Scammed by buyer

[titchy_tales]

Buyer contacted me to say there was a postage surcharge they were hostile and rude from the offset so I contacted eBay and asked for help. 

eBay said if the buyer sent them proof of receipt on the surcharge they would refund due to courier error.

I told the buyer this and they got mad and demanded a full refund from me which I refused as they had received the item. They then raised an item not delivered case. 

The item was delivered as per Royal Mail tracking so eBay closed the case in my favour. The buyer then appealed the decision and eBay have gone in their favour with no explanation all it says in extra information is “you agreed to refund the buyer” which I certainly did not! 

So now the buyer has the item and a full refund and I’m left out of pocket and down on my backside. It was only £18 but surely they need evidence the item was not delivered to refund the buyer! 

I have tried to appeal but when I click the appeal button it takes me back to my listing, tried to talk to someone but chat bot won’t connect me to a human either! 

I have proof the item was delivered, proof of chats with the buyer where at no point did I offer a refund and transcript of the chat with eBay saying they would refund the £3.50 surcharge. Any advice appreciated 🫣

[ed_58611]

@titchy_tales 

 Sorry to hear this... clearly bad advice from CS and a buyer trying it on.

Don't worry - simply have eBay call you back - click the link at the bottom -  best to do so at 8 a.m. to get a Dublin call centre based operative... they are very efficient and helpful, and nothing "lost in translation".

You'll get your money reinstated although I suspect your buyer will keep his refund too... hopefully they'll give him a stiff warning for abusive behaviour! 

If you don't immediately get someone with a clearly native UK accent at first go, just say "Sorry, wrong number" and try again.

Good luck!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid 

[jckl1957]

I don't understand how you have been scammed by a buyer when Ebay chose to refund them.

I can understand the buyer being annoyed from the start if they had to pay a fine of £3.50 to receive their item because it didn't have enough postage on.

Ebay don't usually get involved in postage disputes at all.  If as a buyer, I was asked to send Ebay proof of the surcharge, I would not be happy.  I would expect the seller to sort it out.

As you are unhappy with the way Ebay has dealt with this, contact Customer Services. Use the link below to get a callback.  They may decide to return your payment to you out of Ebay funds.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid

[titchy_tales]

@jckl1957 I have been scammed by the buyer as they raised an item not received claim saying the item was not delivered when they very clearly received the item. The item hasn’t been returned to me, they have kept the item, said it hasn’t been delivered and demanded a full refund, which is false information. 

I only contacted eBay initially as I wasn’t sure on the process for simple delivery and the buyer was very rude and hostile from the get go. I work in customer service so I can handle frustrated customers but this was beyond that so I needed advice on how to approach. 

I would have had no issue refunding the £3.50 however I went on the advice I was given from eBay customer services that the buyer should contact them as they said it was a courier error and it was paid using simple delivery. 

[ed_58611]

You are correct as far as I can see.

And the unnecessarily rude and hostile buyer who later fraudently claimed INR is guilty of trangressing eBay's abusive buyer policy.

[kyanyama]

I would also have been confused as I was under the impression that eBay sorted out problems if a seller used Simple Delivery.

Did eBay not just refund the buyer without removing the funds from your account?

If the buyer got a freebie make sure you block them buying from you again.  Aggressive behaviour is bullying and just intimidation to get their own way which you no doubt knew from your customer services training.

[jckl1957]

A lot of the seller's recent sales did not use Simple Delivery.

Which item was it @titchy_tales 

Was it send with SD?

My view is that this buyer was cross because they could not receive their item without paying an extra £3.50 for it to be delivered - that would certainly be perceived as the seller's fault.

If this happened to me and I contacted the seller, I would not want to be fobbed off by being told to contact Ebay, I would expect the seller to apologise and refund me the amount involved.

When that didn't happen, an inexperienced buyer might well open a 'not received' case in an effort to get a refund.

Clearly, Ebay did not see the customer's claim as fraudulent.  Quite rightly, the INR case was closed, but when the buyer appealed or complained, Ebay refunded.

I am surprised they charged the seller for the refund.

I did advise the seller to contact Ebay: they awarded the refund and may possibly make a payment to them.

However, the buyer NOT being a scammer is an opinion I will not change.

Ebay were in posession of all the facts, knew the buyer had received the item, and chose to refund them.

[kyanyama]

Seller said in message 4:

I only contacted eBay initially as I wasn’t sure on the process for simple delivery and the buyer was very rude and hostile from the get go. I work in customer service so I can handle frustrated customers but this was beyond that so I needed advice on how to approach.

[dch2112011]

Although the OP states that the buyer received the item, what would make sense is that the buyer was left a card to pay the excess charge along with instructions to arrange delivery or collection.

The buyer could if the excess was not paid claim a refund for non delivery  as the item was either not delivered or rejected by the buyer  due to the incorrect postage being applied.

However if it is as stated under SD and the buyer paid for delivery then this is a matter between ebay and the buyer unless the size and weight was wrongly declared by the seller ?

If it was not under SD then the seller is responsible  

[ed_58611]

In direct response to yourself, the OP has already stated that "I only contacted eBay initially as I wasn’t sure on the process for simple delivery".

[papso22]

Many posters think they have used Simple delivery when they actually haven't.

The issue here is why ebay did what they did if this was a Simple Delivery transaction. 

Either they were not aware it was SD, a problem in itself, or there are no set processes for SD, which I find hard to believe.

Often the simplest explanation is the right one.