eBay dispute - buyer's payment institution has sided with the buyer - is there anything I can do?

Ash_Pole

I sold a treadmill back in September for £300 (and received £259.31 via PayPal).

The buyer sent a third-party courier to collect.

The buyer then claimed the treadmill wasn't working, and eventually filed a claim with eBay. eBay sided with me as their buyer protection policy excluded claims where the item was collected by a third party. Also the treadmill was in working order before collection, I provided a video.

The buyer then filed a claim directly with their payment institution. I responded with the same information, but they've now found in the buyers favour. eBay said the dispute didn't qualify for seller protection.

Can anyone help me understand why they have found in the buyers favour? And is it worth me filing an appeal? They are going to take £314 from me so I will be out by £55 and one treadmill despite selling an item in full working order!

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

Sadly with these kinds of disputes a SNAD is very difficult to defend and the decision is down to the payment provider rather than eBay.

Have eBay told you why they aren't offering seller protection on this? Their policy on that specific area is at the link below, I'd ask eBay which bit you haven't met. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/selling-policies/payment-dispute-seller-protections?id=5293

whilst pointing them towards:

An eBay Money Back Guarantee case of the same type for the same transaction that was already resolved with:

eBay determining that the seller met their obligations to the buyer

Ash_Pole

Thank you.

Re seller protection it's probably that I stupidly didn't get the QR code scanned on collection. However, the buyer  did acknowledge it had been collected, no dispute there at all, and eBay accepted this when I first challenged the buyers claim.

I'll give the appeal a go anyway, you never know.

RFW

You can ask for the treadmill back.
As much as I believe you it was working when it left, the video doesn't prove anything. As an extreme example I can have a video of me drinking out of a mug I'm selling but that wouldn't cover me if it arrived at the buyer in pieces. There is always the possibility that buyer and seller are both telling the truth, it was working when it left but wasn't when it arrived.
What was the communication like before the buyer turned to Ebay?

Ash_Pole

Surely though if collection only it's down to the buyer to check they are happy before taking it away. I don't doubt the buyer when she said it wasn't working when it arrived, I think it must have been damaged during the 200+ mile trip in the courier's van (who didn't do anything that I saw to tie it down or otherwise secure it).

Communication was good, but ultimately she wanted all her money back and I said it was probably damaged by the courier and that was their responsibility.

eta: also, if I want the treadmill back they have said I would have to pay for the courier (it's a long way and it's a big heavy treadmill)

RFW

Ash_Pole said:

Surely though if collection only it's down to the buyer to check they are happy before taking it away. I don't doubt the buyer when she said it wasn't working when it arrived, I think it must have been damaged during the 200+ mile trip in the courier's van (who didn't do anything that I saw to tie it down or otherwise secure it).

I'd probably feel the same way. It's a bit of an odd one.
The rules have changed since I sold bulkier stuff but I was always wary of someone collecting via a third party courier. I only allowed it once and that was when they sent the courier with cash on collection.

Have they taken the money yet? How are they getting it back from you? I'm just thinking what I'd try and do in a similar situation from here.

If they've had your money you might want to try and get it collected and salvage some money back but that's a call you've got to make.

Other steps would be court cases and that's a toss up whether you'd win in my opinion. 

Obviously the appeal is the first step and may work. Let us know how you go on.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Ash_Pole said:

Surely though if collection only it's down to the buyer to check they are happy before taking it away. I don't doubt the buyer when she said it wasn't working when it arrived, I think it must have been damaged during the 200+ mile trip in the courier's van (who didn't do anything that I saw to tie it down or otherwise secure it).

Communication was good, but ultimately she wanted all her money back and I said it was probably damaged by the courier and that was their responsibility.

eta: also, if I want the treadmill back they have said I would have to pay for the courier (it's a long way and it's a big heavy treadmill)

If you have the buyer's address I'd be looking at sending a letter before action in an attempt to recover to your loses but getting eBay to agree to seller protection due to them previously finding in your favour might be easier (although perhaps only just depending upon how lucky you are with CS).

They hired the courier, any damage is their problem AFAIK, I assume this was a private sale?

Ash_Pole

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP

Sadly with these kinds of disputes a SNAD is very difficult to defend and the decision is down to the payment provider rather than eBay.

Have eBay told you why they aren't offering seller protection on this? Their policy on that specific area is at the link below, I'd ask eBay which bit you haven't met. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/selling-policies/payment-dispute-seller-protections?id=5293

whilst pointing them towards:

An eBay Money Back Guarantee case of the same type for the same transaction that was already resolved with:

eBay determining that the seller met their obligations to the buyer

I appealed using wording similar to this, and to my surprise they granted it within an hour. So all's well that ends well. Thank you everything for helping.