Need a bit of advice. Not sure if I should refund or not.

dontone

Little bit of an update........

They put in a INR dispute. But they said that they want a refund AND the item.
Been on Ebay chat. Apparently the 'ignore his payment & messages, we'll refund automatically' advice was wrong (Have to say that I really wasn't surprised, but I was annoyed) I can wait till Sunday and escalate it.
I'm annoyed that they have been allowed to pay again after I have cancelled it.
And to rub salt in the wound, apparently they could pay again after they have been refunded on Sunday, but not dispute it. They could be forever messing about trying to get their own way. (I ain't budging)
And also Ebay can't guarantee that my account won't be affected, even though I have tried to be fair and made the person whole.
This buyer has been a 'mare from the start. No one has ever complained/messed about like this one.
We'll see what happens..

soolin

dontone wrote: »

Little bit of an update........

They put in a INR dispute. But they said that they want a refund AND the item.
Been on Ebay chat. Apparently the 'ignore his payment & messages, we'll refund automatically' advice was wrong (Have to say that I really wasn't surprised, but I was annoyed) I can wait till Sunday and escalate it.
I'm annoyed that they have been allowed to pay again after I have cancelled it.
And to rub salt in the wound, apparently they could pay again after they have been refunded on Sunday, but not dispute it. They could be forever messing about trying to get their own way. (I ain't budging)
And also Ebay can't guarantee that my account won't be affected, even though I have tried to be fair and made the person whole.
This buyer has been a 'mare from the start. No one has ever complained/messed about like this one.
We'll see what happens..

I would take what eBay customer services tell you with a pinch of salt.

If I understand this correctly you have refused to send and have not refunded the 2nd payment and now have an INR open against you? If this is the case then if you don't refund and allow eBay to do it after escalation you lose your FVF refund and you get a big fat defect on your account, plus buyer can still leave feedback.

There is no real mechanism on eBay to cancel a sale because we, as a seller, don't like the look of a buyer. I'm sure we've all be tempted to try and many of us have actually done it, but it's risky if buyer is persistent.

dontone

soolin wrote: »

I would take what eBay customer services tell you with a pinch of salt.

If I understand this correctly you have refused to send and have not refunded the 2nd payment and now have an INR open against you? If this is the case then if you don't refund and allow eBay to do it after escalation you lose your FVF refund and you get a big fat defect on your account, plus buyer can still leave feedback.

There is no real mechanism on eBay to cancel a sale because we, as a seller, don't like the look of a buyer. I'm sure we've all be tempted to try and many of us have actually done it, but it's risky if buyer is persistent.

Thanks for replying Soolin. A HUGE pinch of salt you mean, lol.
That's right.
I asked Ebay why, when I cancelled the order first time, was it possible for them to pay again? And they said that the buyer couldn't. Then they checked, and realised that there was a payment there, so suggested that I ignored the payment, and they would refund them. I asked them about it twice, and they told me to ignore the payment & any messages and they would automatically refund. So I have been waiting for them to take the money out of my account.
Apparently, that was the wrong info. I've asked them that if that is the case, then my account should not be penalised as I have been given the wrong advice.
So, now, I am sat here in two minds as to what to do. I want to refund, but do I wait till the last moment? I just want them gone. I don't want their money. I made them whole the first time and suggested that as they weren't happy, to buy from elsewhere. I've told Ebay this.
Chat was like going round in circles. They can't even guarantee that they won't pay again if I refund them.

soolin

dontone wrote: »

Thanks for replying Soolin. A HUGE pinch of salt you mean, lol.
That's right.
I asked Ebay why, when I cancelled the order first time, was it possible for them to pay again? And they said that the buyer couldn't. Then they checked, and realised that there was a payment there, so suggested that I ignored the payment, and they would refund them. I asked them about it twice, and they told me to ignore the payment & any messages and they would automatically refund. So I have been waiting for them to take the money out of my account.
Apparently, that was the wrong info. I've asked them that if that is the case, then my account should not be penalised as I have been given the wrong advice.
So, now, I am sat here in two minds as to what to do. I want to refund, but do I wait till the last moment? I just want them gone. I don't want their money. I made them whole the first time and suggested that as they weren't happy, to buy from elsewhere. I've told Ebay this.
Chat was like going round in circles. They can't even guarantee that they won't pay again if I refund them.

