Meaning of "Does not fit" when returning an Ebay item?

pw888

I recently bought a part for my motorcycle off Ebay but when it arrived I couldn't fit it to the machine as it was impossible to get the holes lined up to where they are supposed to go to bolt it on.  I contacted the seller by email then by phone to try to sort it and to be fair he was keen to try to help me but there is no way that this part is going to fit as the mounting points are out by a long way off.  Maybe it was a manufacturing fault but for whatever reason, it does not fit the bike and I supplied the seller with many photos showing why.  In this case I believe that the item that I bought is not fit for purpose so I started the return process.  When asked the reason for the return, I stupidly checked the box for "does not fit".  I say stupidly but this was the reason in the list that best described the reason I was returning it.  I'm then notified that I am to pay the carriage costs but when I have returned ebay items before, I have never paid carriage costs as I have never returned anything because I changed my mind.  I contact customer service and they tell me I have to pay carriage because I selected "wrong size" as the reason for returning to which I replied I didn't, I selected "does not fit".  He then tells me that this is a "remorse" reason so I have to pay.  I asked them if he could change the reason because the item is essentially faulty and he said it's not possible but couldn't tell me exactly why.   I asked to speak with his manager and had exactly the same conversation with him and told me it couldn't be changed and I shouldn't have chosen the wrong option if I didn't want to pay carriage.  Am I right to contest this?  Surely the item isn't fit for the purpose intended and "does not fit" accurately describes why this is and therefore entitled to be refunded carriage costs.  I wouldn't mind so much but it's £35 in total to have it shipped to me and then to send it back.  If I am right then what is the best way to contest it because I am getting nowhere with ebay customer service?  Any input would be greatly appreciated.    

bris

In this context "does not fit" means you bought the wrong size. You should have used "item not as described" this makes it the sellers fault.

The reason they won't let it be changed now is because now you know it's you who pays to return they think you are just making an excuse to get out of paying. You can always try negotiating with the seller.

pw888

I realise now that wrong size ordered is how ebay interpret does not fit but I find this very misleading. I'm not making excuses as I have photographic evidence that the item I bought is not fit for purpose. Surelythe fact that I interpreted an option in a menu different to how ebay does shouldn't affect my legal rights. I'm under the impression that I'm entitled to a full refund under the consumer rights act of 2015. I just cant see how I've lost all my rights because according to ebay I ticked the wrong box even though it was the best description of my issue. 

lindens

in this case try and come to an agreement with the seller that when they get the item back and refund you, they add on the cost of the return postage that you have had to purchase.
Also I'm not sure but maybe you can close this case and open up a new one with the correct reason?

soolin

lindens said:

in this case try and come to an agreement with the seller that when they get the item back and refund you, they add on the cost of the return postage that you have had to purchase.
Also I'm not sure but maybe you can close this case and open up a new one with the correct reason?

Seller is under no obligation now to refund return postage , it is always worth a try but there would be no guarantee and no  way to force the money back even if they did initially say yes.

It is not possible to close the case and reopen it as an SNAD, as mentioned above. 

soolin

pw888 said:

I realise now that wrong size ordered is how ebay interpret does not fit but I find this very misleading. I'm not making excuses as I have photographic evidence that the item I bought is not fit for purpose. Surelythe fact that I interpreted an option in a menu different to how ebay does shouldn't affect my legal rights. I'm under the impression that I'm entitled to a full refund under the consumer rights act of 2015. I just cant see how I've lost all my rights because according to ebay I ticked the wrong box even though it was the best description of my issue. 

Your legal rights remain unaffected and if you can't do it the simple way through the ebay system then you still have small claims. You would just need to show that the item was sold to fit your exact make and model and does not do so, therefore cannot be the model as described in the listing.

pw888

soolin said:

pw888 said:

I realise now that wrong size ordered is how ebay interpret does not fit but I find this very misleading. I'm not making excuses as I have photographic evidence that the item I bought is not fit for purpose. Surelythe fact that I interpreted an option in a menu different to how ebay does shouldn't affect my legal rights. I'm under the impression that I'm entitled to a full refund under the consumer rights act of 2015. I just cant see how I've lost all my rights because according to ebay I ticked the wrong box even though it was the best description of my issue. 

