eBay case - item arrived damaged

vicx

Hi,

I sold an item on eBay 4 weeks ago and sent the item by courier - fully tracked. The buyer contacted me and said the item arrived damaged, is unusable and requested a full or partial refund.

I responded and said I would refund in full on return of the item as I did not understand why she would want a partial refund if she claims the item is 'unusable'. She agreed to return the item and as of yet the item has still not arrived. I have asked for a tracking number which she has not responded to. Two weeks ago, she opended a case via eBay claiming item does not match description (arrived damaged). Again, I agreed to refund in full on return of the item and asked if she would supply me with a tracking number. Two weeks has passed and she has still not sent a response to the claim so I have just escalated it to eBay and within seconds I received an eMail:

A case has been opened because the buyer has an issue with an item purchased from you. We've reviewed the case and have decided to issue the buyer with a full refund of £xx.xx. The refund includes the purchase price plus original postage & packaging. The hold on this PayPal transaction has been removed.This case is now closed. You aren't required to reimburse the buyer or eBay, and this case will not be counted in your seller performance evaluation.

You can view the details of the case in the Resolution Centre.

The payment was on hold whilst the case was open and my balance was negative. I have logged into Paypal and the transaction states: refunded by eBay. My balance has gone from negative to £10.00 (the item was more than £10.00). Have eBay refunded the buyer from their own money as it does not seem like it has been taken from my account (yet). Can anyone explain this? It seems strange that the case was closed within seconds of me escalating it.

Thanks

theonlywayisup

eBay do give 'no fault refunds' on occasion, it sounds as if this is the case here.

vicx

When I read the email, I read it as though ebay had taken the money from my Paypal account which is why I logged in and then noticed my account was no longer a negative balance.

I have just looked at the case details in eBay resolution centre:

Customer Support comments:
'eBay has decided to refund the buyer. You are not required to reimburse the buyer or eBay, and this case will not be counted in your seller performance evaluation.'
Final decision:
You were not found at fault.
Transaction information:
We've removed the hold on this PayPal transaction


I was expecting eBay to either refund the payment from my Paypal account or close the case in my favour since the buyer has not supplied a tracking number.

I just hope I do not receive my first ever negative feedback.

Crowqueen

That is a no fault refund.

If the item was damaged and unusable, then it would still have been your responsibility. You can't defend yourself against a neg if the buyer pays for something.

Take it on the chin, respond politely, don't mention the eBay refund, and move on.

hannibal1970

isnt it amazing how many buyers want a partial refund when they state the item is damaged and when you refuse and say to send the item back for a full refund it never turns up

vicx

hannibal1970 wrote: »

isnt it amazing how many buyers want a partial refund when they state the item is damaged and when you refuse and say to send the item back for a full refund it never turns up

Exactly that. The buyer wanted a partial refund for an item she claimed was totally unusable. As it was damaged in delivery I offered a full refund on return of the item but it still has not yet arrived.

I done all I could, responded to every message politely and efficiently and even got someone to wait home for a full week to wait in for the expected delivery. I asked the buyer three times to provide me with a tracking number or even proof of delivery but she did not get back to me and even ignored the case she opened - which I had to escalate myself. She only sent one message which was when it was opened so I waited 11 days for a reply.