Incorrect return address

[bro0104]

I sold an expensive item and used eBay's UK partner Evri to delivery it. Unfortunately Evri failed to make the delivery and chose to return to me as the sender. My account address on eBay is my correct current address but I did not have a return address on my account. For some unknown reason eBay automatically used an address I lived at 12 years ago. The person there accepted the parcel and I have no way of retrieving it as I nw live at the opposite end of the country and have no way of making contact. 

eBay advised me to tell the buyer who initially purchase the item to register a delivery failure and ask for a refund. They then messaged me asking me to issue the refund which I did immediately. Now they are telling me I should not have done this, and instead have waited for them to issue the refund! But why message me asking me to issue the refund?!!!! Then now advised me to contact the buyer to ask him to sen me back the refund and they will then in turn refund him themselves. But how can the buyer even do this? This does not seem correct.

I have tried to call eBay back but there appears to be a block on my account and I am unable to get through to them. The 24/7 contact line says I am calling 'outside of business hours.' When I try to request an agent on the chat it just says 'there appears to be a problem. Please try again later.'

Any info or help from the community will be greatly appreciated.

[**peaseblossom**]

Refunds cannot be reversed.   The buyer would have to pay again and I can't see them doing that.   All you can do is try ebay again tomorrow morning, it may be easier to get through then.    Keep asking the auto assistant to speak to an agent.

You could write to your old address.   You never know, they might actually be honest people.

For future reference you can change your return address on here:
https://accountsettings.ebay.co.uk/uas/addresses

[red_magpie]

Regarding the watch, the sooner you inform the recipient at your old address the better! Act before they start thinking about it as a late Christmas present! Try Googling for online services to find who is living there, you might even get their phone number. Do you still have any friends living near to your old address? Perhaps you could email them a letter of authority to collect it on your behalf? 

As for eBay, I take it that you issued the refund throufgh eBay? Whatever you do, save a copy of the message in which eBay told you to issue it!

It sounds as though the buyer had not at that time opened a case under eBay's money back guarantee? This is important, as eBay's handling of users' monies is regulated by the financial conduct authority, whereas eBay's money back guarantee (had the buyer opened a case) is not. 

If you can show that eBay advised you to issue a refund, and you did so through eBay, I think you would have legitimate grounds to appeal to the FCA if the buyer opens a case and eBay itself later issues a second refund, and charges you for it. Their suggestion that the buyer should return your refund is entirely unrealistic.

Good luck!