Dishonest buyer

[hjp0116]

I had a case opened against me for an item which the buyer claimed hadn’t been received. I gave them a full refund straight away and the case was closed. When I tried to claim the money back from Royal Mail they informed me that they couldn’t proceed with my claim because upon investigation, they could see that the item had been delivered. What can I do?

[tressygirl]

This does sometimes happen, but when it does, there is nothing which can be done through eBay, as that transaction was closed with a refund. 

Send the buyer a message. Say you are happy to see that tracking has now shown delivery perhaps here you can apologise for the lateness of that delivery. Ask for them to please now repay you for the item.

 This can be done with the buyer sending you a Friends and Family payment through PayPal, they will need a PayPal account for this, Or, you an send them a PayPal invoice for this amount. They do not need a PayPal account for this and can pay you there by various card payments.

 One tip, if PayPal is used email addresses are required, make it very clear in eBay messages the purpose for asking for the email, so it cannot be mistaken for the beginnings of an off eBay sale.

Or, they can send a cheque to cover the amount, whichever suits you both. Nothing can be done, unless you take a legal route, to enforce the buyer to pay, but most people are honest and do not want an item for nothing.

@hjp0116 

[red_magpie]

What can I do?

All you can do is let the buyer know that you're pleased they have now received their item, and would they kindly reimburse you for the refund. This can't be done through eBay, but they could pay by PayPal or send a cheque.

If they decide to keep both the item and the refund there's nothing you can do. eBay won't give you any support, even with tracking proof of delivery. It happens all the time.

IMO it's a scandal that eBay allows buyers to claim a refund when an item is even one day overdue for delivery, but turns a blind eye if they then keep the item as well when it arrives. But this is eBay, they don't seem to care about the seller.