sold a mobile phone on ebay, buyer said item was faulty, buyer has won the case and gets a refund.

The phone i sold on ebay is being retuned because buyer claimes the phone is faulty, The fault is an app the buyer has downloaded and dosnt work very well. How can ebay say he is intitled to his money back for a faulty app downloaded from the app store. I feel the buyer has lied to ebay saying it was wrongly discribed in the listing, im fuming that Ebay has agreed i should give a refund. How can anybody sell a mobile on ebay now if they have to guarentee all apps downloaded will work, the app is Smart View. This app is being stopped in august by Samsung as its not reliable.

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I feel for you, but you have to understand that Ebay have no idea what you actually sent, or what condition it was in when sent or received or received back, as they were not present when sent or received or received back, 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 agree to return-for-refund, and 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). A few of those from different sellers, and their account will soon be toast. And add their Ebay ID and PayPal email address to your Blocked Bidders List so they can’t darken your doorway again.

 

You can then deal with the fraudster outside of Ebay as follows if you wish:

 

Send them a PayPal invoice to cover your losses, giving them 3 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.

 

@kaf1161