WARNING! Ebay are not properly refunding unused Simple Delivery postage!

[jimthing]

TL;DR: Ebay SD refund rules are misleading and are not being followed by Ebay themselves! 

For the SECOND time now, even after filling out the postage refund form and the form saying on it and after submission at the end "Please allow up to 14 days for us to process your refund", Ebay are not following this timeframe whatsoever.

Even after phoning them now THREE TIMES(!) and them on the phone filling out TWO "manual request" forms for the refund... I'm still waiting for the refund over 30 days later! 

(Refund form, here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/claims/simple-delivery/refund/seller )

See the attached jpeg with copy of the screenshot after filling out the main Refund Form as further evidence of what it says re. UP TO 14-days to process refunds – Ebay's own rules they are not bothering to follow.

Ebay maybe you'd like to follow your own rules... guess what; 30+ days and several phonecalls is not 'up to 14 days'! 👿

 

 

[**peaseblossom**]

Was the new postage you bought trackable?   It has to be for you to be eligible for a SD refund.

[jimthing]

Obviously as an experienced seller, yes it certainly was. It's sitting on the order page, right where Ebay can see the tracking and delivery confirmation, accordingly.  Like I said , this is the SECOND time I've had issues with Ebay refunding unused SD, not just a first time. 

Ebay is turning into such an idiot box, with staff absolutely clueless about what's going on whenever you speak to them. 

[jimthing]

(Another thread with exactly the same problem – so clearly I'm certainly not alone dealing with this Ebay failure:

Not recieved a refund for an unused simple delivery label )

[department28]

What alternative postage did you use? As far as I know, you can only get a refund for a Simple Delivery label if you use a tracked service, and add the new tracking number to the item. If you have spoken to eBay, I don't know why they have not been able to give a reason why you have not received your refunds.

Thank you for the link to the Refund Request form... I didn't know there would be all those questions..!

[jimthing]

The buyer needed the item faster than Evri (who often takes 4-5 days), hence I manually bought RM Tracked-24 to be sure they got it quick enough. 

Ebay can see all the info they need on the order page. They're just USELESS! 

[thepillenwerfer]

It's no excuse for the poor customer service but if the Buyer was in a rush they should have paid for Express Delivery and you'd have been issued with a Tracked 24 label via Simple Delivery.  It may be worth telling people this who ask for faster delivery in future.

[jimthing]

FYI, sellers can add non-SD tracking to the sale page (which I did) – so Ebay can see the tracking# and delivery confirmation accordingly. It's Ebay's refund rules they're failing to commit to themselves we're dealing with here, not buyer behaviour. 

Hence why I said they're useless at following their own refund rules. 

[department28]

It is a very unsatisfactory situation. You were being a 'good seller' by sending the item by a speedier service to oblige your buyer, but it has caused you no end of trouble - and left you out of pocket - despite doing all that is required to get a refund.

I assumed these refunds would be issued 'automatically' - but it's sounding like it is a more of a hit & miss business...

[kyanyama]

Think I read on the SD info pages on Help & Contact that buyers who don't use a label are 'automatically' refunded when the label expires.  But Sellers (being bottom-dwellers) have to apply for a refund if their label isn't used. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/simple-delivery?id=5575

Returns and refunds

If your item can't be delivered to the buyer, it'll be returned to you. If you need help with returns, visit our Manage returns, missing items, and refunds for sellers article for more information.

If you don't use the Simple Delivery label provided, you or your buyer will be refunded, depending on who paid for postage.

If you selected 'Buyer pays’ when you created the listing, your buyer will automatically be refunded for any Simple Delivery label that isn’t used after 30 days
If you selected ‘Seller pays’ and offered free postage on your listing, you'll need to fill out the Request a refund for Simple Delivery form for the label that wasn’t used. Make sure to send your request within 14 days of your item selling.

But I think where sellers are getting caught out is, "make sure to send your request within 14 days of your item selling".  But in eBayspeak that does NOT mean they will refund within 14 days - more likely the refund will only appear after 30 days!  

