Buyer has lied about not receiving item

mogwai

My item says I post within 3 working days, he emailed me on the 4th day and asked if it had been posted. I emailed back and said it would be posted next day, to which he didn't reply and next thing I know he has started a claim.

Maybe the buyer was riled at the item being sent out a few days late (since when did private buyers and sellers on eBay become so intolerant! I remember waiting up to a couple of weeks for an item without issue), and I should have thought to email him - but the fact remains that he told me he would be putting in a claim for a missing item the day after I posted it, which is basically intent to theftc. Highly unlikely that RM did coincidently lose the item as well.

I can't prove he hasn't received the item, but the reality is he probably has and is taking advantage by basically thieving the item. I have the POP so RM will have to take the hit for this unfortunately.

Very sad to think this probably happens quite a lot and sellers have no real protection against it as sending an item tracked in many cases is more than the items worth.

mogwai

PS being !!!!ed that an item is late isn't an excuse to steal - bad feedback would have been more appropriate here. Many of you are telling it like he was just getting his own back for item being sent out a few days late.

RFW I told him it would be sent the next day and apologised. Only when he started a claim did I tell him he would have to wait 3 weeks for a refund which is how it used to be before eBay and Paypal merged. My mistake as things have changed but still no reason to do what he did!

campdave

mogwai wrote: »

PS being !!!!ed that an item is late isn't an excuse to steal

Nobody's saying that it is.

jon81uk

Just claim for the missing item from Royal Mail, assuming you have proof of posting.

byjimini

mogwai wrote: »

sellers have no real protection against it as sending an item tracked in many cases is more than the items worth.

Not in many cases at all, that's why you can charge for postage on eBay, or you factor it in to your fixed price/starting price.

Always send it tracked, always send in the agreed time frame. Just because you didn't mind waiting a few weeks doesn't mean everyone else does.

mogwai

You can charge £6 something for tracked postage for a £4 item but that item will not sell so in reality in many cases (most cases in fact for sub £5 items) you are vulnerable to this kind of thing.

And it wasn't a few weeks, he paid for the item tues night, probably, assuming RM did their job, received it the next week wed morning.

campdave no one outright said so but the item being late had nothing to do with buyer claiming to not have received an item, yet it was mentioned many times and it wasn't even the issue!

I have a message from the buyer saying that he would ask for a refund right after the item was sent - my issue was that a buyer should be allowed to get away with something like this when he had stated his intent by email. I had wondered if this would sway eBays decision to refund the buyer but it seems I'll just have to claim from RM

campdave

You can send items tracked for about £3 with myhermes.

I would stop being so defensive - the buyers attitude is not to be defended, but your lack of communication and tardy postage have got you into the situation where you have been exploited.

No one is saying that makes it right, but you need to make sure you get it right in the future.

There is no evidence to present to ebay to reverse the decision. Ebay will only consider messages sent within their system, and you cannot prove delivery.

RFW

mogwai wrote: »

PS being !!!!ed that an item is late isn't an excuse to steal - bad feedback would have been more appropriate here. Many of you are telling it like he was just getting his own back for item being sent out a few days late.

RFW I told him it would be sent the next day and apologised. Only when he started a claim did I tell him he would have to wait 3 weeks for a refund which is how it used to be before eBay and Paypal merged. My mistake as things have changed but still no reason to do what he did!

I appreciate it may be a massive coincidence if he did not receive the item, but it is always possible. You have no knowledge if he lied and if he did, I agree, it is reprehensible.
I've had several personal tragedies that have delayed me being able to do my job properly but I've been able to spare a few minutes to contact customers to let them know.
When it got to the stage just before sending you should have chosen a tracked service or just refunded without sending.
I'm not sure what you are referring to regarding 3 weeks for a refund, I've sold online for over 12 years and would never make a customer wait a month from payment for a refund should their item go astray.

theonlywayisup

mogwai wrote: »

PS being !!!!ed that an item is late isn't an excuse to steal - bad feedback would have been more appropriate here. Many of you are telling it like he was just getting his own back for item being sent out a few days late.

RFW I told him it would be sent the next day and apologised. Only when he started a claim did I tell him he would have to wait 3 weeks for a refund which is how it used to be before eBay and Paypal merged. My mistake as things have changed but still no reason to do what he did!

It may do you to keep more uptodate, Paypal and eBay are to split. They merged about 13 or 14 years ago!

It's been many many years since buyers accepted weeks of wait for a refund. Times, they have changed. If you sell, at least be current.

jon81uk

byjimini wrote: »

Always send it tracked, always send in the agreed time frame. Just because you didn't mind waiting a few weeks doesn't mean everyone else does.

A cheap item isn't worth sending tracked. If it is worth less than £20 then just get proof of posting and claim from Royal Mail. If it is worth up to £50 then you need to do signed for.

Fortunately I've only had to claim from Royal Mail once but it was fine.
Many buyers also don't like having to sign for something or collect from a depot so for small low value items it really isn't worth the hassle of getting a signature.