Ebay changed mind twice on SNAD claim decision

Avoriaz

I bought an item for about £100. It was listed as ex display with minor marks. It arrived very badly damaged although well wrapped inside an undamaged carton. I informed seller of damage and sent pictures. She claimed it must have been damaged in transit which I do not believe. She then sent me pictures of the item before dispatch. These were clearly of a different model of the same item. She trades in them. Without going into boring details, it is simply not credible that the damage could have occurred during transit. She has a few negatives for damaged goods but I took a chance as her overall feedback is good.

Cutting a longish saga short I eventually made a Significantly Not As Described claim.

After 8 days I escalated and the following day, Thursday, eBay found in my favour and also sent me a prepaid return label.

The next day, Friday, they reversed the decision.

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]Customer Support has reviewed the case and made a final decision. We've considered the case carefully and decided not to issue you with a refund. We're sorry this didn't work out.[/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif]

Decision:[/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif]
This case has been decided in the seller's favour.

[/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif]Comments:[/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif]
We've determined that the seller has described the item accurately. Unfortunately, eBay Money Back Guarantee only covers items received if there was something wrong with them. [/FONT]

I phoned up Customer Support on Friday evening and, after some discussion, eBay accepted that reversing the decision was a mistake and agreed to find in my favour. They also messaged me twice.

[FONT=Arial, Verdana]

We've reviewed your concerns and have reversed the outcome of the case. Within 48 hours, payment will be credited to the PayPal account you used for the original purchase.

[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Verdana]And another message[/FONT][FONT=arial, sans-serif]

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]We've decided to issue you a courtesy refund for this case on 13 Jun, 2014 to the PayPal account you used to purchase this item. The refund includes the purchase price plus original postage & packaging.[/FONT]

[/FONT] Within minutes they had repaid my £100 into my Paypal account.

So, all in all, a reasonably satisfactory conclusion for me.

Ebay refer to a “courtesy refund”. Does this mean that the seller will not be debited £100? That is quite a hit for eBay to take.

Today, Saturday, I left richly deserved negative feedback (Avoid! Badly damaged item sent, Do not trust this seller) which was immediately removed my eBay. I presume that is because the claim shows as being found in the sellers favour and therefore I cannot leave negative feedback for that seller.

I am somewhat disappointed that, because of eBay's mistake, I cannot warn other buyers of this untrustworthy seller.

I have also not yet returned the item. I have asked eBay what I should do.

If I can keep it I could sell it for spare parts for probably at least £50, which would more than make up for all my aggro and wasted time.

ballisticbrian

At the point when the seller acknowledged that the item was damaged in transit, why did you not simply return it for a refund? It sounds like you were just spoiling for a fight.

Strapped

Interesting that ebay "changed their minds" though. I've only ever had a PayPal SNAD case against me, and that states that once it is closed, it can't be reopened.

usefulmale

If ebay have issued a 'courtesy refund', it means that ebay have refunded you themselves. You keep the item and the seller keeps the money. I don't know about the feedback situation but it does seem to make sense that you can't leave a negative against a seller that has won the case.

Avoriaz

ballisticbrian wrote: »

At the point when the seller acknowledged that the item was damaged in transit, why did you not simply return it for a refund? It sounds like you were just spoiling for a fight.

Because the seller refused to agree to a return so the sensible procedure was to open a claim. If I had just returned it I could have been without both item and my money.

Regarding "spoiling for a fight", you couldn't be more wrong. I went to considerable lengths to resolve the situation with the seller.

Don't be so ballistic.

Avoriaz

usefulmale wrote: »

If ebay have issued a 'courtesy refund', it means that ebay have refunded you themselves. You keep the item and the seller keeps the money. I don't know about the feedback situation but it does seem to make sense that you can't leave a negative against a seller that has won the case.

eBay have now confirmed that the seller keeps her money, I keep the courtesy refund and I can keep the item.

The seller only won the case because of an eBay error. If you had seen the full details I'm sure you would agree that finding for the seller was an error.

That error has cost eBay £100 and I can't use feedback to warn other buyers about this seller.

Oh well, why should I care? I've come out well ahead although that was never my intention. I just wanted the item as advertised.

Avoriaz

Strapped wrote: »

Interesting that ebay "changed their minds" though. I've only ever had a PayPal SNAD case against me, and that states that once it is closed, it can't be reopened.

An eBay claim as in this situation can be appealed.

There is an "appeal this decision" option on the final decision form.

I'm not sure if Paypal is the same.

theonlywayisup

Avoriaz wrote: »

An eBay claim as in this situation can be appealed.

There is an "appeal this decision" option on the final decision form.

I'm not sure if Paypal is the same.

Yes an ebay claim can be appealed. But strapped quite rightly said it cannot be reopened. It cannot be reopened. eBay can reverse a decision. An appeal is separate.

You do not say what happened between you and the seller during the 8 days before escalation.

Cutting a longish saga short I eventually made a Significantly Not As Described claim.

After 8 days I escalated ....

Avoriaz

theonlywayisup wrote: »

..You do not say what happened between you and the seller during the 8 days before escalation.

Nothing happened.

When a SNAD claim is opened, the seller has 8 days to respond.

A claim cannot be escalated until those 8 days have passed.

theonlywayisup

Yes I know the procedure!

I was asking what happened - as in what did the seller say, agree to, not agree to?