Question Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof in Selling on eBay DND

need some help..anxiety through the roof

ninaswfc68 — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 15:33:23 GMT

I sold a mobile phone on ebay (reluctanctly) but needed the money. I got proof of postage and proof of delivery to a click and collect Argos store. 5 days after delvery the buyer messaged and asked if id sent the phone. Told him it was waiting for him at the Argos and sent him proof. He came back to me the next day saying the phone wasnt there and the manager had informed him it must have been stolen and to go back to the seller (me) for a refund. The next thing i know hes put in a case with Ebay for a refund. I sent off the proof of postage and delivery but now Ebay have gone with the buyer and granted him a full refund. It was £335 and i dont have that kind of money. I have put in an appeal. I just want to know where i stand on this. I did my part, got proof of postage and delivery and i only have his word that the phone is not in his possession. Any advice gratefully received

Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof

ruby*tuesday — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 15:54:29 GMT

Did you enter your Tracking Number into the Case? Something has gone a miss here. Presumably EBay sent the Collection Code to your Buyer. They must have known that the Phone had been delivered to ARGOS.

Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof

**peaseblossom** — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 15:49:02 GMT

If the tracking shows delivery to the required address ebay should not be refunding the buyer's money. Carry on with the appeal and also try contacting ebay direct. Go to the very bottom of this for live chat and phone options:

https://ocsnext.ebay.co.uk/ocs/cusr?query=1455

If no joy it might be worth emailing a tabloid newspaper, or similar. See if someone will take up your story. eBay might relent if faced with bad publicity.

Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof

tsmgmd — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 15:52:02 GMT

My first phone call would be to the manager at Argos to confirm the buyers story, don't forget to get his name.. If he says the item was stolen inform him you will be contacting the police regarding the theft.

But don't be surprised if he denies all knowledge.

For advice on how to deal with eBay I am sure other responders wll be posting here shortly.

Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof

ruby*tuesday — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 15:56:48 GMT

Makes you wonder if this was a a stitch up. Buyer and Manager are one of the same??? 🙂

Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof

ninaswfc68 — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 16:07:40 GMT

thanks for replying. Yes gave them tracking number and photo pf signature. he messaged me 5 days after delivery asking if i had sent the phone as he hadnt heard anything. I told him it was delivered 5 days previously. he came back to me the next day saying it wasnt there then put in a claim. I sent Ebay my proof of postage and delivery and havent heard anyhting for weeks then got an email today saying they had gone in favour of the buyer so i put in an appeal. Its alot of money to me.

Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof

trusted-brands-uk — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 16:09:48 GMT

Your best bet is to enlist the Argos Managers aid and advise him you are claiming against them for it's loss, then write to Ebay a letter telling them what you are doing, send all copy letters or email of this to the buyer and promise the buyer a refund from your Argos monies after your receipt of it. Argos will be insured but might pay out the loss themselves. tell all concerned your hands are tied, that you will not pay this sum and throw the onus on Argos to do so. Redirect all letters and emails to Argos, and threaten them with paying you compensation for your correspondence fees of £40-00 per letter or emails sent. Ebay do not make on the spot decisions, your complaint will be given a 10 digit number and filed away for an answer in the year 2021, I for instance, bought an item for £84-00, they were not as described (he had pinched them out of a skip) Ebay ordered a refund, the buyer ignored ebay ruling and I never ever got a refund. If the seller asked for it to be sent to Argos then they are his agents not yours, if you offered Argos then they are your agents.

Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof

m25jet — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 16:14:06 GMT

In addition to the advice that has already been given in relation to this query, if you have a tracking number and have added it to the case by now then keep tabs on that tracking number and make sure that this isn't just an attempt by the buyer to screw you over by pretending that the parcel never arrived at the Argos store, as there have been cases documented on the forums in the past of buyers opening Item Not Received cases and then collecting the item after eBay have issued them with a total refund. eBay are too quick to refund buyers the moment they make allegations of non-receipt unless the seller can prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the buyer has definitely received the item, and for that you need full tracking that shows successful delivery to the address provided on the PayPal confirmation of payment e-mail, and ideally a signature upon delivery of the item. If you had that as evidence to use against the buyer then you'd be able to blow the buyer's allegations of non-receipt right out of the water and eBay would decide the case in your favour. The buyer would also not be able to leave you any feedback if you won the case, and even if he/she left you negative feedback before a decision had been made on the case, if eBay closed the case in your favour then you could get rid of the buyer's negative feedback by contacting eBay as quickly as possible after winning the case and asking them to remove the buyer's negative feedback in relation to the transaction.

