Changed my mind return stuck in customs, what to do with the return case?

[dza-4617]

Hi,

Had a buyer initiate a changed my mind return with no prior contact. Buyer bought own postage (from the US) and supplied the tracking number. The date for refund passed and ebay bombards me with reminders to refund.

In the case it says:

The item's been delivered

Now that the item has been returned, please refund the buyer. 

But over that it actually says "should have been delivered" and tracking shows package is stuck in customs for over 20 days. I have not received any notifcation from the post office, nor any contact from the buyer. My suspicion is he has not marked the shipment as a return so customs probably assess tax and vat. 

What happens now, case seems to be ongoing, ebay support says to ignore automated messages and get in touch with the buyer. If I somehow get ahold of the post office and they say I need to pay to receive the package, what happens then? I should not be on the hook to pay tax and vat since I have not purchased anything? 

[*vyolla*]

If your buyer hasn't completed the customs label correctly and ticked the 'Return' box instead of 'Goods' then it may well be waiting to be assessed for a customs fee. You can claim this back from HMRC though, but not the admin fee that Royal Mail/couriers charge.

You need to make it clear to eBay that you do not have your item back.

[dza-4617]

I did that and they checked item is in transit, though they insist to get in touch with the buyer/courier. My worry is, buyer will reach out to support, someone will just look at the case saying item is delivered without checking tracking, case will be automatically closed and buyer refunded and I will be left hanging with ebay telling me to retrieve the package from the courier...