Scammed by a vintage dealer, payment dispute when known to have sold

[themorethingschange]

Hi I've had a really negative experience and am not sure what to do about it. I sold 3 items (really nice vintage homeware items) to a dealer and reduced the price for him and posted together using signed for RM. I have proof of receipt. I follow him too on eBay and noticed he quickly relisted two of the items (at 6 x times the price) but then took one down as sold elsewhere, one item remains. I also follow him on instagram (he doesn't know I know who he is - different names!) and he has a very professional website. I noticed he'd sold the third item on instagram. I sent these over a month ago and have heard from him since, asking to buy more items, wanting a discount (I didn't give one this time). A few nights ago I received a payment dispute for 2 of these items (5 weeks after receipt) stating: "Your buyer filed a payment dispute for an order placed on 06 Oct, 2024. This means that they disputed a charge directly with their payment institution. They're requesting £** back, and the reason for this dispute is that the buyer didn't recognise the transaction." I attached proof of receipt and apparently I'm eligible for seller protection but, my funds are on hold (almost £100) for who knows how long, and he may get away with getting his money back from the bank! I just wondered if anyone has experienced this and what I should do about it? I have blocked him, but also messaged him (no reply). Many thanks!

[*vyolla*]

You're covered if you can provide the tracking number to eBay that shows that the items were delivered to the address on the order details. 

[game_raid]

I personally would never message the buyer when they open these kind of disputes, you will get nowhere even if they do reply.

As advised above as long as you have valid tracking to the address supplied at checkout you will be protected.

The length these cases can vary depending on the buyers bank, some can be resolved within a week or so and others can take up to 8 weeks, our most recent one took 6 weeks, possibly because it was a click and collect order which is typical for this type of dispute so the banks investigate a bit more.

[themorethingschange]

Thanks so much for your help. Surely this happens quite rarely? I guess I messaged him as I was really shocked and had never heard of this and it made no sense at all... I've been using Royal Mail tracked to send most parcels recently but there is no proof of delivery with this, so you think a parcel logged as delivered would cover me if this happens again? Thanks

[*vyolla*]

I think it's fine to message him to ask if he's got this transaction that he's reported as unauthorised mixed up with another, only because tracking number xxxx shows that he received his items on (date) and you note that he has listed the items for sale on his own eBay account.

I'd also make sure that's mentioned in your chargeback case.

If that doesn't make him close it, I don't know what will. If his card provider sees that this is a fraudulent transaction on his part he'll be in a whole world of trouble. 

[themorethingschange]

Thanks so much that's a good idea, really helpful 🙏

[rjwilmsi]

The good news is that because the reason for the chargeback is "didn't recognise the transaction" you will be able to provide the proof required - in this instance it is tracking showing delivery to the address on the order.

If the buyer were determined to defraud you they would presumably have opened a chargeback for the reason that the item was faulty, because it would be nearly impossible for you to prove that the item they received wasn't faulty or hadn't developed a fault shortly afterwards.

So it could be that the buyer has made a mistake and raised a case against the wrong purchase or maybe they have a shared bank account and their spouse reported the wrong transaction.

The chargeback may still stay open for several weeks and eBay won't release your money until it's resolved. I wouldn't contact the buyer about this because you don't know if they are trying to carry out fraud. I also wouldn't contact eBay customer services about this because they might press the wrong button and issue a refund to the buyer. You will just have to let the case run its course.

[themorethingschange]

Hi ah thank you that is interesting. I doubt it was a mistake as the buyer issued the payment disputes for the two items on two separate evenings. Maybe I'm jumping to very negative conclusions thinking it's fraudulent... I hadn't actually added tracking when he submitted the disputes (I'd just sent the tracking number in a message) so maybe he saw an opportunity there... I have no idea. Thanks, learning a lot about eBay through this! 

[*help_no_brakes*]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/selling-policies/payment-dispute-seller-protections?id=5293&st=...

[vintage-rug-co]

If you block him you will not receive any messages or reply’s from him. I got caught out like this and ended up in a nasty situation . Wait until the situation is resolved before you block him 

[themorethingschange]

Thanks, I blocked him because I listed lots of new stuff and didn't want him to bid, but I clicked on allowing blocked members to send messages (or similar) hopefully that works... Before I clicked on that I did receive a message from him but as he was blocked it flashed up but then I couldn't find it again. I had asked him if he'd received the third item in the box (as the only one actually currently listed by him for sale) and he said he did! What a riddle! 

[danve5360]

Hi no received my order back ni my payments 

[thecrowmanuk]

Huh?   Huh???

[sml192]

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@danve5360 wrote:

Hi no received my order back ni my payments 

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Sorry, difficult to know what your issue is and give advice from that.

Please start a new thread and provide more detail.