Item damaged ~ who pays for return postage?

hermum

If they've gone quiet they could be trying it on.
I had one case where an item was damaged in the post, buyer sent pics & I refunded & asked her to bin it.
Another where the buyer said it was damaged, I asked if she would mind sending me a picture to save sending it back, or I offered a full refund inc return postage if she sent it back, I didn't hear from her again. I kept an eye on her FB for a little while & she seemed to have a lot of unfortunate breakages in the post.

piglet25

I have a funny feeling that this buyer would do this, don't know why - I almost asked them for a mutual cancellation because even as I was wrapping it I knew it would go pear-shaped! I have emailed the courier to let them know of this damage too, as I was insured so getting photos or the broken item might help with that. And its true about M & S, and all the other online stores - no item -no refund

MissGivings_2

piglet25 wrote: »

I have a funny feeling that this buyer would do this, don't know why - I almost asked them for a mutual cancellation because even as I was wrapping it I knew it would go pear-shaped! I have emailed the courier to let them know of this damage too, as I was insured so getting photos or the broken item might help with that. And its true about M & S, and all the other online stores - no item -no refund

Trouble with claiming from couriers is that the packaging would need to be kept for examination and if your buyer's being unco-operative, shall we say, you won't get anywhere.

Best to get it back from the buyer and salvage what you can.

piglet25

Well as they have ignored my request for pictures I have sent them a message to tell them to send it back for a full refund so we will see what happens with that, whats the betting that there are bits missing? Only put and sold two items on ebay this year, both similar, only the other one was twice as big and twice as delicate and has arrived in one piece.....

RFW

MissGivings wrote: »

I wouldn't demand a refund from M&S by email without proving damage- they'd laugh.

Legally speaking, an online retailer is supposed to refund before getting item back if damaged/not as described, then pay for item to be returned/have it collected, it isn't the most adhered to requirement but I do know some major online retailers who do it that way.

MissGivings_2

RFW wrote: »

Legally speaking, an online retailer is supposed to refund before getting item back if damaged/not as described, then pay for item to be returned/have it collected, it isn't the most adhered to requirement but I do know some major online retailers who do it that way.

That's not the way eBay returns work though.

(I've never come across any retailer who will refund for damage without proof, or even for a change of mind without damage.)

Crowqueen

MissGivings wrote: »

That's not the way eBay returns work though.

(I've never come across any retailer who will refund for damage without proof, or even for a change of mind without damage.)

No, but the law says quite a lot on not requiring proof etc.

eBay does not trump the law of the land - it isn't a little island dancing to a different tune.

All eBay does is provide a dispute resolution service - ultimately, a court could rule differently and buyers' statutory rights are not affected by eBay's policies.

And you may not have ever asked a retailer to do this - but I've done it in the past, even on one of my most valuable sales where the item was DOA. The buyer did seem fairly knowledgeable about what the fault was, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt, yes, it was a PITA but I felt responsible - which I was.

Eventually it all comes down to trust. If you trust your buyers, they will trust you.

I've also had a lot better service from big retailers than I have had from small sellers - probably because they can afford to write some losses off. There was a thread a while back trumpeting Amazon's customer service on a faulty toothbrush.

MissGivings_2

Few would base their selling or buying on trust at all.

Only a reliance on the terms and conditions of the sale including buyer and seller protection policies if you're on eBay.

Taking consumer rights beyond eBay is jumping off 'this little island' to another forum called 'consumer rights' (terrible joke, sorry)

bris

Crowqueen wrote: »

No, but the law says quite a lot on not requiring proof etc.

Can you show us this new law then as iv'e never heard of it, in fact the opposite is true.
A retailer has the right to inspect any goods said to be faulty.
I think you might be getting mixed up with a DSR regulation that would not result in sending an item back with seven working days but this has nothing to do with faulty goods.

kyleleonard

I've noticed most people try these sort of things with you if you leave feedback before they do.

My sister sold a Buffy DVD box-set this month, and the seller claimed it wasn't as described and wanted her to give him £30 back off the price... and she refused, he left bad feedback, but Ebay removed it after a while.