Buyer Refuses to send an item back

[rubican8]

A buyer is refusing to return an item where I, the seller, has paid for return postage. The current position is as follows:

1. Postage paid for and OCR code provided to buyer so that they could print the labels for free at their local Post Office. Tracking details uploaded to ebay as per Returns process. After this was done Buyer requested I cancel postage!!

2. New postage details sent to buyer with new OCR code but I now cannot change Tracking details on the Return request on ebay.

The buyer states that the OCR code does not contain any information though I can read it with an app on my phone and sent this to the buyer via email messaging. I followed this up by generating all of the postage labels as pdfs and then converting them to images in order to send them via email messaging which only allows the upload of images. The buyer states he cannot read these images!!

I have offered to send the the postage pdf files to the buyer but the buyer refuses to send an email address.

I am at a loss as to what I can do now.

[tressygirl]

You were paying for the return postage, then why on earth did the buyer request for you to cancel that postage.  This has now made the issues you have encountered .  If you cannot manually change those tracking details,  you'll need  to ask eBay Customer Services for help here to change the tracking.

This is the easiest and quickest way to contact eBay Customer Services, for a Call Back option.

 https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid

Lines open between 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays.

9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.

I recommend contacting CS very first thing in the morning, when the lines first open,  as there's more chance of Dublin answering.

@rubican8 

[lucy_farmer]

What was the reason the buyer asked you to cancel the first postage?

Was this first one the one one that 'does not contain any info' ?

(don't refund until you get the parcel back, whatever)

[rubican8]

Hi tressygirl,

Thanks for your response I will indeed contact CS however, the issue is even more complicated. According to the Return the buyer has until 5th February to return the item.  As I live in in Ireland and the buyer is located in the UK I had to purchase Tracked Postage via Royal Mail online. The postage is valid for 7 days only which in most reasonable circumstances is reasonable enough given that the nearest Post Office is only 200 metres from the buyer's home.

If after 7 days the postage and associated tracking paid for isn't used I can apply for a refund. I would then have to purchase postage again which would generate a new Tracking number. In order to cover the return postage until 5th February I could have paid for and subsequently cancelled 4 different Tracking numbers.

The buyer is abusing the Return process. Clearly I will not be refunding the item until I have received the item back and checked it but the buyer is refusing to send the item by not using the postage details provided.

[rubican8]

Hi lucy_farmer,

Thanks for your response, the buyer has raised two separate returns!!

1. They had not received the item, they had refused delivery of the item and it was awaiting collection from the Post Office as confirmed by the Tracking information uploaded to ebay. ebay found in my favour.

2. Immediately after the first Return had been closed the buyer opened a second Return request stating that the item did not match the pictures or description of the item. Note: the buyer did not have the item in their possession as it was still awaiting collection from the Post Office. How ebay allows this abusive behaviour to happen is beyond me.

I have reported the buyer to ebay for an abuse of the Returns process But I am not aware that ebay did anything.

To cut a long and depressing story short I accepted the Return to ensure I wouldn't get a strike from ebay and to get a full refund of sellers fees. And now I am in this farcical situation where the buyer won't return the item and I have to keep repurchasing postage.

[lucy_farmer · Accepted solution]

Blimey... nuts. ☹️

Yep, Tressy's right; call CS and cross fingers and hope for somebody in Ireland (they speak English properly and seem to have much more brain power then the Philippino contingent....!)

[4_bathrooms]

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@rubican8 wrote:

Thanks for your response I will indeed contact CS however, the issue is even more complicated. According to the Return the buyer has until 5th February to return the item.  As I live in in Ireland and the buyer is located in the UK I had to purchase Tracked Postage via Royal Mail online. The postage is valid for 7 days only which in most reasonable circumstances is reasonable enough given that the nearest Post Office is only 200 metres from the buyer's home.

---

You only have to provide one return label; it is up to the buyer to use it. The deadline eBay gives the buyer is for them to obtain an acceptance scan against that label - it is the buyer's responsibility to obtain that scan. If no acceptance scan is recorded against the label the case is (eventually) closed in the seller's favour.

Did you cancel the original label? If not tell the buyer to use the original one; i.e. they need to present the QR code at the Post Office counter. I would have ignored the buyer's request to cancel the original postage label and instead would have directed them to present the QR code at the PO counter. I'd advise explaining the process to them (up to a point) and I'd also advise sending them a link to the Post Office's website so they know this is a genuine means of returning something in the post (your buyer may not understand what a QR code is).  

You purchased a return label so you had met your obligations as far as the case was concerned. If you have cancelled the original label it might complicate the return as eBay may decide you did so to prevent the buyer from using it. This is because return cases are automated and as you have discovered you can only upload one label - if that label has been cancelled eBay's automaton may decide you haven't meet your obligations to the buyer. 

[rubican8]

Hi 4_bathrooms,

Thanks for your response. I did indeed naively cancel the first return label at the buyer's request. So as advised by other posters I will contact CS and hope they will update the Tracking.

I fully understand and appreciate your comments regarding me having met my obligations in providing the postage label though there still exists a huge disconnect in the generous amount of time ebay allow a buyer to return an item and Royal Mail purchased postage label having an expiry date of 7 days from purchase.

[jckl1957]

I completely agree with your last point.

I have an outstanding return at the moment (for a completely fake reason - but that is beside the point).

The buyer opened the return on the day they received the item, 2nd January.

I provided a return label on the same day.

The buyer has to return the item by 22nd January - I am guessing that means midnight on 22nd.

They have not used the label and my funds have been on hold for nearly 3 weeks.

Given the tight timeframes imposed on sellers (3 days to provide a label, 48 hours to refund after return) this is extremely irritating and hard to understand.  30 days to start a return and then 20 days to send the item back - ridiculous!

[rubican8]

Hi jck1197,

Thanks for your comments and you have my commiseration. The returns raised by my buyer are false also but as sellers we appear to be well at the bottom of the ebay food chain!! Hopefully both of our issues will be resolved soon 👍

[twin--turbo]

It's up to them to use the provided lable, if they can't send them to CS, if they still don't use it it will expire as unreturend.. Simple as that.