Aggressive Buyer

[svcassie]

I was left very distressed by a 'buyer' who came to my home.. I reported her to Ebay immediately - after a very long online chat, after me making it clear I would not be issuing a refund, as she was abusing the refund policy, Ebay said I would not be expected to refund her.. the same day Ebay issued her a full refund. So she got a full refund AND kept the item !! She also left very untrue and false statements in her feedback of me.  I have asked Ebay to remove the horrible feedback and they have decided not to remove it. What has been said is not true and is detrimental to my character and my 100% positive feedback, over many years. - there's appears to be no appeal process with regard to their decision? What happened to 'seller protection' ?  Any advice please?

[papso22]

Collection items are covered by the money back guarantee in the same way as posted items if the buyer claims they are not as described.  So you can't refuse a return for a refund without losing both the item and the money.  There is no seller protection.

It's usually unwise to refuse cancellation requests, it can lead to exactly the situation you have described.  Buyer resorts to a claim in order to get their money back for an unwanted item.

Liverpool is a big place, if you do collection again I suggest you be a bit more specific in the description. Perhaps the  buyer was put off by the distance they had to travel to collect it.

[red_magpie]

I'm surprised that eBay would not remove the feedback, as it refers to involving eBay for a refund.

This is not allowed, regardless of anything else the feedback may say. It may be worth trying again to get it removed. Rather than reporting it try contacting customer support in person, if you didn't do this last time.

As regards eBay saying you would not be expected to refund her, we regularly hear of eBay saying one thing and doing another. It may be that the staff who respond to phone calls are not the ones who make the final decision. Or they may just make promises to get callers off the line.

[jckl1957]

Nobody wants to deal with a difficult buyer but the best course here would have been to apologise that the item was not as the buyer expected and to refund them.

They were entitled to a refund if they felt the item was 'not as described'.  You could not expect to keep the buyer's money and the item.

The feedback reflects the buyer's experience and there is nothing in it that breaks Ebay rules.

However, the feedback you left for the buyer does break Ebay rules as you have left negative comments with a positive 'green dot' and, if requested by the buyer, Ebay will remove that feedback.