VISA Chargeback - send item back to China at whose cost?

Crabman

Hi folks,

Bought an item on eBay and have had to put a chargeback request to the credit card company.

Unfortunately the card company claim that the item should be sent back to the seller and a proof of postage provided.

The item is not fit for purpose, not as described and not of satisfactory quality.

The seller has provided no address details in China (yes, they're based in China, hence the problems) and refuses to respond to emails.

They delayed the matter and lied about sending a replacement. This was to exhaust the 45 day limitation period eBay seem to have in place.

I only have the address of their "UK Warehouse" which is where the item was sent from, so I was wondering what you would advise?

Why should I have to pay for the cost of return when this is a consequence of a breach of contract on the part of the seller?

Can return postage be claimed as part of the visa chargeback process? The card company say no... would be interested to know if anyone has gone through the Financial Ombudsman with this sort of case.

Advice would be appreciated

tph86

Just curious, did you not pay through PayPal?

Crabman

tph86 wrote: »

Just curious, did you not pay through PayPal?

I did, unfortunately they refer to eBay for disputes, which brings us back to the bizarre 45 days limit for filing a dispute.

tph86

Did you pay for the item on a credit card registered on your paypal account (not debit)?

Sorry for the questions but it will help to work out what the best course of action is.

Did you try to open a dispute through paypal first or did you do it through the card company?

Crabman

tph86 wrote: »

Did you pay for the item on a credit card registered on your paypal account (not debit)?

Sorry for the questions but it will help to work out what the best course of action is.

Did you try to open a dispute through paypal first or did you do it through the card company?

Credit card is registered to paypal account.

I tried to open the dispute via eBay a day after receipt of the item, but they advised contacting the seller first.

The seller just dragged things out and me, being an honest and trustworthy individual, believed they had sent a replacement from China. It was only after 45 days that it became clear that the seller had no intention of cooperating and by then eBay said it was out of time for filing a dispute.

Thankfully it is within 120 days of the VISA chargeback limit.

Crabman

P.S: Tried to file a dispute via PayPal but they simply referred to eBay.

chunkychocky

Why can't you return it to their UK address? Did the credit card company advise that it must be returned to China?

Crabman

chunkychocky wrote: »

Why can't you return it to their UK address? Did the credit card company advise that it must be returned to China?

I don't have their UK "warehouse" address, the item was sent from the UK. The "if undelivered" address was a small label on clear plastic wrapping which was disposed of after the item was received.

Ultimately if the seller is non-responsive I don't see why I should have to do the chasing, at my cost. There must be a better solution.

hermum

Is their address on ebay an address in China?

Crabman

hermum wrote: »

Is their address on ebay an address in China?

Yes it is. Despite the "UK based" description on the item listing.

hermum

Is there a UK address on their ME page, I'm expecting it to be, 231, Portsmouth PO14325.