Seller claims to be in the UK - return address is in China.

[th_sled]

Help !

I just tried to return an item from a seller who claimed to be in Leicester and the return address is in China.

I can't close the return because then I'm forfeiting my right to return so I've left it half open.

I can't it seems get eBay to intervene because I can't complete the return as I'm not accepting I have to send it to China.

Does anyone know how I get out of this hole ?

Apologies if this query is in the wrong place but I've not been here for a long time. 

[th_sled]

People may like to know how this was ultimately resolved.
I had in fact two purchases with this issue.
Both sellers were asked to supply UK return addresses. Neither were able to.
One seller simply refunded the whole amount fairly promptly without return of the item. They got good feedback.
The other one, after being threatened with negative feed back and eBay involvement initially offered a 30% refund and were ultimately persuaded to offer a full refund less UK postage costs. They'll probably get neutral feedback if any.
Had this seller remained difficult the next stage would have been a eBay chat, on the basis that eBay would either force a refund or provide enough evidence (because the chat is emailed to you) to make a case for a chargeback via the credit card company under Section 75 thereby bypassing any eBay nonsense altogether. I have done this successfully before with eBay. However in the end this was not necessary.this time.

My thanks to all those who contributed and provided useful suggestions and lines of enquiry.

[m25jet]

When you looked at the listing did you check the seller's business address, or did you only look at the item location?  A lot of overseas sellers have fulfilment centres in the UK, even if they're based overseas, but if the seller didn't have anything on the listing at all to suggest that he/she was based in China - including his/her business details - then you could point out to eBay that the seller is guilty of item misrepresentation.  However, if the seller's business address right at the bottom of the listing shows that he/she is registered in China but the item location was showing as Leicester then it's likely that he/she is just a Chinese seller with a fulfilment centre in Leicester.

In order to see whether you can return the item to the seller without having to post it to China you'll have to speak to eBay.  First of all, make a note of the item listing number.  Once you've done that click on the Help & Contact link shown at both the top and the bottom of this page and contact eBay Customer Services using the Call Me Back option.  You've got a much better chance of getting through to somebody who speaks English as his/her first language if you do this in the morning.  Lines open at 8:00am.

Once you receive a call from eBay give the eBay representative the item listing number and then explain that you have asked to return the item for a refund but the seller has given you an address in China, despite claiming that he/she was based in Leicester.  If that is where the item was despatched from then that's where it ought to be returned to so that you can receive a refund.  Should that be the case then eBay ought to issue you with an eBay Returns Label to return it to the UK distribution centre.

In order to strengthen your argument further point out to the eBay representative who's dealing with your call that it's unrealistic for the seller to claim that the item is in Leicester but then expect you to post the item to China if you want a refund.  The very fact that there is a postal backlog at the moment owing to the coronavirus pandemic, not to mention restrictions on flightls in and out of the UK, is going to make returning the item to China an extremely complicated and lengthy process.  However, if eBay decide that the seller is guilty of deliberately misleading buyers with regards to the item's location they may either issue you with an eBay Returns Label and ask you to return the item to the Leicester address, or they may even decide the matter in your favour, force a refund of the money  that you paid to the seller and tell you that you don't have to return the item at all.

[th_sled]

Thanks for your detailed reply.
It seems to me this is basically a con. The seller presents themselves as UK based even to the extent of passing the 'UK sellers only' filter, right up to the point when you want to return an item and suddenly they are in China.
To cut a long story short I spoke with eBay on chat and they were very evasive. They suggested I 'reach out' to the seller to request a UK address for the return but they didn't go as far as saying the seller was obliged to provide one.
I will try 'reaching out, but they also seem to have stitched up the process so it's impossible to ask eBay to 'step in' without agreeing to return the item to China.
At the end of the day there may be nothing left but negative feedback.

[m25jet]

When you said "I spoke with eBay on chat" did you mean eBay Live Chat? If so then you're unlikely to get any decent advice that way - a lot of eBay Live Chat reps just read from a script, and will tell you anything just to get rid of you. If you haven't yet done so request a telephone call from an eBay representative using the Call Me Back option. That way you'll stand a better chance of getting through to somebody who offers you a logical and acceptable solution, although given the fact that we're dealing with eBay here this is by no means guaranteed!

[th_sled]

Yes, and the Live Chat person was all over the place which surprised me as on previous occasions they've not been too bad. So I'll more than likely follow up your suggestion to get a callback, but I'll wait until I see what response I get from the seller and get as far as I can with the automated 'step in' process so I have a bit more ammunition.
Thanks again for your help.

[rusticrye]

If the 'posts from' location was shown on the listing as being in Leicester, then the address on the returns label Ebay have supplied you with should be in Leicester.  Are you saying this isn't the case...? If so, contact Ebay.  Live Chat and Request-a-callback are available in Help & Contact during working hours.

If you simply mean that the seller has supplied you with an address in China, ie. no returns label has yet been supplied by Ebay, ignore him and escalate the case to Ebay on the date shown.

@th_sled 

[th_sled]

Thanks for your interest.
Yes, the seller claims to post from Leicester using Royal Mail 48, which is actually a fib as they used Yodel.
No return label has been supplied. It is a voluntary return, ie I'm returning it because I no longer need it. It seems therefore I have to pay the return postage and label it myself.
All the eBay process does if I initiate a return is give me the China address and tell me I have to send it there at my expense and mark it 'despatched' when I've done that.
I'm happy to pay return postage to a UK address but not China. This is a seller who gets through the 'UK sellers only' filter. Somehow.
There doesn't seem to be any way I can trigger the 'ask eBay to step in' process without agreeing to send the item to China.

[thedemon2014]

You cannot search for items by seller location. The search criterion is item location.
Chinese sellers are allowed to state that they have a UK distribution centre but should send items from that location, and accept returned items to the same place, not China.
Follow the advice given by @rusticrye and escalate the case to eBay when you can.

[th_sled]

Yes I accept your point about the seller/item distinction.
However it is somewhat academic if, as you suggest, an item purporting to be in the UK should be returnable in the UK.
I'm surprised eBay even allows sellers to be 'UK based' for sales purposes and then provide a Chinese return address.