Delays getting refund

[poptart0_4]

Just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation (I posted about the first half a while ago but more has happened since). 

I bought an item which arrived faulty and I initiated a return on the 22nd December. Seller had until 30th December to provide a label, but didn’t. EBay then sent a label on 31st December. 

The item was returned and the seller received it back on 5th January. It was my understanding that they would have two business days to refund. However eBay gave them to 14th January (7 business days). I rang eBay who said themselves it should be two business days and couldn’t understand why it was longer, but I was reassured it wouldn’t take any longer than this and I would have my money back by the 14th.

15th Jan comes around and still no refund so I ask eBay to step in. The message said they would review and provide details of their decision within 48 hours. However when you click into the case details it says it’s been put on hold until 25th January to allow time to provide more details and if they need anything else they’ll be in touch! That’s another 10 days!!!

I rang eBay again and the rep couldn’t see a reason why it was put on hold but claimed the system can do it randomly to anyone and seemed to think it happened to me cause I haven’t returned anything in such a long time! This makes no sense to me at all. 

Just wondering if anyone else has had similar and what the outcome was. It concerns me that they may decline a refund, even though the item was faulty and has been returned. Are there likely to be any further delays after this?

Thank you 

[therenewalworkshopltd]

This is just the way the system works.

More than likely the two weeks hold is because the seller has been asked to provide tracking etc.

It is a fixed period, that allows time to get information and so on.

There are no guarantees that you will receive a refund, buy you more than likely will as long as you have followed the correct procedures.

[ascotscalemodels]

I've had it too mainly because the seller was using simple delivery.In my case the item never arrived and had to wait nearly 3 weeks for refund-very frustrating.

[tommystrezures]

In addition to the above was the item sent overseas? or the account registered overseas, this can sometimes be why ebay will add extra time for these things to be resolved.

[poptart0_4]

Thanks for replies so far. 

No company not based or registered overseas. The returns label used was generated by eBay and has been updating. It shows it was delivered back to the seller on 5th January so they shouldn’t need any kind of tracking. I would have thought the 10 days they had to refund when item was returned should have been used for any further information that was needed but they’ve given them another 10 days and nobody at eBay seems to know why. If they don’t know, I’m not expecting anyone here to know - more curious if this has happened to anyone else and the reason why/outcome/did they get their refund within more delays. 

I was assured by eBay I’d get my money by 14th latest so just a bit perplexed that they’ve now put it on hold for another ten days and can’t give me an explanation as to why. They haven’t asked me for further details, it’s updated to show seller has it back. It was a faulty item that’s been returned to a seller who offers returns regardless so I’m just not sure what the hold up is/what else they want/need. 

[4_bathrooms]

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@poptart0_4 wrote:

It was a faulty item that’s been returned to a seller who offers returns regardless so I’m just not sure what the hold up is/what else they want/need. 

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Is the seller registered as a business seller or a private seller? Also, what exact reason did you select for wanting to return the item; was it "Doesn't work or defective"?

Some of the extended time will be due to eBay making allowances for the Christmas and New Year holiday period but it would still be unusual for eBay to extend the seller's response time by this much for a Money Back Guarantee claim. 

[poptart0_4]

It’s a business seller. Reason for return was stated as it being defective. Yes it’s a bit strange. Granted it’s been a long time (years possibly) since I’ve done a return but eBay weren’t able to tell me why the got 7 business days instead of the usual 2 to refund nor could they tell me after this timeframe passed why it’s now a further 10 days instead of the usual 48 hours to, I suppose forcibly send the refund 

[Anonymous]

ebay getting ridiculous! either AI or the loony's have taken over.

[4_bathrooms]

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@Anonymous wrote:

ebay getting ridiculous! either AI or the loony's have taken over.

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AI is rarely involved in INAD return cases (if ever). For the most part they are automated with set time limits for various actions as follows:

• Buyer opens return
• Seller required to provide return label or issue refund within 3 business days
• If a return label was provided the buyer has 14 calendar days to obtain acceptance scan
• Once return label shows a status of delivery or attempted delivery seller has 3 business days to refund

If the seller doesn't meet those deadlines the buyer can "ask eBay to step in" which typically results in the case automatically being found in the buyer's favour. It sounds like eBay extended the deadlines due to the Christmas and New Year holiday period but the extensions given seem excessive unless the seller is attempting to report the OP for something.

