Item not received - only partial refund on postage

adela_2

Bought item from ebay which I never received. (The only item that has never arrived). Had to wait until seller claimed from post office for a refund (over a month) but then only received item cost plus half of the postage. Seller stated they were being more than reasonable? Postage was only £6, but I feel it has cost me just to make a bid? Is this acceptable practice?

As I said, this is the only time an item has not arrived so I do not know what the usual practice is, however, I would have refunded all of the postage in the same situation. What do other ebayers do in these circumstances?

misscutiepie1984

unfortunatly they dont have to refund postage at all so giving you half back is a happy medium, dont forget they have lost out themselves by doing so.

adela_2

Thanks misscp. Yes I guess so.

They have ebay buyer protection, so I guess I thought this would cover postage too. I did not file a claim, but they filed an upaid dispute against me on the same day of purchase (which was a shock). I rejected it as I had not 'spoken' with them and did not know what it was about. They said the item had been damaged and they did not really want to sell it to me, but I said I would still like to go ahead and paid for it, as the parts I was interested in were ok. They think the rain may have spoiled the address.

I guess I should just chalk this one down to experience.

baffcat

Hi

No, it isn't acceptable practise.

Personally, I think you went about it all wrong. I doubt very much he sent anything at all. In your second post, you said they filed a NPB against you within a day, then said they didn't want to sell it. Then "they think the rain might've spoiled the address". Oh come on, get real.

It's the seller's responsibility to get the item to you. It didn't arrive. It's the sender's responsibility to claim off the PO, and you shouldn't have had to wait for that refund to arrive with them, not should you have been penalised for not receiving the item by way of a 50% cost of postage.

As soon as it didn't arrive, I would've put a claim in through paypal for my money back. Paypal would've refunded the lot as he couldn't prove delivery.

Any reasonable seller would've repaid you and dealt with the PO and any refund after. I do the same as you - refund, then claim off the PO.

If they're a business, the distance selling regulations come into force, and they state that the contract between you and them is null & void if they fail to deliver.

Learn from it - pay by paypal, and from a credit (not debit) card, and use paypal's own rules to make sure you don't end up out of pocket again.

HTH

Baff

Ramz_3

adela, if you file an item not recieved claim with paypal (assuming you paid that way) you'll get all your money back; keeping half postage is bad practice

jayok

misscutiepie1984 wrote: »

unfortunatly they dont have to refund postage at all so giving you half back is a happy medium, dont forget they have lost out themselves by doing so.

It is not acceptable at all, sellers will take advantage of you if you accept it

mishkanorman

your seller sounds dodgy all round, they probably didnt get as much money as they thought, keep checking their accouunt you might see it re-listed

mishka

soolin

paypal require that the full amount be refunded where an item fails to arrive.

The seller may be working to the old 'ebay protection' rules that no longer exist, for non paypal purchases. Under those old rules only the item cost was returned.

However, I completely echo the other posts, this is not acceptable and assuming the paypal dispute is still open I would leave it for paypal to refund the difference.

adela_2

Thanks all for the replies.

Yes baffcat, it does sound naive of me, but I did check their feedback and comments carefully before I bought. It is good, and the seller did seem genuine through their emails. I have always (nearly always) been very lucky in my dealings through ebay and I have met some nicer people on there than I do in 'real' life!! I have only ever left two neutrals, both warranted negatives, but I would rather give them the benefit of doubt! But, and here is the surprise, my feedback is still outstanding for this buyer although she has already left me positive?? And I feel my first negative coming on! Has anybody got any suggestions what I should write?

Unfortunately, I am just too late to claim through Paypal. The seller did say they would contact me when they heard back from the post office, however, they very quietly issued the refund just before the deadline and by the time I realised, it was too late. I now don't think this was accidental.

My biggest regret is that this will now 'colour' my future dealings with ebayers who are probably genuine and honest. Hiccups do happen, but in future I need to be quicker off the mark.

jayok

I would write 'Never received item, seller refused to refund full amount'

adela_2

Thanks jayok, that pretty much sums it up.