Buyer getting a refund without opening a case. Is this correct?

swingaloo

I have had an issue this last week with some parcels which took ages to deliver. Posted on 21st May and POD and tracking sent to them.

Yesterday 2 of the buyers got fed up of waiting (understandable) and one opened an INR case. The other one just sent me a message saying 'cant wait longer' and Ebay refunded her straight away. 

Today the tracking has updated and both items have been delivered. The one that opened the case has closed the case and sent me a message to say item received, the other who didnt open a case and has had the refund has not let me know the item has arrived and so has got a free item. The Ebay estimated del date was between the 27th and the 30th. 

Is this new SD not helping buyers get a refund too quickly? 

savergrant

There was proof of delivery but they claimed item not received?
If it was simple delivery then so long as you have dropped off the parcel you should be covered, but if recipient claims item wasn't inside when received it may be a grey area. Have you received payment?

swingaloo

savergrant said:

There was proof of delivery but they claimed item not received?
If it was simple delivery then so long as you have dropped off the parcel you should be covered, but if recipient claims item wasn't inside when received it may be a grey area. Have you received payment?

I think you have misunderstood my post probably because I put POD instead of POP.

I have Proof of posting from the PO and provided tracking. 5 items were posted together on the 21st but for some reason they have been held up in the RM system 

On the last day of the estimated delivery range given by Ebay the buyer sent me an email to say she could wait no longer but did not open a case. The buyer immediately got a refund from Ebay (Simple delivery). 

Today the item has been delivered to the buyer who has already been refunded yesterday therefore they have a free item.

What is confusing me- I thought that when a case was opened there was a timescale for the seller to deal with it yet this buyer was able to just ask for and obtain a refund so quickly.

I have another buyer who's parcel was posted at the same time, they opened a case yesterday and their item also arrived today. Because they had opened a case they have now closed it and confirmed delivery. 

red_boots2

Give eBay a call and see if they can explain why they have done this.

Not that it helps with this situation, but I have been messaging buyers explaining about the current issues with SD and RM and have found Buyers to be pretty understanding... Saying that I'll probably get a load of complaints now :

swingaloo

red_boots2 said:

Give eBay a call and see if they can explain why they have done this.

Not that it helps with this situation, but I have been messaging buyers explaining about the current issues with SD and RM and have found Buyers to be pretty understanding... Saying that I'll probably get a load of complaints now :

Thanks Red Boots, I did message all the affected customers and sent them a photo of the Proof of Posting. There even seems to be a glitch with that as I had a message from one of the buyers asking for an update. I told her that I had sent her a message the previous day about the delay and she replied that she had no notification of a message from Ebay and so she hadn't read it. 

red_boots2

swingaloo said:

red_boots2 said:

Give eBay a call and see if they can explain why they have done this.

Not that it helps with this situation, but I have been messaging buyers explaining about the current issues with SD and RM and have found Buyers to be pretty understanding... Saying that I'll probably get a load of complaints now :

Thanks Red Boots, I did message all the affected customers and sent them a photo of the Proof of Posting. There even seems to be a glitch with that as I had a message from one of the buyers asking for an update. I told her that I had sent her a message the previous day about the delay and she replied that she had no notification of a message from Ebay and so she hadn't read it. 

I was on the phone quite a bit with eBay CSA's yesterday and they were all saying they couldn't see any messages on their systems due to a glitch. 

Still doesn't explain how someone got a refund without opening a case though, very strange!

savergrant

If it's simple delivery and not delivered by the last expected delivery date I can understand ebay issuing a refund as they will have all the tracking info at their end. So long as you posted on time you shouldn't lose out, ebay will refund from their own pocket and then try to reclaim from the courier.

se2020

Did you actually add the tracking numbers into ebay?
Or, if you used simple delivery lables do did they show as dispatched?

Ebay take ages to refund on an INR claim.
They don't refund just because a buyer sends a message.

I wonder if you didn't add the tracking (or its not shown as dispatched) then the buyer has just done a 'cancel this order' which would give them an immediate refund.

savergrant

se2020 said:

Did you actually add the tracking numbers into ebay?
Or, if you used simple delivery lables do did they show as dispatched?

Ebay take ages to refund on an INR claim.
They don't refund just because a buyer sends a message.

I wonder if you didn't add the tracking (or its not shown as dispatched) then the buyer has just done a 'cancel this order' which would give them an immediate refund.

I've only used simple delivery twice but iirc it automatically marks as despatched when it is accepted at a parcel shop. From what I remember non-sd packlink parcels are marked as despatched when you buy the label.

swingaloo

se2020 said:

Did you actually add the tracking numbers into ebay?
Or, if you used simple delivery lables do did they show as dispatched?

Ebay take ages to refund on an INR claim.
They don't refund just because a buyer sends a message.

I wonder if you didn't add the tracking (or its not shown as dispatched) then the buyer has just done a 'cancel this order' which would give them an immediate refund.

Yes I added tracking into Ebay but with Simple delivery its on there as well. I also sent the buyers photographs of the actual POP showing the post office and date.

The simple delivery labels show the items as dispatched straight away.

The order was not cancelled as I would have had notification of that anyway.

I think it was paid out to the buyer as the expected date had come around and I have had a message from Ebay to say I dont need to do anything and my stats will not be affected. They refund the buyer now instead of the seller as long as there is tracking.

I can see buyers cottoning on to this and asking for a refund as soon as the expected date comes round knowing the item will probably still arrive  when in reality there are often delivery delays with Royal Mail so Ebay may end up paying out a lot.

soolin

swingaloo said:

se2020 said:

Did you actually add the tracking numbers into ebay?
Or, if you used simple delivery lables do did they show as dispatched?

Ebay take ages to refund on an INR claim.
They don't refund just because a buyer sends a message.

I wonder if you didn't add the tracking (or its not shown as dispatched) then the buyer has just done a 'cancel this order' which would give them an immediate refund.

Yes I added tracking into Ebay but with Simple delivery its on there as well. I also sent the buyers photographs of the actual POP showing the post office and date.

The simple delivery labels show the items as dispatched straight away.

The order was not cancelled as I would have had notification of that anyway.

I think it was paid out to the buyer as the expected date had come around and I have had a message from Ebay to say I dont need to do anything and my stats will not be affected. They refund the buyer now instead of the seller as long as there is tracking.

I can see buyers cottoning on to this and asking for a refund as soon as the expected date comes round knowing the item will probably still arrive  when in reality there are often delivery delays with Royal Mail so Ebay may end up paying out a lot.

Your funds should also be released to you - you should see them in your available funds. If not, phone ebay and point out that their FAQs state that when using SD sellers are fully covered against loss.

Simple Delivery | eBay

There are several benefits to using Simple Delivery, including:

• You'll be protected if the item is lost or damaged from the point the item is scanned into the carrier's delivery network and until it's marked as delivered

You may just have missed the fact that your funds were released as well as buyer getting a refund.