Scam buyer

[adamfrida]

Hi, I sold a phone new in packaging and received the payment as normal. For bereavement reasons I was off my eBay account. The buyer opened a case through his bank refunded his money and never returned the phone. I'm asking for advice now I have debt collectors??????

[jckl1957]

The buyer did not scam you, they just used the Ebay Money Back Guarantee.

If a buyer starts a return and you ignore it and don't respond to the case (even if you have a valid, personal reason) Ebay will refund them and tell them there is no need to return the item.

Then, Ebay will come after you for the money.

The only advice I can offer is that you should contact Ebay and pay the money they are asking for.

[red_magpie]

Whether it was a money back guarantee case or a debit/credit card chargeback you will have to pay it.

If the buyer opened a case through his bank this sounds like a credit/debit card chargeback. This is made against eBay, as the buyer paid eBay, and it is eBay who has to pay the charge. However, you accepted in the user agreement that you would reimburse eBay the cost of refunding the buyers bank or card issuer - also that you would pay eBay's admin costs.

You can consult the CAB or a solicitor, but it's very unlikely that you have any grounds to challenge the claim -especially if because of your bereavement you unfortunately did not respond earlier. Failing to meet the claim deadlines can mean you have to refund the buyer without the item having to be returned. These are the risks of selling on eBay.

[adamfrida]

Hi, it's a breach of contract, the court will be involved if no solution from the buyer or eBay. I'm not paying for a scammer, pretending to open a return and never sent the item!. 

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[*vyolla*]

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@adamfrida wrote:
Hi, it's a breach of contract,

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Out of curiosity, can you explain why it is?

Your contract with eBay is set out in their User Agreement.

[adamfrida]

Hi, the buyer he's no to be in betterment, he can't have the phone and the money. 

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[jckl1957]

I can't give legal advice - this is just how I see it.

From my point of view, your issue is with Ebay.

They will have responded to the case opened by the buyer and, when you did not supply a label for the phone to be returned, Ebay will have told the buyer they can have a refund without returning the phone.

However, when you sell on Ebay, you agree to all the terms of the Ebay User Agreement, including the Money Back Guarantee.  So, if you don't respond to an opened case, Ebay can refund the buyer from your funds without requiring the item to be returned.

You can of course contact the buyer and ask them to return the phone.

You may need to get legal advice.  Good luck.

[red_magpie]

You could sue the buyer, if you have sufficient evidence. That's up to you, but take professional advice first.

The point to understand is that any claim you may have against the buyer is entirely separate from your contractual obligation to eBay. If it's a bank chargeback, eBay is required to repay the bank and you would be required to repay eBay. You accepted this in the user agreement. If it's an eBay money back guarantee case, you also empowered eBay to decide whether the buyer must be refunded, and whether or not they have to return the item. You agreed to accept eBay's decisions.

I'm sorry - I have every sympathy with your predicament, but we can only tell it as it is. This is eBay, and these are the conditions you accepted when selling here. eBay won't hesitate to enforce them.

[adamfrida]

I did contact the buyer and asked him to return the money or the phone, he's refusing to do it even though it's a breach of contract. The whole situation it's not to be in a betterment for the buyer that why it's a scam towards any seller and eBay should protect his users instead of bullying them and harassing them with debts collectors.Ebay should have made sure that the phone was sent back and this situation need to be known to every user of eBay they don't care about your illnesses or your bereavement they just made my life worse..........

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