Ebay Seller says he cannot make a partial refund while return is open

fwor

I'm the buyer - I bought an item (£160) but the seller shipped a lower-spec one, so I opened a Return. They have agreed to refund me £20 (which is a reasonable compromise on both sides) but say they cannot process a refund while the return is still open.

Is this factually correct? I've never (as a seller) been in that situation, so I don't know if they are telling the truth about that or not.

As I understand it, I cannot open another return case for the item, so if I close it and they then don't refund, I'm down £20 - correct?

soolin

They should be able to refund £20 of your original payment and then allow you to close the case. Asking you to close the case raises a lot of red flags for me- if they won't refund the £20 then return it and get a full refund.

Woodstok2000

The process is slightly different when there's an open case, maybe the seller is not aware - point them here:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/refunding-buyers?id=5182

If there's an open cancellation request, return request, eBay Money Back Guarantee case, a report that an item hasn't arrived, or an open dispute made outside of eBay against an order, then the Send refund option will not be available. Instead, any refunds must be made through the open request or case, which can be viewed in My eBay Orders, or the Returns, Cancellations, or Requests and disputes tabs in Seller Hub.

savergrant

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6689496/ebay-seller-says-he-cannot-make-a-partial-refund-while-return-is-open

My understanding was that 'offer a partial refund and let the customer keep the item' was one of the options to resolve an INAD case. I certainly wouldn't agree to close the case.

TimeLord1

It surprises me how many people that are being asked to close item not received claims and are closing them . If you've opened a request, leave it active until it's resolved it or the item has arrived. Close it; you've just lost any chances of it being resolved successfully and forfeited your rights.

fwor

Thanks all. I have declined to close the case and asked the seller to process the item as a return and full refund. The seller seems to have a good reputation, but I'm not so desperate for the item that it's worth the risk!

Ms_Chocaholic

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82193750#Comment_82193750

I imagine (miraculously) they'll now be able to refund the £20 no problem. They seem like they are having you on. It's pretty easy to do from a seller's perspective.

fwor

Surprisingly, the seller sent me a screenshot, showing the "Refund" button not active, so perhaps he's right, and there is some oddity about the Ebay refund mechanism at the moment.

But I asked him to process the return anyway, which he seems to be doing with good grace. I feel a bit sorry for him because it does seem to be a straightforward mistake, and I would guess he will probably be down £12 in wasted shipping costs but… it was his mistake.