Buyer returned item and it arrived damaged

[mod81]

A buyer bought an item from me a week ago and said they no longer need the item and wanted to return it under the 14 day money back offer.

They used the ebay provided returns label to send it back and it arrived today, but rather than using the original box and packaging I sent it in they just put it insde two large envelopes with no other protection and its arrived back with me damaged.

I looked at the return and I can report a problem and say it arrived damaged, but then its still saying I have to refund which is surely not right?

Under the consumer rights act the buyer has a responsibilty to ensure the item arrives back with me in the same condition they received it to get a refund. And they never reported any damage when they opened the return.

I have photos of the packaging and the damaged to the item.

What can I do about this? Its not an expensive item (£20) but I don't feel that I should have to take the hit when they sent it back with inadequate packaging. And it can't be resold or used anymore.

[*knight-rider* · Accepted solution]

i would talk to ebay via chat and tell them whats happened, because under the money back guarentee rules, items should be returned `securely` packed, so i`d certainly try. other than that, unless the other guys have any suggestions, if ebay can`t or won`t do anything, i`d just refund and bin it, move on.

[mod81 · Accepted solution]

I called ebay customer services this morning and ebay decided to refund the buyer themselves without any deductions from me as because the buyer had used the ebay provided label.