Ebay seller small claims court threat

Fizzywho

So I’ve been having a issue with eBay, where I sold an item, posted it special delivery next day received all confirmation from Royal Mail and buyer opened a claim a few days later saying it wasn’t delivered to him. He claims, he spoke to Royal Mail who confirmed they delivered incorrectly and they told him to ask seller to contact them for compensation. I contacted Royal Mail who emailed me to tell me they delivered correctly and nothing due. 

Since May 2024 I’ve been going back and fourth with eBay, as they have taken funds from my account and refunded buyer (the item was a branded £1300rrp Monclear coat which I sold for £451)

So I emailed eBay and got some senior members emails and said this (x our personal details)

Subject: Formal Complaint Regarding eBay Case, order number xxxzxx

 

I am writing to make a formal complaint regarding the recent eBay case related to the sale of a Monclear Maya Hooded down jacket 2

 

Item sold:  Monclear Maya Hooded down Jacket size 2 

Date of sale: 08.05.2024

Buyer name & Address: xxxx xxxx

Buyer ebay profile/username:  xxxxx review on buyer’s account (1)

RRP of item sold £1300 (Evidence no 15)

Item sold on ebay price: £440

Postage charged: £11.00

Method of postage : Royal mail special delivery guaranteed 1pm

Date of collection of item : 11.05.2024

Dated of delivery of item: 12.05.2024 (signature & proof of postage attached) refer to photo 1,2,3,4

 

Here is a brief overview of account of the events:

 

1. Transaction Date: On 08/05/24, I successfully sold a Monclear Maya Hooded down Jacket size 2 on eBay to xxxxx

2. Buyer Payment Date: The buyer made the payment on 09/05/24.

3. Shipping Method: I promptly dispatched the item via Royal Mail Special Delivery 1pm, and it was collected on 11/05/24 and delivered on 12/05/24 (refer to evidence number 1,2,3,4)

4. Buyer's Claim: Despite clear evidence of delivery (including an item photo and signature), the buyer opened a case on 14/05/24, claiming that the item was not delivered and ebay ruled case in his favour and tried to take money from my account.

5Case Decision: On 18/05/24, eBay decided the case in the buyer's favor, citing my alleged failure to provide evidence of postage. However, I had indeed provided evidence.

6. Contradictory Information: On the same day, eBay agent Arjesa assured me that I was covered by tracking and could ask eBay to step in after the 18th. Yet, my Amex credit card was charged despite this assurance.

7. Royal Mail Communication: Royal Mail informed the buyer that the item was incorrectly delivered, while simultaneously assuring me that it was delivered correctly. This inconsistency has caused significant financial loss.

8. Evidence Sharing: Despite my requests, eBay has refused to share evidence from Royal Mail regarding their communication with the buyer.

 

 

Detailed event list:

 

