·2 weeks agoNo wonder eBay, which cost some thousands dollars to set up, is now worth 56 billion.
dwhairandbeautystore
·2 weeks agoIf this has happened multiple times, I'd stop offering the option of express delivery.
I use either Tracked48 now or Evri if the item is cheap, but too big for RM large letter.
I've found most people tend to be more patient when I tell them their parcel could take 5 working days than if they expect next day delivery.
stevetheboat
·2 weeks agoI totally agree with you, there is no way you should have to refund the special delivery costs, my gripe is that now for some reason I have to pay for them to return and item even if they had ordered the wrong one, I have no problem paying if the item was faulty or I had sent the wrong item, but I am finding it very upsetting to have to pay them to return it when it is of no fault of ours I did not tick the box to agree but suddenly ebay have just added it to all my listings not happy
santlache_sales
·2 weeks ago · EditedHere's my latest...
A buyer purchased an item last Weds, it had Special Delivery Postage and was posted the next day (Thurs). Then the buyer was told it should arrive before 1pm on Friday.
Delivery attempted and nobody in, the buyer arranges to have the item re-delivered. This is all on Royal Mail's website and on eBay Tracking.
Today the buyer said it hasn't been delivered and he wants a refund.
This is typical of what have to deal with, and of course eBay's system allows it.
Regards
padanpcparts
·2 weeks agoSo I have also had a few of these. Sometimes the customer is buying a £5 item that normally has free delivery and selects Special Delivery which is a £10 service. They return it, I'm instantly £10 down. FAR more than I ever hoped to make. The maximum discount you can take is 50% of the item price, so in this case £2.50.
I've called E-bay once or twice regards the issue and to their credit, they have been very understanding and credited me the SD cost. I think with these ones, it's more a system issue that there is no function to do it, rather than an actual choice from the platform.
I've also messaged the customer a few times regards this and generally we have come to some sort of resolution between ourselves. If the customer give me grief at this point, well it has only cost me £10 to know i never want to deal with them again and block them.
Communicate is always my best advice. Nowadays, if a customer orders SD on a low value item I reach out immediately to inform them this is a non refundable cost and they are nearly always happy to go ahead on this basis.
e-breaker
OP2 weeks ago · EditedWell, that's very nice of eBay to recognise that they are being unfair (there may be hope for humanity remaining) however, they have now made contacting anybody at eBay to discuss problems impossible for me. 2 days on the trot, I have tried and had to give up. I simply do not have the time available to spend literally hours fighting a robot to allow me to request a call to somebody to get help.
ekotec
·2 weeks agoIt took me a while to realise, but deducting £5 or £10 for a missing charger when a phone is returned was actually costing me, because if you use the deduction feature, you don't get your fees back with the refund.
padanpcparts
·2 weeks agoAbsolutely true. I only ever use this option if the item is completely totalled, missing crucial pieces or something else to make it effectively unsellable. It also has to be over a certain value threshold. It is effectively the last resort for me.
the_brick_lodge
·2 weeks agoI think eBay permit you to make a deduction from the refund, although not sure if they credit any fees if you do this.
If you intend to do this it would be worth updating your terms on your listings to include such.
e-breaker
OP2 weeks agoYes, deductions are allowed subject to the item's condition when returned & up to a maximum of 50% of the item's price. However, in situations like this, where there is an additional postage charge, that additional postage cost remains outside the scope of the ability to make a deduction, and that's the crux of this situation.
jonatjonatjonat
·2 weeks agoWhere do ebay actually state you have to refund enhanced delivery costs on change of mind returns?
the ebay Money back guarntee only states a full postage refund is required where the item never arrived, or if it was not as described.
e-breaker
OP2 weeks agoAs far as I am aware, they don't state it anywhere that I have seen, but they do enforce the rule when a seller is attempting to make such a deduction. and that's the part that seems unfair and out of sync with UK consumer law.
papso22
·2 weeks agoEbay rules go further than consumer law, you agreed to those rules when you opened your account.
e-breaker
OP2 weeks agoThat's the point, sir. Why do eBay's "rules" take precedence over UK law? If they want to ensure a buyer has no consequences for their actions, then shouldn't that be funded from their own coffers, as opposed to unfairly placing it upon the sellers?
pillarboxred
·2 weeks agoGreed and they can.
c_of_e84
·2 weeks agoEbay consumer law is the buyer is always right and will be refunded in full.