Counterfeit returned item received from buyer

[theauburnhareboutique]

Good afternoon all,

We recently sold a handbag for £600. The buyer of this item has returned a heavily damaged and used counterfeit item that is nothing like the genuine handbag we sent, which was in excellent condition. If you compare the photos from our listing, against those of the returned item (that we've sent to eBay) you can see that they are not of the same bag. The returned item is different from our bag in the following ways:

1. It is larger
2. It has no serial number
3. It has no ‘made in Italy’ tag
4. It has a different strap
5. One of the metal hardware pieces on the strap is lose and the other has a piece missing leaving an exposed screw
6. The inner lining is badly stained
7. The underside shows heavy signs of usage
8. The rear of the bag demonstrates the inferior quality of the materials used and the heavy usage that this counterfeit has had

eBay's response is that we've received a damaged return and this is the risk you take when using their selling platform. This is not the case since the buyer hasn't returned our item, they've returned an alternative counterfeit item and are committing fraud. How should we progress this? We really can't afford to lose £600. We should point out that we have 500+ 100% positive feedback and the buyer has 0% feedback (the ony feedback they received in the last year was negative.) Thanks in advance for your help.

Kindest regards,

TheAuburnHareBoutique

[ruby*tuesday · Accepted solution]

Report to Action Fraud on line and get a Crime Number then Log into into Ebay and Type "Appeal Ebay's Decision about a Return" into Help and Contact at the top of the Page. 

[red_magpie]

Good luck, but this is what eBay reportedly told another seller in a similar situation, i.e. a high value item allegedly swapped for a worthless one: "As we didn't see the original item that you sent to the buyer and we didn't see the item the buyer returned to you, we are not in a position to take sides in these situations and verify who has the valid complaint".

EBay's idea of not taking sides was to make the seller refund the buyer.

Do us a favour and let us know the outcome.

[theauburnhareboutique]

Thanks Red_Magpie. Following the submission of our crime reference number, eBay closed the case in our favour. Thank you for your help Ruby*Tuesday - this has ensured that the fraudsters didn't get away with it on this occasion.