Item Rejected on Delivery and Now Missing

[custardsplat]

Hi all,

I'm just a personal seller and I havent dealt with returns very often, and certainly not for this particular type of issue and eBay themselves don't seem to offer much guidance or assistance.

I posted and item to the name and address on the eBay account of the Buyer but the item was rejected upon delivery and appears now to be missing and I'm not confident of its return.

It turns out the Buyers name wasn't as per the address on his account (partners nickname!!!), and the address was in fact just a local shop, which he says accepts items on his behalf. I honestly don't mind refunding when something has gone wrong (I state no refunds on my listings) but it's a little frustrating when the information provided in the first place was never set up for the delivery to really succeed. Payment was through EBay and not PayPal.

I think the item would be covered by postal insurance and I've kicked off the process with Royal Mail, but I'm not confident I'll get refunded as they don't seem to make it easy for you, and i read somewhere else that as it was rejected, they fulfilled their obligation of executing the delivery. 

if the item doesn't get back to me and the post office doesn't pay out, I've now lost the cost of the original item and the refund money if I give the buyer the money back.

Anybody able to offer any guidance on whether I'm obligated to refund the Buyer, and if yes, do I need to refund postage costs considering it was posted and delivered (albeit rejected).

Thanks  in advance.