• 08.05.2024 -I sold a coat on ebay to Lucas xxxx (Refer to evidence no: A)
• 09.05.2024 I arranged for parcel to be collected to I send item via royal mail special 1pm (Refer to Evidence no 1,2,3)
• 11.05.2024 - Item was collected by Royal Mail 
• 12.05.2024 - Item was delivered by Royal mail on the 12.05.24, signature and photo of potage attached(Refer to Evidence no 4)
• 14.05.2024-Buyer opened a case with ebay claiming item was not delivered (Refer to Evidence no 5,6)
• 14.05.2024- I contacted ebay agent via chat, the agent Arjesa said “ your covered from our side with your tracking” and not to worry and case would be in my favour, all I needed to do was ask ebay to step in on 18th May and we would close case in my favour (Refer to Evidence no
• 18.05.24 – Contacted ebay agent, Avinash said “I am delighted to inform you that, I've closed the case in your favour and your funds will be released within the next 24-72 hours into your managed payment accounts”  (Refer to Evidence no E)
• 18.05.24 ebay messaged me informing me the case was decided in favour of buyer, as I did not provide tracking information  (Refer to Evidence no 7,8)
• My amex card was charged 18.05.2024 ((Refer to Evidence C)
• 19.05.2024 – I contacted agent on ebay again, informing them I was assured I would not be charged but I was and provided evidence as requested, agent Donjeta said; “I have sent the courtesy refund right within 48 hours I will email you if the request has been approved or not and once it is approved the refund can take 3 to 5 business days to go to your account (Refer to Evidence no F)
• I contacted ebay via phone call to establish what happened. The agent informed me, the buyer contacted royal mail who sent him a letter (unsure of what as ebay refused to share evidence with me) claiming the item was incorrectly delivered and to ask the seller of the item, me to contact them to obtain compensation
• I contacted royal mail online form on 26/06/2024 filling in a claim form reference given 240518-004486(Refer to Evidence no 10)
• 08/06/2024 – Royal mail emailed me back, confirming they carried out investigation & found item was delivered correctly (Refer to Evidence no 11)
• 08/06/2024 – I emailed royal mail informing them, ebay told me buyer already contacted them, and they confirmed it was incorrectly delivered, so why are you sending mixed messages. (Refer to Evidence no 12)
• 10/06/2024- Royal mail emailed again, confirming they uphold their decision on this matter (ie was delivered correctly) (Refer to Evidence no 13)
• I called an ebay agent, informed him royal mail told me they delivered correctly and I will not be re-imbursed. Either I need to confirmation buyer sent to them where royal mail agreed they incorrectly delivered, or I need ebay to return the money back to me. I also told ebay royal mail always email, so how did the buyer receive a letter from them?
• Agent told me they would send case to “back office” to see how case was closed and appeal has been opened “Appeal number 5337134183” (Refer to Evidence “D”)

 

I have added additional proofs on this email too, however most are labelled according to above

 

 

 As a result of this situation, I am now out of pocket by £451 and have lost a designer jacket worth £1300. I request the following actions to rectify this matter:

 

1. **Reopen the Case:** I ask that eBay reopens the case based on the evidence provided by Royal Mail.

2. **Provide Evidence:** eBay should share the communication from Royal Mail with me, demonstrating their acknowledgment of the incorrect delivery.

3. **Refund and Compensation:** I expect a full refund of the buyer's payment and compensation for the financial and emotional distress caused over this period.

 

I understand that eBay is required to respond formally to my complaint. I kindly request a response within seven days from the date of this letter. If you need further information, please feel free to contact me via the provided email address.

 

If this matter is not address within 14 days of this email, I will have no choice but to pursue legal action through the smalls claim court (a part completed form attached)

 

I look forward to hearing from you promptly and hope for a fair resolution.

 

Yours sincerely,

I also attached a part filled in small claims court form seeking back £900 from eBay for the financial loss of £451 plus additional stress this has caused me over the past 3 months. I’ve asked them to respond within 14 days (however day 6 today and co-incidentally I’ve had an email from eBay very standard saying order xxxxx has been refunded)


what do you all think?

born_again

Small claims only covers quantifiable losses. So claiming stress is not going to win anything.

TimeLord1

If your tracking is uploaded to the sold item and it shows delivery recorded on Royal Mail site. The case will close in your favour, all you have to do is wait until it times out, don't contact eBay to close it because they can make errors. Just let it close itself.

Open a claim against the card payment and also a report to eBay to investigate fraud.

GadgetGuru

I always thought if the tracking shows 'delivered' that was it - done deal. 
If buyers can now get a refund by stating non-delivery, even though there is evidence of delivery, then that is highly concerning to me. 

Fizzywho

Hi all

Just an update, a message came up via email and eBay


We've sent a refund of 451.0 GBP to your original payment method and you should receive it within 48 hours.

I cannot believe after fighting so much with them for 2 and half months non stop they finally refunded me.

I cannot fathom how they believed the other guy. Looks like some of the senior members pulled a string somewhere as I’ve been informed the user has also been blocked too. 

