Options after eBay refunded fraudulent buyer Please

Did the buyer open a not as described case or a return case? Either case would have gone against you due to ebay almost always siding with the buyer in these cases.

The buyer though cannot keep the item as they've been refunded, no matter what ebay told them. You will though need to arrange to get the item back. I would contact the buyer and ask when is convenient to collect it. You always have the option of the small claims court if the buyer does not cooperate.

£280 for a second hand (?) washing machine seems high based on what I paid recently for a brand new one. Was it under warranty? It's a difficult item for parts to be missing from.

TIMBO wrote: »

Thank you all for your replies.
Based on your answers I can try, again, to get my machine back.
In answer to your questions
1)The machine was almost new and had four years warranty remaining, I sold it 1/3 off the price of a new one.
2)The buyer opened a case saying "not as described" and made accusations that were false and , had I been allowed to provide documentation I could have proved were false. The claims then got exaggerated further and added to after I refused to give a 60% discount.
I have already asked the seller to provide a phone number for a courier to arrange to collect the machine but they have not replied so I shall send a letter registered post requesting the same and advising I will escalate to the small claims court if they do not reply. ( thank you for the advice)
If you are considering using ebay please note the following
1) at least two of the replies I received to my detailed appeal and complaint letters are automated responses that have been sent without considering my communications. Also the staff operating the telephone appeals line are diabolical and have no customer service focus what so ever.
2) It appears that even if you challenge an ebay decision based on misinformation that you can disprove , ebay will still expect you to collect the item within 5 days even while the appeal is in progress (defeating the point of an appeal and allowing the buyer to hold you to ransom) . Coincidently the discount amount claimed by the buyer is about the same as the cost to collect the item.

I also learnt yesterday that ebay have charged me £25. to give away my machine . I, personally , will not be using ebay ever again.
To the lovely people on this forum - thank you for your kind help and support. It goes a long way to restoring ones faith in human nature.
Best wishes Tim

Tim,

It's very sad when things like this happen and sometimes it is difficult to try to work out from a short post, what exactly went on.

Please do not think I am picking your comments apart but if I could ask a few questions and offer some suggestion it may help you.

Cases on ebay (and Paypal) have strict rules and guidelines and it seems you may have fallen foul of some of them.

With eBay the seller is given 8 days to resolve the situation after the case is opened. In ebay's eyes, the only way to resolve it is to accept the return or refund without a return. If you don't resolve it the buyer can ask eBay to step-in and rule. They nearly always rule for the buyer and mostly the ruling is to give a full refund (from the seller's money) without a return being made. It sounds like this is what happened.

Whilst I appreciate you say you had no provision to offer your evidence, it actually is true that you can upload any evidence to the case itself. However, regardless of that, it would perhaps have been futile as ebay normally rule in the favour of the buyer and so most sellers realise it is best to accept the return and refund on return.

I understand you did appeal.... although I am not sure why you didn't manage to get the collection within this time? As for the "discount the buyer wanted" and the "cost for collection" I am not sure of the relevance but you were free to arrange your own collection and certainly this is what you should have done.

You now find yourself in a difficult situation. A letter to the buyer is the way forward, although legally, this should be via standard post rather than a registered method - the law accepts that standard post (your certificate of posting will prove you sent it) is sufficient to suitably evidence safe receipt and registered post can literally be the downfall as the buyer is likely to refuse it, meaning you haven't actually achieved what you wanted.

Send the letter - you will find a template on google that you can adapt - if you google 'letter before action'.

In the meantime, I would appeal to ebay via message* and ask them to review your evidence and make a reimbursement as you are an inexperienced seller and thought you had done all you could. It will likely do nothing, but it is worth doing - include all of your evidence that was missed at the first time.

*use the help pages to get to the email us page or better still respond to the appeal rejection.

The fee you have been charged is the final selling fee, you would have got that back had you accepted the return but that is also something you could ask ebay to waive in your message.

Good luck.

TIMBO wrote: »

Good morning ,
I sold a washing machine on eBay for £280.00. the buyer came to inspect and collected the item.
Several days after getting it home he sent a message through eBay to say it was not as described and had parts missing. He demanded a 60% refund or I had to arrange to collect the item at my own cost. All of the "faults" are false so I raised a case with EBAY - who without asking for my proof found in the buyers favour stating " as they cannot see the item they have to take the buyers word " and I should have collected the item while my eBay case was being investigated. EBay have stated the buyer can also keep the washing machine as well as receiving a full refund.( why and is this lawfully binding?)

As I can reasonably prove the comments were false can I demand to be allowed to retrieve the washing machine and hopefully recover the courier costs involved?
Or can I take them to the small claims court to recover my costs and machine.

Having tried to escalate this to eBay I have found them to be without integrity and their response has been a series of automated emails fobbing me off without responding to my questions and clear request to raise a complaint .
Any feedback gratefully received thank you .

TIMBO wrote: »

I have been advised by Citizens advice Consumer Services ( 0345 040506) that , as a private seller, I am not protected by the distance selling regulations but bound by Ebay and Paypal Terms and condition's . Therefor I cannot enforce the return of the dishwasher.
As a result I have
Had the purchase payment taken from me
Lost the dishwasher
Paid eBay £25.00 for the privilege .

If anyone has further information or advice it would be greatly appreciated .
Thanks Tim

Confused, how many items are involved?