[4_bathrooms]

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@kyanyama wrote:

But I think where sellers are getting caught out is, "make sure to send your request within 14 days of your item selling".  But in eBayspeak that does NOT mean they will refund within 14 days - more likely the refund will only appear after 30 days!  

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The seller has to apply within 14 days and - once the application is sent - they are told the refund will be processed within 14 days. So the refund should be made no later than 14 days after the request has been submitted.

[jimthing]

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@4_bathrooms wrote:
So the refund should be made no later than 14 days after the request has been submitted.

^THIS. Once you apply it should be 14 days MAXIMUM to be refunded. No ifs and buts – this is what Ebay literally put right front and centre on their claim form. 

But here we are, 30+ days later, and still no refund received as a seller. So Ebay are simply not following their own info for refunds, which they're showing sellers on the actual claim form page. 

And to add insult to injury, if they deny your claim (for a true or false reason), Ebay also don't even bother to advise you they've denied the claim too! On my first claim two months ago, you phone them to find out what's going on, then they tell you it was denied some 7...8...9...days earlier – gee thanks Ebay for informing me.

Just another way for them to keep seller's money who don't realise or can't be bothered to deal with chasing their own money. Atrocious behaviour! 

[jimthing]

Note that on that first claim a couple of months ago, it was a false positive for Ebay initially denying the claim, because –yet again– staff had not read the tracking info I clearly gave them on the item sale page correctly. 🙄

[jimthing]

...Day 34...

[*vyolla*]

What happens if you contact eBay CS and tell them that you applied for a refund when you didn't use the SD label and that complied with all of the rules for getting a refund i.e. seller pays postage, new tracking number added showing delivery and refund form completed well within 14 days, so what reason can they give for not refunding as per eBay's policy?

[cardz12]

I am still waiting for a postage refund from the YA/RM fiasco at the beginning of August. I completed the form (seller pays postage) and submitted it. In this situation my priority is my Buyer so, having had the SD package rejected at the PO I removed the SD label and sent 'manually' and paid the postage. However when I attempted to change the tracking number from the original SD to my new tracking number I was unable to do so. Nothing in the drop down menu options allowed for this eventuality. No guidance from Ebay and although this issue was no fault of Ebay's they should still have offered some contingency to assist sellers (If we weren't forced into using SD this situation would not have arisen). Given the circumstances and, as a result an increased number of refund claims I did not except a refund within 14 days. However  almost 30 days have elapsed and still nothing from Ebay. I very much doubt if I will ever get this refund.

[jimthing]

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@*vyolla* wrote:

What happens if you contact eBay CS and tell them that you applied for a refund when you didn't use the SD label and that complied with all of the rules for getting a refund i.e. seller pays postage, new tracking number added showing delivery and refund form completed well within 14 days, so what reason can they give for not refunding as per eBay's policy?

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When you contact them by phone (repeatedly!) they submit a "manual request form" to the back orifice office, who are then supposed to get the refund issued with 48h. But this doesn't happen as said office fails to properly check the facts on the order page right in front of them (i.e. new tracking showing as delivered!) and you're forced to repeatedly call them back to ask them why they've not done it – where you get the CS agent say 'I don't know', and around you go again doing the same form again. 

Anyway, I'm sure you'll all be glad to know that I finally got my whopping £2.94 back on Day 35 after three phone calls – with the last one I insisted I speak to a manager who may/may not have done something(?). Asking for a manager on call three had to happen on my first claim too, to get refunded.

Appalling system, that needlessly wastes sellers time! 🙄

[department28]

Unfortunately, it sounds like not having changed the tracking number is likely to be the reason why you did not get a refund - although even when the tracking number has been successfully changed, there seems to be no guarantee that the refund will appear...

Some sellers have reported that changing the tracking only seems to be possible using a pc, not the app.

[cardz12]

Thanks for this info. I am using a PC and have not been able to change the tracking number.

[jimthing]

AFAICT, you get a short time window to change the carrier+tracking number on a PC browser (Mac actually, but same thing!). Not sure about the app, as don't use it much.