I was Sold stolen goods on eBay can I get a refund advice needed?

FonsoBoy123

Thanks everyone for your replies. Seller kept messaging no returns. I ignored seller and waited patiently, yesterday I finally got the option to escalate to a claim which I did and eBay have sided with me. 

EBay say I need to send it back which is fine and they have given me a postage label.

I was going to take to post office this morning but, wanted to check something first.

Case says refund will be issued once item shows delivered to seller.

Seller is not happy and is saying if I send back they will refuse package.

What will happen if they do refuse package? As it won't show delivered will eBay refuse refund.

Just wondered if anyone else has had this. And what happened.

Again any advice much appreciated 
Thanks in advance 

martindow

I'm sure soolin will be along to confirm soon, but I think that an attempted delivery will be sufficient to count as returned.  Refusing to accept returns from the postman was a loophole that I'm sure was closed.

GDB2222

Personally, I'd have involved the police. 

pdel61

I would not under any circumstance try and return it. General advice from the CA is:

Take the item to the police

As soon as you think it's stolen you need to call the police on 101 or take the item to your local police station. They’ll try to return it to its original owner.

You shouldn’t keep the item or return it to the seller yourself - this might be considered ‘handling stolen goods’, which is illegal.

FonsoBoy123

I haven't sent it yet as still don't know what to do. Earlier posts told me to just open return and send back. So did that but now not sure what to do. I did wonder if I should go to police but thought I might just be wasting there time over just a speaker.

When I spoke to Manufacturer and they told me  it had been reported lost/stolen, they told me to return it to seller I brought it from and get a refund.

They didn't seem interested at all in getting it returned to original owner. I did ask them what I should do.

I don't even know how I would get it to police, I live in a small rural village, nearest police station is over 1 hour away and I don't drive. Also the police where I live are awful, I do not trust them at all. 

I wish I had never brought this stupid speaker, I don't see why I should be held responsible for something that's not my fault. I brought speaker in good faith and had no idea it was stolen when brought it. 
I would never have brought it if had known it was stolen.
Now I'm stuck in this stupid situation and no idea what to do. I Certainly don't want to get in to trouble with the police.

challengedavid

just send it back, you're causing yourself greif over it
i dont agree with buying stolen goods but i dont want the stress that goes with it so i would send it back, leave feedback to reflect your experiance and move on with your life

you decide whats right for you, i would send it back and be hassle free
but if your not comfortable with that your going to have to seek some kind of police report and get ebay to accpet it and refund you without sending it back
i am sure someone on here can advise you how to do this

also if you send it back the tracking will show delivered or attempted delivery
if they refuse it you will still get your money back although i am not sure if thats automatic or you have to speak to ebay
just a side note too,  the label you have does not last indefinitely  (it should say somewhere the time limit)

GadgetGuru

As above - send it back. If the seller refuses the item just contact eBay one delivery has been attempted (actually phone and speak to them) and get them to refund you, which they will most likely do. If the item is then returned to you anyways because the seller has refused it and the seller contacts you, tell the seller you are taking the item to the police. 
After all, the seller can hardly accuse you of stealing a stolen item! lol

GrubbyGirl_2

Why not talk directly to ebay and tell then that he has said he will refuse the delivery.  They will be able to see the messages between each other and hopefully they will take action when you have posted it.

Jerry_Cornelius

martindow said:

I'm sure soolin will be along to confirm soon, but I think that an attempted delivery will be sufficient to count as returned.  Refusing to accept returns from the postman was a loophole that I'm sure was closed.

Along similar lines, I wanted a refund from a Chinese seller, who wanted me to return it to an address they supplied rather than the default address they gave ebay. Ebay told me i could use either so as i had already printed the label off using the default address, i sent it there. it was returned as undeliverable, so i told ebay, they closed the case in my favour, i got refunded and still have the goods (which the seller has not requested back, but I still have the package).

josephlck

Legally, stolen good are still the property of the original owner - I would echo the advice to hand it to the police and get a crime reference number. The advice from eBay to send it back is likely not the legal thing to do.

My understanding (not a lawyer, not legal advice) is you should be covered by the consumer protection act 2015 - the seller did not have legal right to sell the item and is in breach of contract. You can search for the citizens advice website for more authoritative information.

Ebay, or rather PayPal, should be able to return the funds if provided with a police report/crime reference number. You should also probably report the seller to eBay separately as selling stolen goods and try to get them removed from the platform.