Buyer wants refund but I refuse.

[henrytreetops]

Sold some perfect Spode china but buyer claims it's damaged and not as in photos. The damage he shows are old dirty cracks and chips and are not my items. He wants full refund and postage paid for return.

I've asked ebay to investigate buyer for fraudulent claim. 

As sellers cannot leave feedback I don't know if anyone has had similar problems with him but I have found 3 sellers who were unhappy (2 were subsequently left negative feedback). 

Ebay keep emailing me to send him a refund or if will affect my seller status. 

Anyone had similar problems and how was it resolved. Buyer is 

Any advice appreciated

[papso22 · Accepted solution]

Since ebay has no idea whether you sent what was in your photos or the item the buyer says they received, they will always tell the buyer to return for a refund.  They will tell you the same thing if you contact them.

You either send a paid for label and refund on return of whatever it is he sends back, getting your ebay fees credited, or you refuse, ebay will refund them anyway, you get nothing back, no fee credit and a selling defect.

Your choice.

Yor buyer is very likely to return his old Spode, but that doesn't change the automated process described above.

[henrytreetops · Accepted solution]

I'm hoping ebay would look into what he's bought and how many times he has said items are damaged and demanded refund. A lot of sellers give positive feedback as soon as items are paid for so there's no way of knowing if they had problems afterwards. I think it's very unfair that sellers cannot leave negative feedback. If I am forced to refund I think I will want to give up on ebay.

[rusticrye]

Ebay have no idea what you actually sent, or what condition it was in when sent, as they were not present when sent or received, so have no choice but to accept a buyer's word for it when they claim Not As Described, as per their Money Back Guarantee.  They cannot get into disputes between you and a buyer.  Only a judge can decide if a buyer is a liar or scammer.

You agreed to comply with the MBG when you registered your account. If you dig your heels in and refuse to offer refund on return, Ebay will either force you to pay for a returns label, or they will force the refund without the need for return. You will also have a damaging defect slapped on your account for failing to comply.

This may sound unfair, but it's the fairest it can possibly be.  The MBG is a very good thing (although you may not think that at present) as it gives buyers the confidence to shop with you and every other Ebay seller.  Without it, you'd be lucky to sell anything at all.  In fact, without it, Ebay would no longer exist.

You have to refund on receipt, and then report the buyer to Ebay for abusing the MBG by fraudulently claiming Not As Described (via the 'report' button on your ‘leave feedback’ page) if you're 100% sure that's what they've done.  A few of those from different sellers, and their account will soon be toast.  And add their Ebay ID to your Blocked Bidders List so they can’t darken your doorway again.

You can then deal with the buyer outside of Ebay as follows if they've definitely scammed you:

Send them a PayPal invoice to cover your losses, giving them 7 days to send cleared payment or you will be taking legal action and reporting them to Action Fraud (the police's online fraud unit).

If payment is not received within that timeframe, send them a 'before action' letter by Signed For post, giving them 7 days from receipt to make full and cleared payment, or you will report them to Action Fraud, and take them to Small Claims court to recover your money and all court and other costs.

If payment is still not received (unlikely, as this is generally enough to put the fear of god into small-time fraudsters), take them to Small Claims court if you wish.  Very easy to do, and the process can be started online.

Finally, remove the buyer's ID from your post, before the mods do it for you. It is against the rules (and the law) to 'name and shame' on public forums.

@henrytreetops 

[henrytreetops]

Thank you for your advice.