Buyer wants to return phone

kimplus8

I posted on here a few months ago as I sold a (listed as broken) iPhone and the buyer was really messing me around, but before I could post the item the seller asked to cancel as the phone was ‘broken’.
I chalked it up to experience and relisted the phone and I was sent a best off of £50 which I accepted. For a smashed iPhone 7.
The phone was listed as ‘for parts or not working’, I included detailed photos of the damaged screen and back and where it has been clearly dropped and smashed and explained in the description that 'I do not know the extent of any damage to the phone as It has been dropped and smashed so sold as in photos and as ‘not working’'.
The buyer has had the phone for a month and has today requested a refund, stating that the phone ‘doesn’t work and is therefore not as described or as photographed'.
I don’t know what to do as they have had a month of ‘having’ the phone and I am concerned that if I offer a refund I am not going to get back the phone that I sent or it’s going to be in bits where they have attempted to ‘fix’ it.
What do I do?? Any help and advice is greatly received.

soolin

3 things to clarify for proper responses.

Firstly are you a business or a private seller
Secondly did you offer change of mind returns
Lastly check the estimated delivery dates, a SNAD case via eBay can only be opened up to 30 days from the last estimated delivery date.

kimplus8

I am a private seller, I did not offer change of mind returns and they signed for the item on 26th August

kimplus8

Sorry was signed for on 27th August. So just 30 days

soolin

kimplus8 wrote: »

Sorry was signed for on 27th August. So just 30 days

You are tight on timing then as it isn't 30 days from receiving it is 30 days from the last estimated delivery date, they might still be able to open a SNAD case.

Was it just a message they sent? If a case isn't open yet , reply to the message to stall for time, perhaps politely pointing out that ad clearly stated not working. If they do open a case within the 30 days phone eBay and point out that this was sold as not working and keep on at them to close case in your favour.

You should win assuming item was listed under phone parts and not under just phones, and that nothing in the description implied any part was working or salvageable. Also if it was in the listing title that really helps.

kimplus8

yes it was listed under the 'for parts or not working; section.
Im gutted as if the buyer sends it back I just know I'm not going t get back what I sent them. I feel they have probably stripped it for some of the parts and then returned as they were asking me tonnes of questions about the phone.
I was very explicit in the description that the phone was for parts ONLY or NOT WORKING.
it just seems like you have no protection as a seller at all.
Thanks for all of your help Soolin.

soolin

kimplus8 wrote: »

yes it was listed under the 'for parts or not working; section.
Im gutted as if the buyer sends it back I just know I'm not going t get back what I sent them. I feel they have probably stripped it for some of the parts and then returned as they were asking me tonnes of questions about the phone.
I was very explicit in the description that the phone was for parts ONLY or NOT WORKING.
it just seems like you have no protection as a seller at all.
Thanks for all of your help Soolin.

You have plenty of protection, I have not lost a SNAD where item was listed correctly as broken/not working, however as above I have always phoned ebay to get any case closed on the basis it is not SNAD as my listing was accurate.

Also, if they don't open a case until the 30 days has passed then you can phone ebay and get case closed as out of time.

kimplus8

Thanks I will phone eBay in a bit when I get home- hopefully they will help. Thanks for all of your advice soolin.

kimplus8

So I spoke with eBay, they agreed that the buyer is asking for a refund based on the item being not as described when the item is as described as I have stated clearly in my listing that the item is broken and not working.
The guy said he can not authorise for the case to be close until it has been open for 8 days and asked me to message the buyer again and try to resolve the issue.
The buyer said the flash is not working and that they had assumed that it was only the screen that was smashed as I didn’t specify that the flash wasn’t working. However I argued that I explained that the phone was smashed, I couldn’t get the screen to work and therefore was unable to know the extent of any damage as per the listing.
The buyer then said it wasn’t the flash but it was the light and that they couldn’t get the light to ‘turn on’ from the screen.
I explained that to the buyer that the screen wasn’t working so unless they had already attempted repairs on the item and altered the phone they wouldn’t have been able to turn the light on.
The buyer then said repeatedly that they had attempted to work the phone using the touch screen menu and that it wasn’t turning on the torch.
I then tried to go back into the case but it wouldn’t let me do anything other than print a postage label.
I called eBay again, they said while they could see from the email exchanges that the buyer had attempted to get a working phone from one sold as ‘parts and not working’, the buyer was entitled to change their mind so their ‘system’ has allowed them to return the item and now that has happened there is nothing they can do to reverse the process, I will simply have to accept the item back and then I will have to counter claim that the item has been altered and is exempt from a refund?!
How on earth do I prove that the phone has been tampered with internally?

ballisticbrian

Yes, and it's worse than that because eBay will side on the buyers favour in this case unless you are extremely lucky. After the item is returned, you can do all the protestations to eBay, but what eBay often do while you are on the phone asking for eBays help, is actually escalate it in the buyers favour.
I had one eBay rep do this to me explaining how they were then going to wait 24 hours to give me a courtesy refund (because the item was only £4) but when I checked my invoice at the end of the month, they if fact had not even bothered to do that.

TripleH

Is it worth ringing eBay to speak to a different advisor, hopefully an Irish sounding one (have read they tend to be more clued up than some other advisors). If the case opened was item not as described, then you need to press on to eBay that the item was as described. You might need to holdvyour berve though, but try to be polite at all times no matter howvannoyed you get.