Although this next piece of advice is not going to be of any use to you with regards to this transaction, if at any time in the future you sell anything else for a similar price on eBay then post the item using a service such as Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed By 1pm, as that way there's a greater chance that the item will get to the buyer sooner than would otherwise be the case and in the event that something did go wrong you would stand a better chance of being awarded a decent level of compensation (up to £500.00 in compensation, if I remember correctly), as opposed to just receving something like a book of postage stamps by way of compensation, which is probably all you'd get if you had used an alternative but less expensive Royal Mail postage service and ended up having to put in a complaint to Royal Mail that the item ended up getting lost in transit.

Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof

papso22 — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 16:16:06 GMT

You don't send them anything, you enter the details in the case, did you do that? You should also have entered the tracking against the item when you sold it.

Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof

ruby*tuesday — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 16:18:16 GMT

Yes it is. Something has gone wrong here. Ebay issued the Collection Code. Buyer has 7 days to Collect. If he didn't Collect in 7 days the Phone should have been Returned to you. Something very wrong with this???

Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof

ninaswfc68 — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 16:22:25 GMT

yes i entered the tracking number when i sent the item and into the case. i even sent the buyer the trcking number again when he first contacted me about postage

Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof

m25jet — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 16:35:35 GMT

Given that you said in the first response to Ruby*Tuesday's reply that the tracking number shows a signature contact eBay Customer Services, ideally using the Call Me option so that you can speak to a person instead of relying on an automated robot, and explain everything to the eBay representative who calls you back. Give him/her the tracking number for this item and say something like "Put a trace on that tracking number for yourself and you'll see that it was delivered and signed for. Given the fact that eBay decided the case against me, despite tracking proving successful delivery, I would like to request that the original decision be reversed." If you are lucky enough to get throug to somebody with an ounce of sense and he/she checks the tracking and realises that the tracking does indeed prove successful delivery to the address you were given then the original decision ought to be overturned, in which case eBay will issue you with a total refund of the money they refunded to the buyer. You also ought to be able to get rid of any negative feedback from the buyer, and the defect should also be removed from your account as well.

Good luck with successfully appealing this case - if you need any further advice please post back on the forums for some additional help.

Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof

red_magpie — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 17:07:48 GMT

This should not have happened. From eBay's Click and Collect guidance to sellers: "When a buyer chooses Click & Collect, we automatically update the delivery address to that of their chosen eBay Collection Point". Provided you uploaded the tracking number as required, proof of delivery to your buyer's selected Argos store, this should satisfy eBay's requirement to prove that the item was delivered.

My worry is whether you complied with eBay's requirement to uploaded the tracking number to the sold section of "My eBay" when marking the item as delivered, or at least before the latest estimated delivery date?

If you did, and the tracking number confirms delivery to Argos, eBay has not complied with it's own money back guarantee. Hopefully, your appeal will succeed. If it doesn't, I suggest that you start by setting out the facts in writing to eBay's head office address (see the user agreement) by recorded delivery post. If you don't get a satisfactory response, for the sum involved you should consider taking legal action through the small claims court or the Courts and Tribunals internet based money claim service, see: https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome.

If you overlooked to upload the tracking number as required I'm afraid you won't have a leg to stand on if eBay turns down your appeal.

Your only hope then would be to write a letter of complaint to Argos, their head office, not the local shop. You can point out that eBay has required you to refund the buyer in full, and that Argos should now take responsibility for the loss of this parcel while in their custody. If possible, take advice from a solicitor first. It's complicated, as any legal agreement Argos has for this scheme will be with eBay, not you, and you have no way of knowing whether or not Argos is made liable for loss or damage to items within their store.

Good luck!

Re: need some help..anxiety through the roof

rusticrye — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 18:01:48 GMT

What do you mean by "I sent off the proof of postage and delivery...?" You don't send it anywhere - you keep that for your records, and to lodge a claim with the carrier for loss or damage in transit.

You should have entered the tracking number into the opened case. Either you failed to do that, or you didn't enter the tracking number into the case in the required place, or you did but the tracking number didn't prove delivery to the address on the PayPal payment confirmation email. Those are the only reasons that would explain Ebay refunding the buyer rather than closing the case in your favour.

Do any of these ring any bells...?

@ninaswfc68