Buyer left negative, wants to revise feedback but unable to due to age

[neil-simulant]

Just had a double negative left with no prior contact, items are 1 day late at this point. Contacted the buyer asking why they left a negative without contacting me first. Just said items not arrived so bad service. I explained that items were dispatched on time and unfortunately there are delays with royal mail. Claimed never had late items before and asked if I was posting items from africa ( hmmmm).

Said I would refund in full for items if they wouldnt mind altering to positive feedback but could still put item not recieved but full refund given. Guy then said he was old and couldnt figure out how to revise feedback. Then said dont worry about its only £13, if its only £13 why jump straight to a negative.

So my question is where do I stand on this where a buyer want to revise the feedback but does not have the capability of doing so? Would appreciate any advice before I speak to ebay directly. 

So summarise Buyer left negative, wants to change it but is unable to how to figure out the revise feedback mechanism. I have to tried to explain the process but have no made any progress with them. advice please.

[tressygirl]

Have you sent them 2 feedback revisions?

 If not do so now, and explain they will find this in their eBay messages, they just need to fill in the relevant boxes /  answer relevant questions , and submit back to you.

@neil-simulant 

[neil-simulant]

Yes I have sent 2 separate feedback revisions and explained that they can either use there email or go through ebay messages to access the revisions. I have also explained the whole process but they say the text is too small on ebays app and they dont access there email. 

[tressygirl · Accepted solution]

Oh crumbs little else you can do, not sure if contacting eBay Customer Services would help, as they do have access to all messages sent through eBay.

Perhaps when they can see the buyer wishing to change the feedback but finding it hard to see on the app how to complete the feedback revisions, maybe,  just maybe they can help remove those negs?

No guarantees of course,  but worth asking, but only do so very first thing in the morning when lines first open for ' live agents ',  that is,  9 a.m. on weekends and 8 a.m. on weekdays,  as there's more chance of Dublin answering.  Only speak to them.  It's a Call Back system,  so you'll hear if it's ' Ireland calling!'

This is the easiest and quickest way to contact eBay Customer Services, for a Call Back option.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid

Lines open 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. on weekdays

9 a.m. - 6 p.m. on weekends.

Automated agents will be available on chat outside of the above hours.

@neil-simulant 

[thesmokingrunner]

Ok, let me see if I've got this right: the buyer is using the App and can see well enough to leave negative feedback but they can't see well enough to revise it?

Bull. I'd say the buyer has no intention of revising their feedback and is probably hoping that you refund in full anyway (by the way, genuine though your offer might have been it could be taken as attempted feedback blackmail).

Personally I think it's unlikely that you'll be able to get the feedback removed as the items are, according to your original post, a day late today and the feedback left does not meet any removal criteria. Irritating though it is I think your best course of action would be to leave factual but polite feedback response, deal with any case if and when one is opened and, like Elsa in Frozen, let it go.

And block the buyer.

[don.g.ovany]

Hi

Suggest you ask buyer to send you a short message to say that items had been refunded and they left negative FB too quickly. Phone CS and alert them to the message. I did this once when I had to send in two packages (and the buyer raised an INR before the 2nd package arrived a day later) and CS removed the FB. This was a few years back ...

[bravergrace]

Personally, if I were the OP, I'd keep well away from CS.  Or the OP could end up with sanctions on their account.

"Said I would refund in full for items if they wouldnt mind altering to positive feedback".

There are two problems with that:

- If the item is genuinely lost in the post, the seller will have to refund anyway, and can't make it conditional on the buyer changing their feedback.  That's a matter of law.  And it's a thin excuse to say "but I'm offering a refund now instead of in a week's time.  I don't have to do that.

- You aren't allowed to bribe buyers to change their feedback.  That's a very long-standing eBay policy. 

[tressygirl]

@thesmokingrunner  !!  If I now get that song in my head,  I'm a comin' for ya !!  🤗

[thesmokingrunner]

Sorry, @tressygirl , but you know what to do...

Let it go

Let it go ...

: )

[neil-simulant]

Of course I understand how that may come across in my poorly worded initial Post but at the end of the day I want to solve the issue with the buyer .I did not try to blackmail the buyer, I offered a refund and also stated that I was very sorry the buyers items did not arrive on time, I provided proof of postage and asked if the buyer wouldnt mind altering there feedback as I had proven they were posted on time and the fault had been with royal mail. The refund and the feedback revision were never presented as being the reward for doing so.

At this point they have not accepted refund, or opened an item not received case. 

[bravergrace]

Then you should be OK - once the matter has been resolved (either by a refund or by the items turning up.

If there's a next time, it's probably best to do the refund first and then discuss the feedback afterwards - though personally, I never discuss feedback removal with buyers unless it was clearly left for the wrong seller.  It's best to get CS to remove feedback direct if it qualifies - besides, a buyer who isn't good at (or particularly interested in) fiddly things like feedback removal, might conceivably make things worse than they already are.  

You might find CS amenable on the basis that the buyer was cross you hadn't provided something not offered in the listing (namely, a refund before eBay rules said it was due), but nothing is ever certain with regards to feedback.