URGENT: Buyer Misusing eBay Return Policy – Need Immediate Assistance

[matj_12]

Dear eBay Community and Support Team,

I am reaching out regarding a return case that was approved despite clear evidence that the buyer is misusing eBay’s return policy. The buyer purchased a Lenovo Desktop PC, which was fully functional and listed with a no returns policy. The order was delivered on December 30, 2024, and the buyer only reported an issue on January 24, 2025, nearly a month later. This delay is unreasonable and raises concerns regarding potential tampering, misuse, or modifications after purchase.

The item was tested and confirmed to be in perfect working condition before shipment. The buyer had the item for almost a month before claiming it was faulty, which creates a significant risk that they may have damaged or altered it in some way. Under eBay’s Seller Protection Policy, sellers should not be forced to accept returns when there is a possibility of fraud. Additionally, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 states that a buyer must prove that a fault existed at the time of purchase. Given the significant delay in reporting the issue, there is no way to establish that the fault, if any, was present when the item was delivered.

I respectfully request that eBay requires the buyer to provide clear video proof demonstrating the issue before any return is accepted. The video should include a demonstration of the PC being powered on and showing the specific problem they claim exists. Without this, the return request should be cancelled, as approving it without evidence creates an unfair risk to the seller.

I kindly ask for this matter to be escalated to a higher review team to ensure that the case is handled in accordance with eBay’s policies and UK consumer protection laws. Furthermore, I would appreciate guidance on how sellers can protect themselves against situations where buyers misuse the returns process.

I look forward to your response and appreciate your assistance in resolving this matter fairly.

[jckl1957]

Ebay allow buyers up to 30 days to open a return.

You agree to that when you sell on the site.  Buyers do not have to provide video evidence or prove that the fault was present at the time of purchase.

You need to provide a label and get your item back.  Have you done so?

This is a member to member forum - you are not writing to Ebay.

If you want to ask them to intervene in this case, the details are below.  Generally, it would seem it is not advisable to ask Ebay to step in as they could potentially close the case, insist you refund the buyer and tell the buyer they can keep the item.

How to ask us to step in

You can ask us to step in from the Returns & Refunds section of Seller Help. Simply select Take Action beside the item and then Ask eBay to step in.

Go to Seller Help

[tobiasd4]

Unfortunately it doesn't matter you think.

Ebay allows buyers to open item not as described case within 30 days, they don't have provide proof.

You issue returns label and refund on return.

If you ignore or refuse case, ebay can refund buyer and they keep item, you repay ebay.

You can try to appeal after item is returned. 

[red_magpie]

Unfortunately you don't realise how eBay works, or how biased its dispute resolution policy is against the seller.

There isn't the sort of investigative, evidence based approach you describe to claims by buyers that an item isn't as described.

eBay's policy seems quite simple. They reach the vast majority of decisions without seeing the item or making any meaningful investigation. Generally eBay's default policy seems to be to take the buyer's word against the seller's.

They never even see the item involved. Typical replies that other sellers tell us they have received include "Although we understand that you received your item back in a different condition than it was in when you sent it, we unfortunately couldn't determine that this was caused by the buyer" and "As we did not see the item, either as received by the buyer or as returned to the seller, we are not in a position to determine who has the valid case, or take sides".

In almost every case, eBay's idea of not taking sides was to give the benefit of any doubt to the buyer, and make the seller refund them.

There is a right of appeal. Very occasionally we hear from a seller that eBay has changed its decision - usually a seller who has complained strongly about the unfairness of eBay's decision making. eBay will occasionally refund the buyer at their own expense - or sometimes just meet the cost of returning the item. However, I don't think we've ever heard of eBay taking the money back from a buyer. (The user agreement doesn't give eBay the same powers over buyers as it does over sellers.)

Unfortunately the bottom line is that the user agreement gives eBay the power to decide disputes and requires users to accept their decisions. eBay has structured its activities in such a way that its money back guarantee policy is unregulated. This means that eBay can decide cases as they wish, with as much or as little investigation as they choose to carry out, with users having no right of appeal to any independent authority.