eBay Simple Delivery Stolen Parcel - Seller Liable for Refund

[uk-general-seller]

I sold a phone last month and packaged it, sent it off at the Evri parcelshop where it was scanned in, etc. This was done via eBay Simple Delivery. Yet, when the buyer received the item (they chose click and collect to a Tesco Express), they reported that the package was empty and said they received an empty box.

This, for me, is ostensibly believable as they told me they opened the parcel in front of a Tesco security guard. They also sent me pictures of the empty parcel; I can clearly see the parcel has been repackaged with brown parcel tape, when I only used clear tape. The was a suspicious delay to postage, whereby the parcel said it was ready to collect on Saturday, only for it to be suddenly delayed until Tuesday, so it seems and Evri worker is responsible.

I reported this issue to eBay and was told it would be covered by eBay. I had to wait for the buyer to make a case, and they chose 'wrong item sent', since they had accepted delivery (i.e. as 'item not received' was unavailable). I had to wait a few days for eBay to step in (there was no resolution by this time, despite it being clear that the contents of the package had been stolen).

Once the time had lapsed, I requested for eBay to step in, and instead of eBay looking into the case, it was automatically resolved in the buyer's favour, when eBay should be liable for the refund and not me. Now, they have put the case on hold, after I contacted eBay again, until the 26th of September (almost a month after the buyer reported the issue), to request more details from the buyer {rather than request seller input also). My guess is that the buyer will say that they were sent an empty package, and again I would remain liable for the refund despite it ostensibly being a courier issue.

eBay Simple Delivery is thus not simple at all, predominantly due to both buyers and sellers being limited to selecting a limited range of options, with case resolutions mostly automated. Evri will not assist with this matter, due to eBay seemingly managing postage, whilst eBay's resolutions seem to be limited to an almost perennial hold on cases, ultimately decided by an automated system.

[**peaseblossom**]

The only option that seems to guarantee ebay refund with seller keeping payment is "Item damaged".    They should add another one to cover what happened to you, eg. "Contents removed in transit".

Explain to the buyer that in this case ebay should be issuing the refund themselves, and ask them to make it clear to ebay that the item was stolen or removed in transit.    Good luck.

[suelel1968]

This is happening alot just based on the number of similar cases written about on the forum. You should not be held responsible assuming no history of such things on your account. Buyers don't have an option for empty packages it seems and whatever option they choose seems to result in issues. 

There are plenty of posts to read on the subject if you search for them.

The best advice if you haven't alredy is ring in the morning and hope to speak to so CS in Ireland. Don't accept anything less than payment for your item, however many complaints you have to make. 

[4_bathrooms]

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@uk-general-seller wrote:

I reported this issue to eBay and was told it would be covered by eBay. I had to wait for the buyer to make a case, and they chose 'wrong item sent', since they had accepted delivery (i.e. as 'item not received' was unavailable). I had to wait a few days for eBay to step in (there was no resolution by this time, despite it being clear that the contents of the package had been stolen).

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The only "item not as described" reason Simple Delivery offers protection against is "Arrived damaged". Every other reason is deemed to be the seller's fault.

You need to contact eBay's customer services to explain the situation; this might take a few attempts and a temporary increase in your blood pressure. You'll need to persevere until you manage to speak to someone who can both read and understand what happened in the case. 

[uk-general-seller]

Indeed, it seems that Simple Delivery is very problematic. Worse still is that it can be open to abuse very easily. I would trust the buyer in this particular case as they said they opened it in the presence of a Tesco security guard. However, anyone could make post a similar message, put 'wrong item sent' and in most cases be successful in defrauding the seller. 

It is also a little strange that the buyer put 'wrong item sent' and did not respond to any of my messages (though the suspicious Evri tracking update seems that a case of buyer fraud here is unlikely).

[uk-general-seller]

Buying and selling phones on eBay is difficult. When you are a buyer, often you end up with a phone with another fault than just the one described (or even a rooted phone). When you are a seller, you can be defrauded easily. Hopefully, switching to only using Royal Mail for Simple Delivery will make things a little easier. 

As a buyer, I bought a phone (which I have now been refunded for), which has been stuck as 'processing' in Evri's hub for over a month. I also made an offer for what seemed to be a phone (was listed as used and in very good condition) but turned out to be an empty box (luckily, rediverting it to a Evri locker meant it was delivered there, then sent back by the shop, only for Evri to keep attempting redelivery for nearly a month, which allowed me to get a refund).

[uk-general-seller]

On a more humorous note, I even ordered a phone for Evri click and collect to the post office. As the seller was in the same borough, they dropped off the parcel at the exact post office where I had to collect from. Despite there being no Evri involvement, the parcel is actually lost despite being ready for collection (no-one in the post office can find it).