Unfair Defect

[crafty-cottons]

I recently had a buyer ask for a refund because the item had not been received. The item was sent by 2nd Class so was not tracked.

As the order was a Buy 3 get 1 Free offer, I had to issue 4 seperate refunds as that was the only option. By the 4th refund, there was a technical error and it would not let me refund (I have a screenshot of this). So I tried again the following day and still no joy. I kept the buyer informed of what was going on.

2 days later I tried again and the error was still there, so I asked Ebay to step in to help me issue the refund.

They issued the refund and closed the case in favour of the buyer because I had no proof of delivery. I now have a defect.

My argument is, if there had not had been a technical error when I was processing the refund, I would have resolved the case without any issues and I would not have received a defect. I have issued refunds in the past many times and not received a defect as the case has been resolved.

Ebay argue the case because the buyer did not receive their item and experienced disappointment.

I explained that I have refunded buyer's in the past that have experienced the same disappointment and I did not receive a defect then.

They will not respond to that comment, now their argument is that I did not resolve the case within the required time frame. The case was opened on the 13th and closed on the 18th. The time frame is 7 days.

Now I feel like the defect does not actually matter to me, it is the complete lack of injustice that Ebay has for it's sellers.

Any advice would be much appreciated.