Buyer refunded for item and ebay say I will not get it back

[onken80]

So this has never happened to me before - seller bought an item from me, it arrived yesterday. They messaged me this morning to say they wanted to return it as it had a mark on. I agreed and told them to open a returns case. The next thing I got an email from ebay saying the buyer had been refunded and the item was not going to be returned to me - see screenshot. There was no option for me to respond  - when this last happened to me I had to respond and agree the return. I then got another message saying "This order was processed through simple delivery so we handled the return on your behalf".

What does that mean?!

Please has anyone one been through this? i would like the item returned to me!

Thank you!

[downsizingxs]

Out of interest what was the rough value of the item? Maybe eBay do it this way for items under a certain value?

[9890sue]

I sold it for £15

Thanks

[anne.craig]

My husband sold an old camera about a month ago. The buyer complained it was damaged and asked for a return. Husband agreed and sent a label. Ebay then refunded the customer and told them to keep the camera. They took the money from his account. He immediately contacted eBay who insisted it was him who did the refund. The customer showed husband an email from eBay saying they had refunded and he could keep the item. Ebay said they didn't send that. He's been phoning about it off and on for 29 days - in yesterday's call they told him the case hadn't been decided yet but it would time out today! The customer initially said he was keeping the camera, then when told the refund had been taken from my husband they said they'd return it. Of course they didn't. Ebay were unable to explain how come husband had sent a label if he didn't want the camera back. He's currently out for both camera and payment of £140, eBay have consistently lied their way through every call. Never mind buyer beware, round these parts it's seller beware!

[lucy_farmer]

'Buyer said it was damaged and sent photos to me. It wasn’t damaged when it left me so can only conclude that it got damaged in transit.'

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If this was sold under Simple Delivery, and the buyer chose the reason 'arrived damaged/damaged in the post' ebay *should* have refunded the buyer and left your payment alone.

This is how Simple Delivery is *supposed* to work, so why ebay seem to have taken the money back from you is a mystery...

What was the item? (I'm not being un-neccesarily nosy here, it may make a difference!)

[caddyscane]

Yeh this happened to me but not simple delivery. Said "the buyer is returning to you, if they havent returned by the 22nd ebay can step in"....next thing ebay have stepped in and i need to buy a label for them....i said nah refund. They refunded and kept all my fees. Tough luck they say when i did everything right. *bleep*.

[department28]

'This is how Simple Delivery is *supposed* to work, so why ebay seem to have taken the money back from you is a mystery...'

I am not convinced that buyers who claim an item is 'damaged' should be automatically refunded by eBay, and allowed to keep the item, without the seller having any say in the matter. 

But if eBay are meant to be doing the refunding, then it shouldn't be possible for a seller to find the refund has been taken from them, instead. Next thing, we'll be hearing about buyers that have received a refund from eBay, and a refund from the seller, and kept the item... 🙄

[between_41]

This has also happened to me and I am fuming!!

i had a gut feeling the buyer was dodgy after offering £15 for a £35 item. I said no and negotiated £30z  I packed the item really well and then she said it arrived damaged. Her photo showed the same item damaged but it was sat in packaging that was not mine.  I think she already had a broken one and  then bought mine and then used her original one to get a full refund. I a really mad because I let her have it for £5 cheaper too.  EBay did not contact me and give me a choice. This system is really bad and there is not much to protect sellers on eBay anymore. 

[jckl1957]

If you sent it using Simple Delivery, then the refund was funded by Ebay and not you, so you were fully protected.

It has always been the case that dishonest buyers could make a purchase on Ebay to replace a broken item and then open a claim saying that the seller had sent a damaged item or it had been broken in the post.

Now, Ebay take the risk rather than the seller.

I would guess that Ebay will soon catch on if specific buyers receive an unrealistic number of 'damaged in transit' items and will, as they have always been able to do, withdraw the protection of the Money Back Guarantee from those buyers.

[anne.craig]

I think your protection is dependant on the buyer clicking the right button - if they mark as damaged in transit (or however it is labelled), you will be covered.  If they mark as not as described you will not.  How would a buyer know which it is?  They'll choose more or less randomly I reckon.  Or could go for the malicious option if that's who they are or something about the transaction annoyed them (refusal of a lower offer, unrealistic delivery time expectations, p'd off about buyer fee, don't like the courier...).  What sounded like a good "offer" with SD becomes a minefield if it's all in the buyer's gift.

[between_41]

Thank you for the reply. It is just very sad as I absolutely believe they are lying. It is not just the money it is the feeling of being deceived.

But I guess there is nothing I can do about it.

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[between_41]

Thank you for your reply. I am losing my faith in human nature and just don’t like being deceived by someone so blatantly dishonest. Oh well I can’t do anything about it!

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[tressygirl]

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@between_41 wrote:

This has also happened to me and I am fuming!!

i had a gut feeling the buyer was dodgy after offering £15 for a £35 item. I said no and negotiated £30z  I packed the item really well and then she said it arrived damaged. Her photo showed the same item damaged but it was sat in packaging that was not mine.  

Odd that she would send you photos of the item in different packaging.   You would have to ask why she had the necessity to source different packaging, when it would be easier just to photograph your broken item in the packaging and box it arrived in.

Maybe she purchased 2 of these items, and the item from the other seller , not packed as well as yours,  was the one that arrived broken.  Buyer claimed a refund , perhaps from the wrong seller?  🤔

@between_41 

[department28]

 'It is just very sad as I absolutely believe they are lying. It is not just the money it is the feeling of being deceived.'

Yes - even if eBay cover the refund, if the buyer is lying about the item being damaged, then they are getting a refund and keeping what is very likely a perfectly good item... 😠

Before Simple Delivery, the seller would have to do the refunding, but at least you could insist the buyer returns the item - which would put them to some trouble, and maybe make them think twice about trying this scam.

[between_41]

Maybe….. although they felt dodgy from the start, I should have gone with my gut!!

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[between_41]

Yes, but in this instance they would have returned the rubbish one to me anyway so they still would have got the nice one !

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