First time having someone request a refund…dodgy?

[tytherley12]

Hi, I sold our Dual Fuel Rangemaster oven today.  It was collected by the purchaser this morning. The purchaser has, this evening, requested a refund claiming that the item isn’t as described.  The purchaser wanted the ovens to be electric, but one is gas and one is electric. I even put in the listing that the main oven is gas, because I wanted to advertise that it has been barely used. Photo of listing below. I also showed her husband which oven compartment was gas when he collected it.  In her messages this evening she has accused me of editing the listing which I haven’t!  To add, she had sent a question before she placed a bid, which I didn’t get around to replying to, which said “Hi can I ask is the oven electric or gas just in the listing it says gas oven but it says dual fuel” so she clearly did know it had a gas oven. Is it likely that EBay will rule in her favour do you think? I don’t really sell on eBay and this lady clearly knows eBay inside and out judging by the content of her messages. It’s really thrown me.  I’ve spoken to eBay and the eBay lady basically said the buyer can do what it likes. Surely this can’t be right? Thanks for reading and any advice. 

[4_bathrooms]

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@edwardian-dreams wrote:

Shouldn’t the buyer have to prove why an item is not as described? otherwise they get a refund for whatever reason they like even if fraudulently 

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That is not how eBay's Money Back Guarantee works. The seller uploads a return label and after the return shipping label indicates a status of delivery or attempted delivery the seller reports a problem via the case should their buyer have abused the MBG.

The OP really needs to find a way to get the cooker collected even if it means hiring a van and asking a friend or two to go with them to pick it up. Although they won't have a return shipping label by doing this they will at least be cutting their losses by getting it back as a refund through eBay is all but inevitable. However, the clock is ticking and if their buyer clicks the "Ask eBay to step in" link on the third business day after the case was opened - with no return label uploaded - it will all be over. 

[xyz307xyz]

"tenner in the pot towards it.  Find 7 others"

I tagged the reps hoping that would provide clarity, so yes, £10 from me.

[4_bathrooms]

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@xyz307xyz wrote:

I understand. My point, as per another post, was as CS have confirmed the buyer opened the wrong type of case (not literally but by agreeing the item description was accurate) that they could (I hoped) refer it to someone to review manually at this stage; as an exception.

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It's not going to happen.

None of eBay UK's customer service reps are based in the UK. Well, you might get a UK-based customer service rep if you are a big business anchor store subscribing mega-seller which the OP is clearly not. The nearest CS reps most of us mere mortals can contact are based in Dublin (Ireland) or Manila (Philippines). If you're lucky you'll get a Dublin rep who at least speaks English as a first language but in either case they can only really regurgitate what is displayed on the screen in front of them. If they're unable to deal with your query by doing that they'll typically tell you what you want to hear (or what they think you want to hear) in order to get you off the phone so they can meet whatever "calls answered" target they have been given. If an eBay CS rep told me the sky was blue I would still look out of the window to check.

It used to be possible to hold eBay accountable for something said by a CS rep when the "online chat" option was available and the eBay user was subsequently sent a transcript of the conversation. However, as far as I can tell this feature has been replaced by an AI bot that can only regurgitate eBay's written policy or tell you a CS rep will call you back if you request to "speak to an agent".

[xyz307xyz]

To repeat my message, in shorter form.

I understand. 

I had hoped for something which you have told us is not possible.

I'm not disputing what you say, (I've learnt from this not to list anything similar,)

[lucy_farmer]

'.....so yes, £10 from me.'

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I'll join. 

@tytherley12  What part  of the country are you in? and how far away is the buyer?