Damaged item no refund.

[danielle280787]

I recently received a damaged item from an eBay seller. I messaged them immediately where they apologised and asked for pictures. I sent pictures and they seller offered a replacement item or a refund. I asked for a refund and the seller messaged to say they had processed this. As I thought the issue was resolved I didn't keep the item. The refund was taking longer than usual so I messaged again and again the seller said they would process it again. The refund has not been processed and the seller is not responding to any messages anynore. Is there anything I can do without still having the item? 

[m25jet]

Unfortunately by throwing the item away you've effectively ruined your chances of getting a refund unless the seller decides to refund you voluntarily without asking for the item to be returned.  If the seller wants the item to be returned first of all and has sent you an eBay Returns Label then given that you no longer have the item to return to the seller you won't be able to get a refund, as the seller would just hold off of refunding your money due to non-receipt of the item.  Even if you were to escalate the matter to eBay they would decide the matter in the seller's favour, as when they check to see whether or not the label has been used they'll notice that you never actually returned the item and will conclude that you must have changed your mind and decided to keep the item.  Therefore you've ruined your chances of securing a refund via the eBay Resolution Centre.

Although you could normally open a case with PayPal if you lose an eBay case, even if you were to try that PayPal would still require you to return the item to the seller first in order to receive a refund of the money that you paid for the item.  However, given that you've thrown the item away you don't stand any chance of being able to get a refund via eBay or PayPal, as you no longer have the item to return to the seller.

If at any time in the future you have to open an Item Not As Described case keep all correspondence with the seller via the eBay Resolution Centre and if the seller asks for the item to be returned send it back using the eBay Returns Label provided.  If the seller still refuses to refund you after the tracking proves that attempted or successful delivery has been attempted, or in the even that the seller refuses to respond to any of your messages, then escalate the case to eBay on the fourth day after the date that the case was opened and eBay would force a refund for you.  However, in this particular case, if the seller has asked for the item to be returned first and has supplied you with an eBay Returns Label then eBay are unlikely to decide the matter in your favour; however, if the seller has just stopped responding and never issued an eBay Returns Label in the first place and still hasn't issued a refund then escalate the case to eBay and see if you can get the matter decided in your favour.

[rusticrye]

You have to be able to return the item by trackable means in order to ensure a refund. You should have opened a case or return request for Not As Described. Going down the DIY route as you wrongly did is never a good idea.

So you're not caught out in future, read Ebay's Money Back Guarantee. It's on every listing, in various other places across the site, and on your order confirmation.

Having said all that, most sellers are honest folk. So are you quite sure they haven't refunded...?  Refunds go back to source and are not instant. If you paid with a debit card, it will take up to 7 days to clear into your bank account, If by credit card, it can take up to 30 days to appear on your cc statement (it depends on your billing cycle). These are the banking industry norms, and have nothing to do with the seller or with Ebay.

If the refund definitely hasn't been made, and you have all the seller's messages promising refund without the need for return, and the seller is in the UK, you may be able to take legal action against them ('before action' letter by Signed For post, followed by Small Claims court if necessary).

@danielle280787 

[red_magpie]

Is there anything I can do without still having the item?

Not unless the seller agrees to refund you without getting the item back.

If it's within 30 days of the date you received it you can still open a case under eBay's money back guarantee, through the resolution centre. (Which is what you should have done in the first place; the seller would have had to send you a prepaid return label, a refund would have been automatic, and you wouldn't have had to send any photos.)

However unless the seller doesn't require the item to be returned, eBay will only release a refund when you have provided postal tracking proof of delivery.

For the future, see the full details of eBay's money back guarantee here: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html