Charged postage when click and collect was chosen

[snoops-two]

I have just bought an item local to me and there was an option to click and collect for no postage charge and I authorised the amount I had offered to be taken from my account.  Ebay charged me the cost including postage and the seller has confirmed Ebay has sent them a label to post?  How do I get my postage back from Ebay I cannot find an option to do this

[lucy_farmer]

Ah... 'click and collect' is not the same as 'collection'.

'Click and collect' involves the item being sent to a local shop/collection point near the buyer (you) and the buyer collecting it from there.

Obviously posting an item anywhere costs *something* , so I've no idea why that would show as 'no postage'..?

If the seller hasn't posted it yet, then they've not used the postage label. If that postage label is un-used and paid for by the buyer (which in your case it was; you were charged for the label) that label will automatically be refunded back to you- the buyer- in about 30-40 days.

If you are going to actually collect the item yourself from the seller, you will need a 'code' (6 digit number) to give the seller when you collect the item. (this code is the proof that the item has been collected by the buyer and the payment is then released to the seller)

[snoops-two]

Thank you for your reply, the amount that I authorised did not include postage and the amount was clearly shown on the page I authorised so maybe the terminology was collection - my mistake - but I did not authorise the amount Ebay have taken.  When making the offer to the seller I stated I would collect the item as it is local to me and the seller has confirmed this and also confirmed the label has not been clicked because of this. 30-40 days to get a refund is absolutely atrocious regardless of the amount - multiply that amount by probably the thousands if not tens of thousands this is happening to then Ebay are making a pretty penny in interest whilst it sits in their account for 30-40 days - this is not acceptable. 

[zobth92]

Will the buyer get a personal collection code if they've selected "click and collect"? They'd only get a code when the item was delivered to the C & C point. I'd recommend the buyer contact eBay and explain their mistake and see if a code can be generated. The seller would lose any protection if they allowed the buyer to collect without a code.

As regards eBay taking an unauthorised extra amount, has anybody heard of this happening elsewhere?

[snoops-two]

There were 2 options  FREE COLLECTION IN PERSON or £3.38 POSTAGE.

I chose Free Collection as it is on my doorstep.

Now it transpires, because I disputed the amount ebay requested and took from my paypal account and asked for my £3.38 back from Ebay via PayPal (because the postage label sent to the seller is not needed or asked for and has not been clicked) that ebay are trying to charge the seller £1.67 for the "dispute" the dispute which they have caused.  The seller has 2 options, provide tracking or pay £1.67 - I say again this is absolutely atrocious and corporations like this should not be allowed to get away with it.

[snoops-two]

Ok I thought I'd update this for future reference.

It would seem that my transaction has highlighted a flaw in the system.  I made an offer to the seller for the item which was accepted. I then proceeded to choose Free Collection and authorised the amount for the offer I made. This is where the system falls over, the system has not been set up to accept a Free Collection service where "make an offer"  has been used and it defaults by accepting the offer amount and inserting the buyers default address and charging postage accordingly.  I have today received an e mail from ebay with the following instructions which are applicable to anyone in the same situation until they fix it.

Quote..........In the future, if you are planning to purchase any item through the "Make offer" option under collection in person, then before making any offer kindly have a word with the seller once. You can share your offer price with the seller via eBay messages. If the seller agreed with your price, then you can request them to revise the "Buy it now" price at your agreed price so that you can straight away purchase it by selecting the postage option as collection in person at checkout page.  Unquote.

The issue has been flagged for the development team but in the meantime that's the workaround.

I have received my refund and I have received my item from the doorstep of the seller, it was a lot of messing around for both myself and the seller so hopefully ebay will fix it.