Ebay Resolution center - what are my chances?

GamerInfo

Hey, i'm new here, but need some advice on an ebay problem.

A few wks ago i bought a fairly pricey item via ebay (£280) and paid immediately using paypal. As there were a few bank holidays during the time i bought the item i expected a slight delay in postage.

After nearly two weeks i failed to receive anything so contacted the seller - they obviously made me aware of the date they'd posted the item - i asked for a tracking number as i was getting quite concerned as to it's whereabouts - the seller wrote back telling me they didn't have a tracking number but did have the COP from the P.O.

Obviously my reason for coming here is that ive had to escalate things and open up an ebay dispute to try and get my money back. Basically the seller wouldn't refund as they'd already spent the money and were not prepared to see themselves 'out-of-pocket'

The seller has replied a couple of times to the dispute - but has offered nothing other than the fact they feel they've done everything their end and this is now something i need to choke up as experience.

I know paypal disputes will require the seller to provide a tracking number in any dispute - but do ebay follow the same rules and what do you think my chances are of winning this dispute?

Thanks for any input

soolin

The problem is that very few of us will have done an ebay claim as it is seems at the moment to be undefined, I've only done one claim recently and made an old fashioned paypal claim as I knew where it was going to go. However, I cannot believe that even on ebay a seller could win if they cannot prove delivery, so I would continue to hassle ebay to close this in your favour.

katep23

The seller needs to prove delivery with a signature at that value so should have sent courier or special delivery. You will win the dispute.

They will need to claim from RM but it is only insured up to £46 with a COP and they will lose out on the difference so they are the ones who need to chalk it up to experience.

KiKi

I think I'm right in saying you should raise it as Item Not Received. If the seller can't prove it was delivered to you (which they can't) then you will win.

Sellers can't say "I've posted it, tough luck". They have to refund you, then claim for item through Royal Mail (which isn't your concern). If they don't have insurance, or didn't post it Special Delivery, then they'll lose out. But that's not your problem.

KiKi

soolin

katep23 wrote: »

The seller needs to prove delivery with a signature at that value so should have sent courier or special delivery. You will win the dispute.

They will need to claim from RM but it is only insured up to £46 with a COP and they will lose out on the difference so they are the ones who need to chalk it up to experience.

KiKi wrote: »

I think I'm right in saying you should raise it as Item Not Received. If the seller can't prove it was delivered to you (which they can't) then you will win.

Sellers can't say "I've posted it, tough luck". They have to refund you, then claim for item through Royal Mail (which isn't your concern). If they don't have insurance, or didn't post it Special Delivery, then they'll lose out. But that's not your problem.

KiKi

OP has already opened an ebay claim and not a paypal claim and I have never found any rigid rules at all for time frames etc on an ebay claim. AS an aside as soon as anyone finds any rigid rules about an ebay claim please post them on a seperate thread as I think we would need to add it to one of our sticky posts.

Whilst it seems that ebay claims follow roughly the same path as paypal ones I do hesitate to say definitely what will happen and in what time frame, where if this was a paypal claim I would be happy to link to the appropriate pages for guidance and a clear outcome path.

As per my post I am relatively sure that an ebay claim follows the same basic rules as a paypal one, but the time frame appears to be less defined and the actual process somewhat confusing. I believe the OP will get a full refund, but would not like to say how long that will take.

The rules about a signature being required on items over £150 is for paypal seller protection, and buyer cannot now change to a paypal claim as the ebay one is already opened.

katep23

Oops, missed that it was an ebay claim. That will teach me to read properly before posting!

GamerInfo

Thanks for the VERY quick replies

I did try to open a paypal dispute but was referred back to ebay to open the case

An ebay representative did state that to be eligible for seller protection items must be posted via a trackable means - but when asked if i'd win the dispute them she couldn't comment (which i suppose is fair at this stage) - i'm just scared about losing that amount of money - ive never been through a dispute before.

GamerInfo

Just for informational purposes - when opening a claim i was told the seller gets 10 days in which to respond - after that 10 days has elapsed if the seller hasn't responded or responds but an agreement cannot be made i can raise the dispute for ebay to make a final decision on.

It does also state within the dispute that the dispute will automatically be closed after 14days of opening

soolin

Gamer I'm sure you will be OK, I am not aware that ebay claims are any less secure than paypal ones, they just seem a lot slower.

For future reference you can bypass being sent to do an ebay claim, instead of ticking 'continue' when you open a claim in paypal read the wording and tick the box to say you want to do a paypal one, as the basic 'continue' box is for agreeing to go back to do an ebay claim instead.

I did one myself recently and whilst I obviously didn't enjoy having to raise a claim on a seller it was useful to actually see how easy (or not) sticking with a paypal claim rather than an ebay one was. It struck me that the system is deliberately designed to assume no one reads what they are agreeing to and the fact that you need to opt out of the ebay claim is deliberately placed as to be not easily spotted if you just click through the screens.

macfly

It's strange, but even highly recommended sellers do this. It's happened to me twice. Once a Special Delivery item went missing. The seller expected me to wait until they were reimbursed. Then a piddly purchase. The response from the seller was , never happened before, everybody else got theirs, Suppose you want a refund, you'll have to wait. Both went to dispute and took a couple of weeks. And both sellers were really put out when I left poor feedback.
You will win the dispute, but it will take a while.
Be sure to leave appropriate feedback.

GamerInfo

macfly - were your disputes done through ebay or paypal?

soolin - thanks for the info regarding the dispute process - i'll remember that for the future (here's hoping i wont need to remember though)

The seller in question burnt his bridges for positive feedback the moment he told me what he'd spent the money on and refused to be 'out-of'pocket' - i mean seriously what does he think i am right now?