Your legal rights remain unaffected and if you can't do it the simple way through the ebay system then you still have small claims. You would just need to show that the item was sold to fit your exact make and model and does not do so, therefore cannot be the model as described in the listing.

The part was sold as something that should fit my exact make and model, it is on the listing (which I think has now been removed but I imagine Ebay will have a record of it) and on my invoice, and my bike hasn't been modified at all.  I thought I would give Ebay.co.uk Facebook page a try as I've found this a useful tactic before when the usual customer service channels have no idea of what they are talking about.  I seem to be getting somewhere now as I'm speaking to somebody who has a decent grasp of consumer rights in the UK and they believe I should be given a full refund including postage.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

soolin said:

pw888 said:

I realise now that wrong size ordered is how ebay interpret does not fit but I find this very misleading. I'm not making excuses as I have photographic evidence that the item I bought is not fit for purpose. Surelythe fact that I interpreted an option in a menu different to how ebay does shouldn't affect my legal rights. I'm under the impression that I'm entitled to a full refund under the consumer rights act of 2015. I just cant see how I've lost all my rights because according to ebay I ticked the wrong box even though it was the best description of my issue. 

Your legal rights remain unaffected and if you can't do it the simple way through the ebay system then you still have small claims. You would just need to show that the item was sold to fit your exact make and model and does not do so, therefore cannot be the model as described in the listing.

OP's loss will be around £3 for the eBay label, I don't think you'll get a claim through for that amount.

Other option is returns on us via Paypal:

www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/refunded-returns

pw888

The estimated cost of postage by Ebay was £10.00 going by the weight but I'm not sure that is accurate. Although the parcel weighs only 8Kg but is quite large (over 1 metre long and over half a metre wide and tall), it will probably be charged by a volumetric system as is often the case when a parcel is not that heavy but it takes up a lot of space in the van.  I'm so far £35 on the deal as the seller charged me £25 to have the parcel delivered to me.

The original reason I contacted customer services was to request another option for carriage as I wasn't sure if the options I was given would be suitable.  This brings me on to the point about cancelling a return and reopening it.  I know from experience that once a return is cancelled it can't be reopened under normal circumstances, whatever the reason is for the return.  I returned an item when I received the wrong part last year and had an issue with the delivery options so I cancelled the return with the intention of re-opening it and bearing in mind, on that occasion I ticket the box "wrong item sent" because the packet had a different part number on it.  I found that I couldn't do it and had to contact customer services to re-open it for me.  They said it is against policy shouldn't really do it but agreed to do it when I said they would be breaking the law if they didn't. This was a while ago so this might have changed since. I get the feeling that the customer service agents seem to think that Ebay rules and regulations override the law of the country they are operating in. 

        

pw888

So I think this is sorted now, they have agreed that I should be refunded postage and the case treated as the sellers fault rather than my fault so they will agree to step in if the seller does not give a full refund on time.  The people I spoke to on Facebook were extremely helpful and said they could see my point about "Does not fit" being a bad reason to choose from for returning something as it depends on the context that it is being used.  Misinterpreting that context shouldn't mean that you surrender your legal rights and Ebay's terms and conditions do not supersede the law where they conflict.  It seems there are competent and professional customer service agents that work for big companies but it seems you need to go through Facebook to access them. 

soolin

pw888 said:

So I think this is sorted now, they have agreed that I should be refunded postage and the case treated as the sellers fault rather than my fault so they will agree to step in if the seller does not give a full refund on time.  The people I spoke to on Facebook were extremely helpful and said they could see my point about "Does not fit" being a bad reason to choose from for returning something as it depends on the context that it is being used.  Misinterpreting that context shouldn't mean that you surrender your legal rights and Ebay's terms and conditions do not supersede the law where they conflict.  It seems there are competent and professional customer service agents that work for big companies but it seems you need to go through Facebook to access them. 

So have they allowed you to close the 'wrong' claim and reopen the new one, or are they just providing you with a label themselves?

As for stepping in if seller doesn't refund, that is done automatically anyway , the time frame has been extended, but the seller must refund the whole of the original payment within 5 days of receiving the item back- no seller can do anything other than refund in full when buyer wins the SNAD case.