Delaying the refund makes no difference to the eventual outcome , it just makes it more likely that buyer will leave bad feedback. There's also nothing to stop buyer paying again and each payment will cost you 20p in fees when you refund.

dontone

soolin wrote: »

Delaying the refund makes no difference to the eventual outcome , it just makes it more likely that buyer will leave bad feedback. There's also nothing to stop buyer paying again and each payment will cost you 20p in fees when you refund.

Thanks Soolin.
Just refunded him to get it over with. I hope that it's the end of it. Although I can't help but think that they will be in touch. He wants a refund and the item apparently. I might be on here updating you.
I'm not too bothered about a neg. tbh, as I have lots of customers who are very happy, I think they were chancers who want something for nothing, and unfortunately it was me they chose.
I just want them to leave me alone now.
Still miffed at Ebay for giving me the wrong advice too. It's like the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing.
Thanks everybody on here for helping. Much appreciated.

soolin

dontone wrote: »

Thanks Soolin.
Just refunded him to get it over with. I hope that it's the end of it. Although I can't help but think that they will be in touch. He wants a refund and the item apparently. I might be on here updating you.
I'm not too bothered about a neg. tbh, as I have lots of customers who are very happy, I think they were chancers who want something for nothing, and unfortunately it was me they chose.
I just want them to leave me alone now.
Still miffed at Ebay for giving me the wrong advice too. It's like the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing.
Thanks everybody on here for helping. Much appreciated.

The neg was not the issue here, the issue was the defect for allowing ebay to make the refund on your behalf, which would also have cost you money. 'Seller at fault' defects are very damaging to an account. Negs are funny things, not as dangerous as people think unless a seller has a very low turnover, as only 12 months of sales are taken into account when calculating the percentage. I have noticed that buyers don't like to see a seller where the first digits on feedback are less than 99% - regardless of how many negs it takes to get there.

I suspect he doesn't want the item and a refund, but as soon as he realised you weren't going to refund quickly he had no option other than to open an INR, there was nothing else he could do.

As above there is no mechanism on ebay for a seller to refuse to sell something. Obviously legally we can just not accept payment, keep refunding and not send, but the option for the buyer to pay remains .

dontone

soolin wrote: »

The neg was not the issue here, the issue was the defect for allowing ebay to make the refund on your behalf, which would also have cost you money. 'Seller at fault' defects are very damaging to an account. Negs are funny things, not as dangerous as people think unless a seller has a very low turnover, as only 12 months of sales are taken into account when calculating the percentage. I have noticed that buyers don't like to see a seller where the first digits on feedback are less than 99% - regardless of how many negs it takes to get there.

I suspect he doesn't want the item and a refund, but as soon as he realised you weren't going to refund quickly he had no option other than to open an INR, there was nothing else he could do.

As above there is no mechanism on ebay for a seller to refuse to sell something. Obviously legally we can just not accept payment, keep refunding and not send, but the option for the buyer to pay remains .

Like I said, I wan't too fussed about getting the neg. It was just, after thinking about it, and reading your replies, easier to refund and have done. It was also Ebay saying that my account would not be affected by this, then turning round and saying that they couldn't guarantee it if they refunded them. Three people telling me 3 different things. No wonder it's confusing.
I hope this buyer find someone else to pick on (not that I would wish it on anybody) If they hadn't been so obnoxious and demanding, they could have had the item by now.
It didn't feel right from the start, & I don't ever get that feeling with a buyer.
Although, the way their attitude was, I think they would have reported me anyway about the item when it turned up. Fingers crossed that is the end.
Thanks for all the help.

soolin

I trust you have now blocked the buyer from bidding on anything else?

dontone

soolin wrote: »

I trust you have now blocked the buyer from bidding on anything else?

I blocked him as soon as I refunded the first payment. Pity it only stops people bidding and not sending messages (up to 90 days for some stupid reason), & paying again.

askmeaboutsofas

Unreasonable buyers do often break eBay's rules, which helps a lot. In this case they're clearly making unreasonable demands, which should put eBay on the seller's side as this is against eBay's rules. Keep calling eBay until you get someone helpful is my usual strategy, it works quite well so far. Oh, and never take their word for it if they tell you not to do anything!