Has anyone managed to get return postage from Ebay/PP?

hoxtonbabe

Hi,

I ordered a bedside cabinet which was described as brand new and boxed, after the seller taking best part of 2 weeks to get the item to me, (advertised as 5 days!) the item arrived today. I opened the box and this item was not new. It has parts missing, and unreasonable amount of scratches, and a couple of the dowels are broken. I contacted Ebay and PP and explained that the item is not only used but bits are missing/broken, and I was told that whilst they are happy to give me a refund, I will have to pay to send this 19kilo package back, which is going to cost me around £15 (the item cost me £25)

I told them I thought this was slightly unfair as it is not a case of me not liking the item, but not only was it falsely advertised, it also has bits missing, again was told "tough" and the only way I would get a refund for the postage to send back was through the seller, which I doubt will happen.

Anyone had any joy with a case similar to this or is it a case of sucking it up? :mad:

wealdroam

Probably best on the Ebay board.

shaun_from_Africa

Neither ebay nor paypal have any legal right to take more from the seller than you originally paid so there isn't anything that they can do.

Your best bet would be to open an ebay not as described dispute (not a paypal dispute) as ebay sometimes make "no fault" courtesy refunds from their own pocket.
If they do this, you will be refunded in full and will not have to pay to return the goods.
When going through the dispute process, make sure that you state how expensive it will be to return the item.

I've also read that ebay have been known to make a courtesy P&P payment to cover the cost of the return.

hoxtonbabe

wealdroam wrote: »

Probably best on the Ebay board.

Sorry, just so annoyed right now I didn't even scan for that board

hoxtonbabe

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Neither ebay nor paypal have any legal right to take more from the seller than you originally paid so there isn't anything that they can do.

Your best bet would be to open an ebay not as described dispute (not a paypal dispute) as ebay sometimes make "no fault" courtesy refunds from their own pocket.
If they do this, you will be refunded in full and will not have to pay to return the goods.
When going through the dispute process, make sure that you state how expensive it will be to return the item.

I've also read that ebay have been known to make a courtesy P&P payment to cover the cost of the return.

Cheers that is really helpful. The seller had the audcity to say that when he packed the item he was very careful (there was no bubble wrap or cling wrap to stop the metal runners that he chucked in the box from sctratching this high gloss cabinet!) and that he loved the item but sold it to get something else...brand new and boxed my ar*e!

esuhl

I would imagine that the new bedside cabinet would have been sold by someone trading as a business, rather than a private sale, in which case the seller will have to pay the return postage.

Have a look at section 3.57 of this PDF file:
A guide for businesses on distance selling

You could return the item for a refund (excluding return postage) and if they still refuse to refund your costs, I would send them a "final letter before action" and threaten to make a small claim against them in the County Court.

Of course, it might be easier to see what eBay have to say first.

pinkshoes

I got a voucher equalling the cost of returning something on the one occasion I had a problem, as I asked in the dispute for seller to pay return postage.

Did you contact seller before opening dispute?

esuhl

pinkshoes wrote: »

I got a voucher equalling the cost of returning something on the one occasion I had a problem...

A voucher for what? I would only have accepted cold hard money!

shaun_from_Africa

A voucher for what? I would only have accepted cold hard money!

I think the voucher is a freebie from ebay to cover the return postage costs.
If this is the case then as it's a goodwill gesture, refusing it and asking for cash might not be a good idea.

Hintza

£15 to return an item below 30kg..............:eek:

You can hardly expect the seller to pay that, somewhere between £7-£10 might be reasonable.

hoxtonbabe

Pinkshoes, I did but some bright spark at PP opened a dispute even though when I called earlier it was only to find out where I stood as they then said I should try contacting ebay.

while I was chatting with Ebay PP opened the dispute and sent the email, I called them back as I didnt want to aggrevate the situation even more by opening a dispute without contacting the seller and trying to come to an arrangement, but when I called back I spoke with a more experienced agent and he told me that should everything go in my favour then they will refund me the item cost and my original postage to receive the item and then it is up to the seller to arrange delivery to collect the said item, so even though I did not want to open a dispute at that ponit he said it was the best way to go.

I have sent pics to the seller as he is swearing blind that the item was in "new" condition when he sent it, yes, half assembled with dowels and cam locks attatched (some of which are broken) as well as the feet already fixed in place with missing bits is what I would consider new :mad: