Partial refunds- Negative feedback blocked? Or Not?

[everyfone-uk]

In the past eBay had a policy where if you were a Top Rated seller and you give a partial refund eg when a buyer has said an item is faulty in order to get a free return label and then when the item is returned it is not faulty, 

Does eBay still prevent the buyer from leaving negative feedback in this instance?

or has the policy changed again so they can leave a negative. 
Thanks Community! 

[sheba-knows-best]

I can't guarantee it but I believe it is blocked.  I have sometimes checked the buyer's fb left for others and seen that they did leave me a neg but it never showed up on my feedback. To be clear, I never asked for it to be removed. It never showed. Make sure to report the buyer though, just in case this is what causes the block.

[4_bathrooms]

You'll likely need to report the buyer for abusing the returns process. That doesn't guarantee eBay will remove the feedback but it would certainly make it more likely. Negative feedback is usually only removed if the seller had a MBG case decided in their favour or the feedback left clearly violates eBay's feedback policy. 

The Advertising Standards Authority has recently been clamping down on feedback/review manipulation, including unjustified removal of negative reviews/feedback. This probably explains eBay's recent reluctance to remove negative reviews and why - when they do - they often remove the comment but not the rating.

[everyfone-uk]

Thanks for your reply- I thought the same as you, until was speaking to a very helpful eBay rep from their feedback team and he seemed to think that eBay have reversed the policy of blocking neg feedback from buyers when a seller has given them a partial refund- but in the past it was the opposite- . I think we need clarification from someone at eBay. I will raise it as a question at the next ask ebay weekly session. 

[everyfone-uk]

Thanks for your reply. It would be great if eBay moved towards a 5 star rating ( similar to trustpilot) rather than a feedback rating with 2 decimal places. 

[plpmr]

You get the item back but only give a partial refund?

[inspire-video-games]

Hi there.  Did you ever get a resolution to this? We are in a similar situation where we have a buyer who's abused the returns system (returning an entirely different item to that which we sent), we gave a partial refund (bearing in mind that even 50% refund does not often cover the loss) and then the buyer has left negative feedback. eBay have advised us that the policy has changed and the buyer is entitled to leave negative feedback.  I think it's fairly obvious that when you make a partial refund, because the buyer is abusing the system, they're going to leave negative feedback.  What about even a warning from eBay that this has changed?!

[myriad*seller]

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@plpmr wrote:

You get the item back but only give a partial refund?

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Top Rated sellers can deduct up to 50% from a refund when an item is not returned in the condition sent, or for a number of reasons.

However, as a buyer, when seller refunded me minus P&P I just spoke to eBay who refunded the remainder I paid

Whether this came from eBay or the seller I do not know  

[myriad*seller]

That's to push sellers to refund buyers in full, rather than making partial refunds, as that buyer will tell their friends "eBay only refunded me half my money when I bought from eBay" [yes I know eBay dont sell anything but this is how many people speak about eBay sales]

So their friends may be dissuaded from buying, as they think they might lose their money

eBay doesn't want bad publicity, they want happy buyers. Even scam buyers. 

[sheba-knows-best]

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@inspire-video-games wrote:

Hi there.  Did you ever get a resolution to this? We are in a similar situation where we have a buyer who's abused the returns system (returning an entirely different item to that which we sent), we gave a partial refund (bearing in mind that even 50% refund does not often cover the loss) and then the buyer has left negative feedback. eBay have advised us that the policy has changed and the buyer is entitled to leave negative feedback.  I think it's fairly obvious that when you make a partial refund, because the buyer is abusing the system, they're going to leave negative feedback.  What about even a warning from eBay that this has changed?!

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Please don't bite my head off. This is just a thought not my opinion. However if you go into your seller metrics are you on 'low' ie in the green for both SNAD and INR? If you're not that may be the reason ebay has allowed the neg.  I say this because another TRS seller is not being refunded for SNAD return labels even when she reports the buyer. I am. The difference we worked out was that I am 'below average' on all metrics and she is in 'high'.