Help with possible scam

[floopr55]

Hi everyone. I recently sold a handheld gaming console and now i was asked for a refund even though i stated i don't accept returns. The buyer is stating that the item is defective and will not power on, but that is not true as it was tested before shipping and it's very unlikely to be damaged during shipping as it was packed securely.  The problem is that buyers account was created just a few days before he made the purchase and this is looking like a scam to me. He sent me a very low resolution picture and when i asked for clearer pictures, he refused and the reason is that he already packed the item and he only wants to return it, or he will contact ebay. What option do i have? Thank you in advance for to anyone willing to help me

[4_bathrooms]

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@floopr55 wrote:

which option should i choose? as there is no "missing parcel" or anything close to it

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In situations like this it's best to go with the option that most closely matches the situation. The buyer sent a picture of a different item so I'd suggest choosing "Buyer returned the wrong item". In your report you need to make it clear the picture sent by the buyer was not your item, that you haven't received anything back despite what the tracking says and - crucially - the reference number and anything else you can provide from Action Fraud. 

[floopr55]

Update:

The case was closed in my favour and i got the funds for the item i sold.  Buyers account was also suspended. 

I followed the steps provided by 4_bathrooms in his original post which can be found on this thread.

Thank you so much for the help, as a casual seller/buyer on this platform this helped a lot. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                  Cheers!

[4_bathrooms]

That's great news; thank you for coming back to let us know what the outcome was. We now know what the correct advice is for any future poster who finds themself in the same situation.

[blue_bear]

Just want to say thank you. This will be very helpful to fight the dispute frauds happening. I had a situation where I sold a brand new iPhone 15 pro sealed and the customer claimed it was received opened. He ordered it on Friday asking if it can be delivered by Monday. It reached him on Saturday (02/March). Monday (04/March) came, he messaged me "hello?" And around 5 minutes later, a dispute was raised.

I have since challenged the dispute with a picture showing the phone box with in tact seals. Been 3/4 weeks and still awaiting an outcome.

The weird thing I saw was that the customer sent something back on the Friday and it reached me back on Monday. He entered these tracking details into the dispute. I did not receive anything back despite it being sent as a special delivery. I received other parcels that day however. this is what got me, how did he manage to do that?! The signature shows 'CV'. 

In the dispute, I attached a picture of the phone box with the serial number and seals intact, a screenshot of the messaging where his first message to me was "Hello" and then no replies thereafter and a picture of the tracking showing it being delivered (this last was one is useless I know, but I wanted to try adding some weight). So I will see if this will be enough. The problem is that he's added tracking and it shows something being delivered to me. 

[blue_bear]

So just to clarify, he opened a 'Item not as described' dispute with his bank / PayPal. I have already made a report to action fraud and received a ref number based on your advice that I seen elsewhere in the forum. I will have this ready to submit to eBay if the dispute is not in my favour. But if now the item shows as delivered, am I pretty much stuck?

[blue_bear]

Excellent advice. I came across something like this and it seems that people in this thread are just regurgitating something in their heads again and again without knowing the proper method. 

Did you report the crime through action fraud? Can you go into the process in a little more detail to help others in the forum also? For example, did you submit any pictures etc?

that would be much appreciated.

[adivinesoul]

Agree with you fully! 

I've been in situations like that many times.  Selling electronic items  always attracts scammers not only on eBay.  I "scrutinise " buyers accounts thoroughly before accepting bids for such items, especially those that have zero FBs/newly created account/lots of neg FBs left for sellers etc.  -  if I have the feeling that there is a scammer behind a bid I just cancel the bids - end of.   In some cases I had to relist certian items three times because I knew I would have been scammed.   

[four_mid_able]

Do you know how many people work for Actionfraud and how many reports they get a day.

It's something like 1 million per employee per year.

It's just a "vent" really unless you are talking large amounts.

[four_mid_able]

Scammers don't always have low feedback or lots of negs left for others.

They can have thousands of feedback and no bad feedback left and they can bid in the last 5 seconds.How would you know and what would you do 90 days down the line re possible chargebacks (180 days with PP)..

Hopefully you cancelled the sales via the proper method coz if you do it wrong you get a defect each time plus a bill.

Might be worth viewing your seller dashboard to see your status.

[adivinesoul]

.......They can have thousands of feedback and no bad feedback left and they can bid in the last 5 seconds.How would you know and what would you do 90 days down the line re possible chargebacks (180 days with PP)........

Yes, that's right. If I find that the so called "winner"  looks and feels  not "legit" I will cancel the sale/bid and refund.  I might have "lost" a genuine good buyer but c'est la vie.

I lead a very busy life and eBay selling is just a bit of a hobby not more and not less.  I do not depend on it financially, thank God.   I  haven't got time to "entertain" rogue buyers and try my best to avoid any conflicts or dramas.

[4_bathrooms]

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@blue_bear wrote:

So just to clarify, he opened a 'Item not as described' dispute with his bank / PayPal.

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The advice I gave is intended for an eBay "Money Back Guarantee" case; i.e. a return request the buyer has opened via eBay. You're dealing with a payment dispute - this is where the buyer has filed a dispute with their funding source outside of eBay.

I suspect you're going to have to wait until eBay decides the outcome of the dispute and appeal their decision if necessary. The most likely reason your buyer supplied Royal Mail return tracking and you didn't receive anything back is explained in an earlier post. Did your buyer ever open an eBay Money Back Guarantee case? You would have received a message with "Your buyer has opened a request" as the subject - if such a case was opened it would have been automatically closed once your buyer filed a dispute with their funding source.