So you did things the wrong way around - you bought postage at the Post Office, and then opened a return request. I get that.
And then, to compound that error, you chose the wrong reason for the return...? Perhaps you can help me out with this (I'm mightily confused...!), and tell me which of the following has occured:
- If Ebay have supplied you with a prepaid postage label that you didn't pay for on-site (you would know if you had), you must have chosen the wrong reason for the return. A prepaid label is only automatically sent to a buyer when a return request is opened because the item arrived not-as-described in some way. If this is what has happened, the seller will be charged for the label, not you.
- If, however, you did chose the correct reason for the return (which, from what you later say, should have been 'Does not fit'), why did you then buy a postage label on-site when you had already bought one at the Post Office...? If you hadn't bought one on-site, you could have added the RM tracking number you got at the PO to the opened request.
The good news is that neither you nor the seller will be charged for the Ebay-supplied label if it isn't used. Which it obviously won't be.
The bad news is that there is nothing you can do on Ebay to ensure the seller refunds you unless you properly use the tools that Ebay supplies. But most sellers are honest folk, so I'm sure he'll do the decent thing and refund once he receives the item back. He can do that through the open return request at any time before it auto-closes after 30 days, so do not close it. And when he does, that will also credit the Ebay selling fee back to his Ebay account.
If he doesn't refund before the return request auto-closes (unlikely but just in case), use the legal route. That is your only option, as PayPal or any payment processor can't help with this type of return. Change-of-mind, does-not-fit, and buyer-error returns are between you and the seller; and the legal system should it become necessary. The CAB's website would be the place to go for information on how to proceed.
Note that you should never, ever return goods to an address the seller supplies. Ebay can only ensure you're refunded when you return to the seller's Ebay-registered address, ie. the address which will appear on the returns label. This is why you should always use Ebay's returns system (and properly!) rather than go down the DIY route. If you return to any other address, you lose buyer protection.
So you know what to do in future, read Ebay's Money Back Guarantee. It's on every listing and in various other places across the site. You also have the More Actions dropdown beside each transaction on your Purchase History page, the Resolution Centre (link at foot of any page) and the Help pages with their integral search to refer to (links at top and foot of any page).
@artcreater-2009