I’m at peace at last, thank you all for those that commented in such a short space of time 

Marksfish

I had an issue with a buyer because they disputed the Paypal name associated with the purchase. I fought my case and eBay refused point blank because the address on the Parcel Farce website wasn't identical to the purchaser's. Even the name of the person who signed for the parcel was the same as the person whose buying account it was! I ended up getting address details from every courier site available to prove the customer made their own address and it wasn't a recognised postal one. Got my money back eventually.

Fizzywho

Marksfish said:

I had an issue with a buyer because they disputed the Paypal name associated with the purchase. I fought my case and eBay refused point blank because the address on the Parcel Farce website wasn't identical to the purchaser's. Even the name of the person who signed for the parcel was the same as the person whose buying account it was! I ended up getting address details from every courier site available to prove the customer made their own address and it wasn't a recognised postal one. Got my money back eventually.

That’s so silly. eBay know Vinted is taking over that’s why they stopped charges on sale of used clothes. Vinted is probably better 

Bradden

Fizzywho said:

Marksfish said:

I had an issue with a buyer because they disputed the Paypal name associated with the purchase. I fought my case and eBay refused point blank because the address on the Parcel Farce website wasn't identical to the purchaser's. Even the name of the person who signed for the parcel was the same as the person whose buying account it was! I ended up getting address details from every courier site available to prove the customer made their own address and it wasn't a recognised postal one. Got my money back eventually.

That’s so silly. eBay know Vinted is taking over that’s why they stopped charges on sale of used clothes. Vinted is probably better 

There are plenty of threads of here from people having issues with vinted too.

soolin

Fizzywho said:

Marksfish said:

I had an issue with a buyer because they disputed the Paypal name associated with the purchase. I fought my case and eBay refused point blank because the address on the Parcel Farce website wasn't identical to the purchaser's. Even the name of the person who signed for the parcel was the same as the person whose buying account it was! I ended up getting address details from every courier site available to prove the customer made their own address and it wasn't a recognised postal one. Got my money back eventually.

That’s so silly. eBay know Vinted is taking over that’s why they stopped charges on sale of used clothes. Vinted is probably better 

Why do you think Vinted is staking over from ebay? Yes I think they are the biggest creditable opposition in a few categories that I've seen but they are no where near taking on ebay generally. If you read the various Vinted groups there are as many people saying they are leaving Vinted and going to ebay as there are vice versa. 

Vinted in the UK don't currently allow business sellers so that's an immediate loss of opportunity. There are plans I understand to introduce business sellers to Vinted and many sellers are looking forward to it, but I suspect these small businesses will get a shock when Vinted expect them to follow UK laws, at the moment the many unregistered businesses don't even have to pay return postage on faulty purchases, nor follow any other UK laws relating to distance selling.

There's also the issue of course of categories. Clothing is a fairly substantial category, but take out business sellers registered properly and that leaves only a small percentage for Vinted. Then most categories aren't allowed on Vinted, My main business is still a mix but most things I sell wouldn't be allowed on Vinted anyway so I wouldn't be looking to stop selling on ebay and go to Vinted.

The 2 sites are not comparable with each other, Vinted is succeeding in their niche as it has a narrow category base and a certain demographic of users .

savergrant

GadgetGuru said:

I always thought if the tracking shows 'delivered' that was it - done deal. 
If buyers can now get a refund by stating non-delivery, even though there is evidence of delivery, then that is highly concerning to me. 

Just out of interest but what if the buyer claims the package didn't contain the item they purchased? It's even possible that there could be something in the box to make it weigh the right amount. People were advised to film themselves opening packages to be safe.

RFW

savergrant said:

GadgetGuru said:

I always thought if the tracking shows 'delivered' that was it - done deal. 
If buyers can now get a refund by stating non-delivery, even though there is evidence of delivery, then that is highly concerning to me. 

Just out of interest but what if the buyer claims the package didn't contain the item they purchased? It's even possible that there could be something in the box to make it weigh the right amount. People were advised to film themselves opening packages to be safe.

The more tracked items there are the more non received items there will be. I've had quite a few recently that RM show as delivered. Various scenarios then play out from delivering to a "neighbour" 20 doors away to being left at a Post Office or not being delivered at all.