Sold an item and buyer said it wasn't in the packaging.

[jasb01]

I sold an item on 4th December. The buyer collected the parcel on 7th December from their local EVRI collection point. The buyer has since said that there was nothing in the packaging; they claim the item was missing. They also claimed that the packaging was intact.

I am an honest individual and had put the item in the box and secured it. I have photos of the item in the box. The buyer is refusing to send back the packaging. I have photos and proof of delivery/tracking information, and am trying to appeal, can't find the option on the seller dashboard to appeal a closed case. 

Ebay have refunded the buyer, I am now without the item and £300 down. I have spoken to Ebay 5 times, and there is no resolution.  7th December at 2:30pm, 12th December 9am, 9:20am, 4pm and 21:45am. They are trying to escalate this. I feel totally cheated and sad. 

What can I do?

[nigel_paul_wright7557]

Sadly your photo's mean nothing.

You could have removed the item after taking the pictures.

Might be a scam or somewhere along the route the item has been removed and package redone up.

[jasb01]

Hi, I feel really impacted by this and feel so cheated.

The buyer is also refusing to return the packaging, and Ebay are happy that the buyer doesn't return the packaging. I have politely requested photos of the packaging.  

[**peaseblossom**]

I'm sorry this has happened to you.   I don't know if this is relevant to your case but we have seen an increase of what seem to be courier theft of items in transit.    Unfortunately ebay  don't have a process that covers this but you can appeal the case here:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/appeal-outcome-case-seller?id=4369

Others things to consider are some household insurances cover personal possessions outside the home, you could try that.    Or if you used your credit card when you originally bought the item , depending on how long ago that was, you could ring your CC company and see if they can do a chargeback.

Best of luck.

[sml192]

What type of case did the buyer open and how did you respond to it?

If they opened an 'Item not received' claim or a 'Return request' citing 'Arrived damaged' then as it was sent using Simple Delivery you should have been protected by eBay with no action required by yourself.

If they opened a 'Return request' using 'Missing parts or pieces' or 'Item doesn't match description or photos' then that would have put the onus on you and you should have accepted the return.  The buyer would then have needed to return the empty packaging in order to receive a refund.  

[jasb01]

Thank you very much for your message. It’s sad that there is so much crime around at the moment.

I have tried the appealing link but the option to appeal does not show up on my dashboard.

The case was closed but it doesn’t seem to appear on my seller dashboard. I have been through the loop of clicking about 20 times now, just to check I haven’t missed anything.

I asked eBay why I couldn’t appeal on the dashboard and when I rang them to query this, they said I can only appeal by ringing them. But that doesn’t give me the option to formalise anything in writing.

They’ve asked me to wait a few business working days. But at the moment I don’t trust the process and it’s all making me feel really anxious.

Sent from my iPhone

[greenendhouse]

I thought simple delivery took care of all this?

[jasb01]

They opened a refund request, and I asked them to return the item/packaging.

They must have rang eBay and that’s when EBay intervened, raised a case and then refunded the buyer without my input or knowledge or the option to even put my case forward.


Sent from my iPhone

[jasb01]

Should I try and contact simple delivery? 

[department28]

Hi - Simple Delivery is just the name eBay use for their postage - it isn't a separate business. Unfortunately, it sounds like you missed the deadline to resolve the situation quickly. A seller only has 3 days to respond once the buyer has opened the refund request. You don't have to wait for the buyer to answer your messages - it is all done automatically, so if you don't respond in time, eBay will automatically refund the buyer using your funds - which is what seems to have happened to you.

If the appeal link does not work, I'm not sure what else you can do, except keep on ringing eBay. It is not a nice situation to be in, so I hope someone will be able to help.

[suelel1968]

Try to speak to Ireland CS by calling Saturday morning. You should not be left in this position, but it seems you have to make a fuss. Let us know how you get on 

[neovass0]

   It may be a dishonest buyer, which is an eternal problem unfortunately, but as someone has already said, courier theft seems to be an issue at the moment, as there are several threads about empty parcels turning up.  This happens every year in the run up to Christmas, but really doesn't get the attention it should. The delivery company usually denies there is an issue as standard.