Advice on refund please

Polly

I bought a 'new' coat which arrived yesterday and was obviously not new - even had items in the pocket. Yuk. Anyway, contacted the seller who agreed to a refund. However, it will cost me a fair bit to post back to her and I would like to know if it is reasonable for the seller to pay for this. Also, although I paid by Paypal, she wants to refund me by cheque. Would appreciate advice on how best to proceed. Thanks

alwaysonthego_2

if the item isn't new as described than it is only fair that the seller refunds your postage costs. By offering you a cheque the seller is at disadvantage because you could accept the cheque and do a charge back through paypal. Personally if she does not agree to refunding you via paypal then just go and start a dispute and put item not as described for your reason

frivolous_fay

You don't have to accept a cheque - but it's possible it may take less time for the cheque to clear than it would have taken for her to top up her PP account to refund you. It would help if she explained WHY she wanted to use a cheque, so that you could make an informed decision on how to proceed.

She *should* refund the return postage, but she doesn't have to. Try to keep on good terms and she may.

Polly

Thanks for that. She says she doesn't know how to refund by Paypal but I've done it myself recently and intend to let her know how I did it. Its useful to know that the refund of return postage is voluntary but its a heavy wool coat and she charged me £12.50 for P&P when I bought it.

lush_bucket

Hi polly, did you get a resolution on this? basically if the item is not as described you are entitled to a full refund including your postage costs. It's very simple to issue a refund via paypal, the only reason she might not is because she has already downloaded the payment or spent it so may not have the funds available. In which case she has offered a cheque. Personally Id ask if she could send a postal order instead. You paid her immediately (unless you paid by e-cheque) so its only fair to get your refund back in cleared funds if she cant refund you by your original method. Fay is right that you should try and keep on good terms with the seller, hopefully she will come good and let you have that postage back too, £12.50 is a lot of money to lose and have nothing to show for it. Good luck! And if it turns out sour, remember you can always do a chargeback stating goods not as described.

Polly

Thanks again. Will let you know how it turns out.

rainbow_carnage

i'd take the cheque for the whole amount (including postage) rather than risk paypal deciding in the seller's favour.

a couple years ago i bought a jacket that was described as new. when the jacket arrived, it was filthy and a completely different colour than in the photo (pale blue rather than charcoal). the seller refused to refund so i filed a paypal dispute, complete with photos. it took 2 months and at the end, paypal ruled for the seller, without any explanation.

paypal makes money off of sellers, not buyers. from my experience, they will usually side with the seller.