[the-nutwood-collection]

I returned a defective Bluetooth earpiece, using an eBay label.  It's the only item I've ever returned since I joined eBay umpteen years ago.  The seller didn't refund, just gave me excuses, so I asked eBay to step in.

eBay asked me to send a scan of the PoP, clearly showing the seller's postcode.  Obviously, the seller's last attempt to evade refunding was to suggest that I had sent the item to a different address.

Fortunately, because I'm a business seller, I had the PoP, showing their postcode.  Sent it, eBay refunded me.  However, how many non-business buyers would have the PoP?  I wonder how many refunds the seller avoided by using this ploy.    

[therenewalworkshopltd]

By POP, I presume that you mean proof of posting?

Why would you need that, when you should be sending via a tracked method anyway?
Which by it's nature would show the postcode on the tracking.

And even with it, it's not proof of delivery, so all the seller needs to say is that it's not been received.

[4_bathrooms]

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@therenewalworkshopltd wrote:

By POP, I presume that you mean proof of posting?

Why would you need that, when you should be sending via a tracked method anyway?
Which by it's nature would show the postcode on the tracking.

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When an INAD case is opened and the seller purchases the return label via eBay - or one is automatically provided - the service employed is Royal Mail Tracked 48. Tracked 48 does not show the delivery postcode anywhere in Royal Mail's online tracking; it just shows where the the item was dropped off, the mail centre(s) that it passed through and the delivery office (DO) responsible for delivery. The nearest thing to a postcode is the GPS scan and image obtained on delivery.

A common return scam is editing the Royal Mail label so it shows an address in the same postcode area - or one that is otherwise served by the same delivery office - and "returning" an empty package to that address. This is because the delivering postie is the weak link in the chain as they will just take the package to the address shown on the label and scan it as delivered. There have been many examples of this happening.  

[roger_roger_over_and_nowt]

I wonder how much interest is made on delayed refunds/payment holds etc ?

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Ok, so it has a scan on delivery.

There is your proof.  Irrespective of the actual address it's been delivered to!

I've had it the other way around, where a buyer has complained that an item has not been delivered, yet it is scanned as delivered.
It's only been after the fact, that I've actually found that it went to a different house.

Yet when this is escalated within Ebay, I've never lost one.
So I really don't see how that scam will actually work.

From Ebay's point of view, the item has been delivered.  = Refund.

It may on appeal be paid by ebay to the seller, but from the customers point of view, they got their money back.

[4_bathrooms]

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@therenewalworkshopltd wrote:

So I really don't see how that scam will actually work.

From Ebay's point of view, the item has been delivered.  = Refund.

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A "buyer" purchases something expensive like a mobile phone or a laptop. They then open an INAD case and modify the address on the Royal Mail return label - these days it is easy enough to modify a PDF file even with freely available software. They then send an empty package or something equally worthless to one of the seller's neighbours. Once the return tracking shows delivery or attempted delivery the clock starts ticking until the "buyer" can escalate it and obtain a refund at the seller's expense without ever having sent the item back.

A seller's only real defence in such cases is to file a report with Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud), obtain a reference number then click the "Report a problem" link in the return case providing the reference number they were given by Report Fraud - this needs to be done before the "buyer" is able to escalate the case. This ultimately results in eBay refunding the "buyer" at their own expense but novice sellers are unlikely to know this is the correct procedure for reporting such fraud to eBay.

[theelench]

🤣You took the words right out of my mouth 🤣

Just been reading a couple of threads (again, as they've grown longer) about bank verification taking weeks. Of course the money owed is, as always, on Hold.

Ebay + other peoples money  =  stone + blood.

[the-nutwood-collection]

The scam was even easier when I returned the earpiece.  eBay didn't send a label with the seller's address, so there was no need for Photoshop.  They sent a postage sticker, similar to the ones that the PO print when you pay for postage over the counter.  I had to provide the label with the address - so I could have sent it anywhere.

Of course, the delivery scan would have shown if it was delivered to a different location, but maybe eBay couldn't be bothered to check that - they just demanded the PoP with the seller's postcode.  Much easier for them.

Thinking about it, I am rather miffed.  To ask me for proof, means that eBay thought I was the scammer.  That must have been one of the few instances - or maybe the only instance - where eBay favoured the seller over the buyer.