Faulty item and had to claim back from CC company - now eBay seller wants return 20 weeks later

FlipMark

Hi,

I am not hugely familiar with consumer rights and how they relate to buying on eBay, so I would welcome some guidance.

I bought a fairly expensive vacuum cleaner on eBay in early August (20+ weeks ago) and it arrived damaged, and the images that I shared of the broken item clearly did not match the images in the listing, which the buyer agreed on. We were working in good faith and they agreed to refund the price of the broken part, to which I happily accepted.

The seller then asked whether I could wait for the refund, whilst they contacted the courier to see if they could make a claim that way. As we were working in good faith, I didn't want them to be out of pocket, so I agreed. A few weeks went by and I couldn't get a response from the seller, despite chasing. Then, a month after the item had been delivered, they asked for additional images of 'the state of the packaging upon delivery' to process the claim with the courier, which I didn't have as weeks had passed since the delivery. When I explained this, they went silent. After numerous chases, I didn't hear anything until the day after their obligation to provide any sort of compensation had passed, and they flat refused to help me or to provide even the small refund that we had previously agreed to.

I then reached out to eBay and they apologised, saying that unfortunately their hands were tied as it fell outside of this timeframe and the customer service rep. said, 'if I was being cynical, I would suggest they were playing for time and had no intention of paying, so I would put a claim forward with your payment provider.'

I made a claim with my CC provider and thankfully they found in my favor and refunded the full amount in September. I did not hear a word from eBay or the seller.

It is only now around 21 weeks later, that the seller has sent me a message and said that because the CC found in my favour, I had 'in effect received a refund' and therefore they would like me to return the item 'in the condition received'.

The issue here is that I no longer have the packaging (it's been over 20 weeks!) and I have had to spend my own money to repair the product to a usable state.

Are they within their right to request this return? I am very wary of them and feel cheated/scammed, given they leveraged terms and conditions, etc. to their avoid any liability or responsibility. I wouldn't put it pass them receiving the item and then putting in some sort of counter claim for the amount still.

And what should I do? Ignore or refuse the request or shall I acknowledge it? I am very suspicious and don't want to leave myself exposed or liable to any follow up.

Thanks very much in advance.

Mark

TELLIT01

You have had a full refund so the vendor is entitled to have the item returned.  At this time of year many businesses will have lots of packaging boxes available so you may be able to use that to pack it back up.  The vendor should be liable for the cost of returning it.  You do not have any right to keep the item.

born_again

Yes, they have a right to get it back. You can't have a refund & the goods. If you fail then they would have a right to take it to court to claim the money back.

DB1904

FlipMark said:

Hi,

I am not hugely familiar with consumer rights and how they relate to buying on eBay, so I would welcome some guidance.

I bought a fairly expensive vacuum cleaner on eBay in early August (20+ weeks ago) and it arrived damaged, and the images that I shared of the broken item clearly did not match the images in the listing, which the buyer agreed on. We were working in good faith and they agreed to refund the price of the broken part, to which I happily accepted.

The seller then asked whether I could wait for the refund, whilst they contacted the courier to see if they could make a claim that way. As we were working in good faith, I didn't want them to be out of pocket, so I agreed. A few weeks went by and I couldn't get a response from the seller, despite chasing. Then, a month after the item had been delivered, they asked for additional images of 'the state of the packaging upon delivery' to process the claim with the courier, which I didn't have as weeks had passed since the delivery. When I explained this, they went silent. After numerous chases, I didn't hear anything until the day after their obligation to provide any sort of compensation had passed, and they flat refused to help me or to provide even the small refund that we had previously agreed to.

I then reached out to eBay and they apologised, saying that unfortunately their hands were tied as it fell outside of this timeframe and the customer service rep. said, 'if I was being cynical, I would suggest they were playing for time and had no intention of paying, so I would put a claim forward with your payment provider.'

I made a claim with my CC provider and thankfully they found in my favor and refunded the full amount in September. I did not hear a word from eBay or the seller.

It is only now around 21 weeks later, that the seller has sent me a message and said that because the CC found in my favour, I had 'in effect received a refund' and therefore they would like me to return the item 'in the condition received'.

The issue here is that I no longer have the packaging (it's been over 20 weeks!) and I have had to spend my own money to repair the product to a usable state.

Are they within their right to request this return? I am very wary of them and feel cheated/scammed, given they leveraged terms and conditions, etc. to their avoid any liability or responsibility. I wouldn't put it pass them receiving the item and then putting in some sort of counter claim for the amount still.

