Postage Dispute

[st.osyth]

27th Sept, I purchased a Carburetor from a Selller which turned out to be unsuitable
The seller provided a return label at £3.25 - item returned

Two weeks later it was back on my door step with "Refused by seller"
I was refunded the full amount minus the £3.25

The (Chinese) seller claims he didnt send it back it was the Royal Mail (RM disputes this claim) and now asking for it to be returned at my cost of another £3.25
So I will be £6.50 out of pocket
As far as Ebay is concerned it has been returned and I received a refund - no case to answer
I cannot see how I can open a Dispute as there is no option available concerning this order
So how can I contact Ebay ?

[m25jet]

Given that a case has already been opened in relation to this matter - and has subsequently been closed by eBay after you were issued with a refund - eBay will not want to know as far as opening another case is concerned about this transaction.

If the seller really wants the carburettor back that badly remind him that you returned it to him the first time and received it back again, as it had been marked as having been refused by the seller.  Once you've done that tell him to arrange for collection himself if he wants the carburettor back that badly, stating that if it has not been collected by a certain date you will assume that he does not want it back and will therefore dispose of it.  If the seller really is based somewhere in China I doubt if he will make a trip all the way to the UK just to collect an unwanted carburettor.  He's more likely to just cut his losses and stop going on about it.

In the event that the seller keeps on hounding you with messages add his User ID to your Blocked Bidders List, making sure that you have activated the Don't Allow Blocked Bidders To Contact Me option.  However, given that you've recently been in a transaction with this seller the blocks will take a bit longer to kick in than they would have done had you never been in a transaction with him, but once they do - usually after about forty-eight hours - the seller will not be able to hound you with messages, as any messages he attempted to send would just flash up a warning that you are not accepting messages from him, thus preventing the messages from being sent.

[st.osyth]

Many thanks for the reply, that was very helpful
The user is based in the UK,(Leighton Buzzard) probably holding a small amount of stock
The text responses are definately of Chinese origin
"dear friend..............."
Also Chinese user names are bizarre and easliy recognisable
Royal Mail confirmed the Tracking showed it delivered, but the return had an additional RM sticker "refused by recipient"

Taking your suggestion, i will tell him to send  me a postage paid label if he wants it back
If not it can stay in my shed and gather dust
 

[sml192]

Did you actually open a dispute with eBay in the first place?

If you did then the seller shouldn't have been able to deduct anything from the refund.  They would have been required to refund in full once tracking showed as 'Delivered' or 'Delivery attempted'. 

[1902elder]

No need to contact Ebay, and if the seller does not send another postage label, then you are free to dipose of it however you wish. Maybe sell it, that way you would not be out of pocket.

[st.osyth]

Order number: 19-11985-34567
Item No 285953532690
I cant see anyway of opening a Dispute Case with Ebay as the order shows "Refunded"
No option(icon) to proceed
The seller deducted £3.25 postage for its return and now expects me to spend another £3.25 for me to send it back so he can return it to Stock
With his dubious tricks, he may well refuse to receive the package as he did before
He seems to ignore all my suggestions about a refund but constantly moans about why I left Neg feedback😊
Last resort. I will send him a request for a Freepost label to return

[thesmokingrunner · Accepted solution]

I've just had a look at that Order No and checked the seller's details and think I can explain what happened with your return.

The seller's registered as a business and the business seller information gives a Chinese address, whilst the item location is given as London. Ok, so that's possible if the seller is using a fulfilment centre in the UK.

However, the fact that the return label they supplied was for an address in Leighton Buzzard and that the parcel was returned to you as "refused by recipient" suggests to me that the seller uses a random and totally unconnected residential address for returns to avoid having to pay the full cost of shipping back to China, and the unsuspecting resident of that property refused to accept the parcel. It's a known practice by Chinese sellers and it's happened to me (and many others) previously.

It's pretty pointless getting the seller to send another label - if they do it will probably be the same or another random residential address and you'll get the parcel back yet again. As others have posted, the seller refused to accept receipt, the parcel was returned to you and you received a refund. That's it. There is no need to contact the seller again.

Do an Elsa: Let It Go.

[arkwebus]

I'm guessing that you used the reason "did not fit".  EBay visualises members buying clothing in the wrong size and takes the view "return at buyers request" and charges the buyer for the label. 

Should have used "not as described".  @st.osyth 

[thesmokingrunner]

Clothing, arkwebus? This thread is about the purchase/return of a carburettor.

Posted on the wrong thread perchance?

[st.osyth]

Thanks for that brilliant answer, it makes perfect sense
I seem to recall the return address at Leighton Buzzard was an Industrial Estate. I contacted Royal Mail as it was Tracked and they came back as the recipients address "Jim" was unknown"
The sender is not interested in any Postage refund, but he keeps winging about the negative feedback I left
I will consider the case closed and settle for the £11.47 part refund I received
I have been on Ebay for many years mainly buying and this is the first time a dispute has arisen, so I have been very fortunate
Thanks to everyone who have contributed to this problem

[papso22]

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@thesmokingrunner wrote:

Clothing, arkwebus? This thread is about the purchase/return of a carburettor.

Posted on the wrong thread perchance?

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While they mistook clothing for a carburetor,  the explanation is still plausible as 'does not fit' is also a reason to return a vehicle part.