Forced return of an item sold as faulty?

se2020

I sold an item, clearly listed as spares/repair/parts only.

Condition was llistedas 'for parts or not working'

Item description clearly said not working, and also said that the motor had burnt out and was beyond repair so the rest of it may be useful for parts.

The buyer (10 days after delivery) has opened a 'not as described' request with the details attached being"doesn't work"

I messaged the buyer asking if they had read the listing and seen it said faulty and they just messaged back saying "not worth fixing with the price of a new motor mate"

The postage was £24 (large/heavy) which the buyer paid.

The only options I am being given for the return are to provide a postage label to the buyer for him to return it or just give them a full refund with no return.

I guess I also have to return the original postage paid if the item is returned to me?

Is it worth trying to speak to customer services about this as, in my mind, the item is exactly as described and, at the least, this should be a change of mind return rather than not as described?

Spoonie_Turtle

Definitely phone them, nothing to lose and with all the description saying not working, any decent customer service rep should close it in your favour.

MattMattMattUK

Let them return, LBA then small claims court.

vacheron

Did you have "returns accepted" set in your listing?

If you did the buyer could still be entitled to return the item using "the buyer changed mind" option, and you could be obliged to concede.

As however he has tried to return it using one of the unavoidable return paths "not as described" then I assume he had no other choices open to him, and so chose to lie to open the return. I would therefore contact CS as his claim is clearly untrue.

I've had plenty buyers purchase my "faulty" listings and none had the audacity to try and return the item. But as a precaution I usually state something in the description along the lines of:

"I believe that the fault may be "xyz" however I cannot prove this so please only purchase if you are happy to proceed on the assumption that EVERY SINGLE ITEM in this product is faulty in order to avoid disappointment."

MyRealNameToo

Just shows the luck of the draw with buyers… sold an iPhone as "not working" and pointed out that it partially worked pointing out exactly what was broken in the little box and in the full description also pointed out some of the consequences (eg the gyro had gone so the camera would work but every photo would render as if it had been a portrait orientation and you couldn't switch apps into landscape mode)

Feedback from the buyer was rather long winded saying it was in really good condition, well packed, fast delivery and operated exactly as I had said, unfortunately they hadn't read what I said before buying and didnt want a faulty phone but that wasnt my fault and they'd managed to sell it on without a loss so it wasnt a problem.

Assuming you hadn't ticked that the item was returnable then dispute the return, if you had ticked it was returnable then its your cross to carry.

soolin

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81975523#Comment_81975523

There are 2 types of returns and the one opened here is the SNAD one, that has absolutely nothing to do with whether OP offered change of mind returns or not. Anyone can open a SNAD claim regardless of seller status or return policy.

OP, I'm with the other responses, speak to CS about this, be polite but persistent, read them line by line how you listed it and in which section and they should close the return. I have won several this way, once when they tried the whole 'this item sold as not working doesn't work' claim - I had listed that in the parts/spares one and case was closed and I did not have to accept the return. I have had others where ebay have released my funds from hold, closed the case and refunded the buyer out of the ebay coffers, which makes me cross as it means buyers think they can get away with this sort of nonsense.

MattMattMattUK

The problem with the buyer raising a SNAD complaint is I do not know of a single occasion were eBay has sided with the seller. No matter how unreasonable the buyer is, no matter how obvious their lies etc. eBay just does not care and will go out of their way to screw over the seller. For buyers, no matter how dishonest or dumb they are, SNAD is a get out of jail free card for returns and the seller has no real option but to accept, then take legal action for their losses against the buyer.

B0bbyEwing

What an absolute joke. eBay is worse than I thought & I had a low opinion of it anyway. I thought if you listed a faulty item & described it as such then there was no comeback. How can someone return a faulty item as being faulty when the description said faulty?

Reminds me of when I first started selling. I sold a digital camera where the flash wouldn't work but everything else was fine.

The opening word of my title was FAULTY. Something like "FAULTY Canon [model] NOT WORKING".

The opening line of my description was in red & went THIS CAMERA IS FAULTY, THE FLASH DOES NOT WORK SO THE WHOLE CAMERA IS SOLD AS FAULTY. The rest of the description was in black & was basic description stuff.

Someone comes in & buys it. I always play safe & don't assume - so before sending it off I messaged them to double check they were ok with the fault before I posted.

Their reply - no I didn't know it was faulty. I don't want it now.

Made me want to make the camera really faulty off their head. I understand not reading fine print but great whopping big capitals in different colours right at the start? Come on now!

soolin

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81975908#Comment_81975908

As a seller I have won several SNAD claims over the years.

MattMattMattUK

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81976053#Comment_81976053

You appear to have been very lucky then. As a seller I have had six, eBay screwed me over on all six occasions and I do not know of anyone in real life who have had eBay side with them, even people who have been selling on there for decades.

I have sent LBAs to five, three of them paid up at that point, the other two I won by default, then enforced the CCJ against them and got my money. Hopefully they learnt a lesson, but I doubt it.

B0bbyEwing

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81976065#Comment_81976065

Curious how you won.

Not implying you didn't, just saying I'm curious how you won.

So you sell honestly to me. I'm a dishonest buyer & say it isn't how you described it. eBay side with me because they're idiots & don't care (agree with you on this point).

So you go outside of eBay. How do you prove that the item arrived in the condition you sent it?