And what should I do? Ignore or refuse the request or shall I acknowledge it? I am very suspicious and don't want to leave myself exposed or liable to any follow up.

Thanks very much in advance.

Mark

Your choice to repair their vacuum cleaner, now they want it back it's time to return. If you want to keep it, it's time to negotiate payment.

Ergates

Fundamentally you don't have a right to keep the item *and* have your money back.  You've paid to have the item repaired, which complicates matters.  

To start with I'd let them know they they are responsible for the cost of returning the item and that this would include the packaging - ask them to send you a box, and tell them they'll need to arrange a courier to pick it up from your address.  Then offer to pay them for the item minus what you had to pay to get it repaired.  They  may decide on the easier option (and that way you'd not be out of pocket).

FlipMark

TELLIT01 said:

You have had a full refund so the vendor is entitled to have the item returned.  At this time of year many businesses will have lots of packaging boxes available so you may be able to use that to pack it back up.  The vendor should be liable for the cost of returning it.  You do not have any right to keep the item.

Thanks for clarifying, my intention is not to keep the faulty item, but ensure that I do not end up paying for it again via some sort of claim due to a technicality.

Specifically what about the question of 'returning the item in the same condition', is it feasible to request the item be returned in the same state (including original item packaging which has been discarded) after 20 weeks? I'm not sure it's reasonable to expect someone to sit on a faulty item (as delivered) for five months. It's very possible (but thankfully I did not) that I could have just discarded the faulty item having not heard from the vendor for months.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

How much was the vacuum cleaner and how much did you spend to have it repaired? Was this a business seller or a private seller? 

If you decide to return it the packaging doesn't really matter as it's value isn't significant enough for the seller to reclaim. 

If it's repaired and you are happy with it offer the seller some money, otherwise advise them they can arrange for it's collection. 

Worth a question re court action, they engaged with the OP, agreed it was damaged and then went silent, so has the seller mitigated their losses and would the seller be able to claim costs?

DB1904

FlipMark said:

TELLIT01 said:

You have had a full refund so the vendor is entitled to have the item returned.  At this time of year many businesses will have lots of packaging boxes available so you may be able to use that to pack it back up.  The vendor should be liable for the cost of returning it.  You do not have any right to keep the item.

Thanks for clarifying, my intention is not to keep the faulty item, but ensure that I do not end up paying for it again via some sort of claim due to a technicality.

Specifically what about the question of 'returning the item in the same condition', is it feasible to request the item be returned in the same state (including original item packaging which has been discarded) after 20 weeks? I'm not sure it's reasonable to expect someone to sit on a faulty item (as delivered) for five months. It's very possible (but thankfully I did not) that I could have just discarded the faulty item having not heard from the vendor for months.

So you repaired it and used it but it wasn't your intention to keep it. Now you don't want to pay for it.

powerful_Rogue

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

How much was the vacuum cleaner and how much did you spend to have it repaired? Was this a business seller or a private seller? 

If you decide to return it the packaging doesn't really matter as it's value isn't significant enough for the seller to reclaim. 

If it's repaired and you are happy with it offer the seller some money, otherwise advise them they can arrange for it's collection. 

Worth a question re court action, they engaged with the OP, agreed it was damaged and then went silent, so has the seller mitigated their losses and would the seller be able to claim costs?

Totally disagree. Why do you believe that?

cx6

you don't have to return the item in the original packaging.

given their tardiness you don't have to rush to acceed to their every request either.

ask them to send you a box  and arrange a day convenient to you for their courier to collect it. Don't let them try and make you pay for the return with a promise to refund you the postage costs, as that way you will be liable if it goes missing or is further damaged in transit.

Do you know of CC did a chargeback or S75?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

powerful_Rogue said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

How much was the vacuum cleaner and how much did you spend to have it repaired? Was this a business seller or a private seller? 

If you decide to return it the packaging doesn't really matter as it's value isn't significant enough for the seller to reclaim. 

If it's repaired and you are happy with it offer the seller some money, otherwise advise them they can arrange for it's collection. 

Worth a question re court action, they engaged with the OP, agreed it was damaged and then went silent, so has the seller mitigated their losses and would the seller be able to claim costs?

Totally disagree. Why do you believe that?

How much is the product box going to be worth vs the minimum the seller is realistically going to get away with claiming from small claims?

If the seller wanted the box they should have followed eBay’s rules and arranged the return straight away rather than stringing the OP along.