Really stressed - buyer has opened a item not received claim

[bigib-43]

Folks I know this has been talked about a lot but I am genuinely stressed to hell here. I have chronic depression and anxiety and this has knocked me sideways. 

I sold a handheld pc, a Lenovo legion go back in April. At the time I actually was shocked at getting more than I expected. 

I reset the pc and contacted the winner (who had already been chatty about replacing her laptop with this) on how to set up and offering to help her if she had issues. 

the item was sent special delivery. It was delivered on the 15th April. Tracking shows gps and photo. 

at 11pm on delivery night the seller contacted me saying they didn’t get it, the signature wasn’t theirs, the photo didn’t show them or anything besides the package and that it was stolen. She said she has Amazon packages stolen that same day. 

on the night I was devastated. I told her to raise a claim with the Royal Mail as I assumed the responsibility was with the RM. I had checked if recipients could claim for special delivery and apparently they can. 

fast forward 29 days and today the buyer said they had no option but to raise an item not received claim. 

they said they’d contacted the Royal Mail and that they said the seller had to contact them. I don’t believe her and she got her RM claim number wrong in the item not received claim, she sent me a different one. 

I reluctantly agreed to call Royal Mail. They confirmed a claim is ongoing and is in the name of the buyer. 

so what the hell do I do now?

I really cannot afford to refund this at the moment. As far as I was concerned it was delivered. the fact that the buyer said numerous items were stolen made me feel like it isn’t really my responsibility. 

can someone please offer the best course of action here? I responded to the INR case with tracking and a formal message. I also messaged the buyer many times throughout the afternoon. 

any help would be great 

[akemp1]

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@bigib-43 wrote:

So eBay found in my favour today and closed the case. 

I'm now expecting an appeal or item not as described or a charge back. 

I feel like I can’t relax for a good while yet. 

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They shouldn't win an INAD if they have already lost a delivery case.

A chargeback could be tricky - sometimes ebay have been known to payout themselves if the tracking shows delivered but it's uncertain territory.

At the very least I suggest you make no further contact with the buyer and do not respond to any messages and you may wish to block them.

[*vyolla*]

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@bigib-43 wrote:

So eBay found in my favour today and closed the case. 

I'm now expecting an appeal or item not as described or a charge back. 

I feel like I can’t relax for a good while yet. 

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You can relax.

Even if they issue a chargeback you're covered now by eBay's Seller Protection

[bigib-43]

Guys, thank you so much. 

[sml192]

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@*vyolla* wrote:

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@bigib-43 wrote:

So eBay found in my favour today and closed the case. 

I'm now expecting an appeal or item not as described or a charge back. 

I feel like I can’t relax for a good while yet. 

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You can relax.

Even if they issue a chargeback you're covered now by eBay's Seller Protection

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That isn't necessarily the case.  If the buyer files a chargeback for the reason 'Item not received' then the seller would be protected, as they can prove delivery, but if the buyer uses 'Item not as described' then, unfortunately, there wouldn't be any automatic protection since it would be for a different reason to the original case.

Similarly, there is nothing to prevent the buyer from opening an 'Item not as described' case under eBay's Money Back Guarantee, although the evidence of the previous case could possibly be used to try and defend it. 

[bigib-43]

This is where I get confused. How can someone say it’s not as described if they claim it was stolen?

they paid for delivery and I packed it and gave it to the post office who handled the delivery. If the item was stolen then the buyer should have reported a crime (they didn’t) and that reference would be used by the Royal Mail for the buyer to claim. 

as it stands, having read a lot of forums, this feels like a scam and I’m expecting a follow up claim of some sort. 

I’ve learned a lesson. I won’t ever sell expensive items on eBay again. 

[sml192]

Yes, the fact that they have stated that the item was stolen should, in theory, be sufficient to defend against any subsequent 'Item not as described' claims but it won't prevent the buyer from opening such a claim in the first place.  

I definitely agree that this feels like a scam attempt since, as previously stated, Royal Mail Special Delivery items are never just left on the doorstep as they have to be specifically handed to someone at the recipients address. 

Please try not to worry and if they do try any follow up claims then please do come back for further advice. 

[forestfeline62]

How can the buyer say the item wasn't as described if it was  stolen ,ebay will see this too .I had a customer who said item wasn't as described and sent the item back so they said, off their own back  ,not with a label from ebay ,the item didn't arrive I wasn't given a tracking number  and so the customer then bought a label from ebay and sent me an empty envelope ,where as the item i was expecting was a bronze figurine of a gun dog on an onyx base ,definitely wouldn't fit in an envelope ,anyway I told ebay what she had done how she had posted the item twice !!!!and showed them the empty envelope with the ebay label on  and they found in my favour and closed the case .

[myretrostore-uk]

Don't forget to block the buyer. This is not the kind of person you want to be dealing with. 

[bigib-43]

Folks - sorry to resurrect this.

After Ebay finding in my favour I had hoped this was all over. The buyer (who I neglected to block) has now contacted me out of the blue saying Royal Mail want a photo of the item in the shipping box before I sent it as proof.

No one does this surely? I can assume they are going to try and get me from another angle now.

Any advice would be really useful, do I have to respond? Should I block them? Can eBay challenge me if I block them and don't respond?

[susapric-68]

Just block and ignore

[tressygirl]

Unfortunately,  you will not be able to block their messages just yet,  as they are in a recent transaction with you.

Block them now by all means,  this will stop them buying any other item,  but messages will still reach you.

@bigib-43 

[bigib-43]

The item was "stolen from their doorstep" but they want a picture of it in the box prior to being closed and shipped. Which makes no sense at all.

Also they didn't report the theft to the police. The whole thing stinks.

I have blocked them but as you say their messages might still get through.

I am done with eBay as a result of this guy.

[4_bathrooms]

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@tressygirl wrote:

Unfortunately,  you will not be able to block their messages just yet,  as they are in a recent transaction with you.

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If you block a buyer and have the "Don't allow blocked buyers to contact me" box ticked on this page it now seems to take effect immediately. Previously a buyer could still message a seller within 90 days of a transaction regardless of that setting but at some point last year it changed.

[*vyolla*]

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@bigib-43 wrote:

The buyer (who I neglected to block) has now contacted me out of the blue saying Royal Mail want a photo of the item in the shipping box before I sent it as proof.

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I'd block and ignore them.

That's just nonsense. What relevance to anything does a photo of the item in the shipping box have? I can think of no reason why RM would ask for that.

[bigib-43]

That is exactly what I thought too. 

If it happened to me as a buyer I would contact the police first to get a crime reference. This buyer didn't bother.

[xyz307xyz]

Just to double up on what other people have said, if it was me - I wouldn't reply to any message from them, about anything - even if you think the message is irrelevant to the main issue.

You've completed your responsibilities as a seller. The buyer can do what they like with Royal Mail, their bank and ebay etc. I hope you never hear about it again.

[bigib-43]

Guys thank you all so much for the advice

I think I will ignore the message and try to ignore them.