Awkward Buyer
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pw76
Posts: 11 Forumite
Hi all,
First time poster here looking for some advice regarding an Ebay dispute with a buyer.
I sold a mint condition laptop for £600 which was in full working order and had been tested prior to listing.
10 days after delivery confirmation, the buyer opened a return complaining that the laptop wasn't running right and he didn't like the feel of the trackpad.
I knew I'd have no choice other than to accept the return so I accepted immediately and issued the return postage label that Ebay provide to buyers.
Over 2 weeks go by and I have heard nothing from the buyer, the label had not been scanned. I'm thinking perhaps the buyer was trying it on for maybe a partial refund etc. Prior to return, I told him that the laptop had built-in diagnostic tests to confirm there was no hardware fault. I received no response.
5 days until the return deadline is reached, the buyer opens a case against me. I'm completely baffled and contact EBay to ask what's going on, Ebay is threatening to refund him if I don't resolve the matter within 5 days. They tell me that the label they issued to the buyer doesn't have enough insurance on to cover the value of the laptop and they didn't want to risk the buyer shipping it. Thy give me two options, generate a label outside of ebay, or PayPal the buyer money to cover the shipping costs. Naturally I'm upset because I'm now having to pay substantially more to get the laptop returned to me and I've had to wait 2 weeks.
Due the value of the laptop, I found it extremely difficult to find a courier that was reasonably priced that would insure it. So I bought a label for £27 Royal Mail Special Delivery 1pm with up to £1000 insurance (same service I used to send the laptop in the first place). I sent the new label to the buyer.
I receive a message from EBay the following day, I suspect it was a follow up to my phone call as I told them I was unhappy with the outcome of the call because I was annoyed they'd taken 2 weeks to tell me about the label issue. The message was positive, that they had no doubt I was an honest and trustworthy seller and I had no need to worry about the outcome of the case. If the laptop came back damaged, etc. that I would be compensated because I told them I was really worried about the condition of it since the buyer had it for a long time.
A couple of days later, there's still no word from buyer, no communication at all since his initial return message so I decided to send another message to the buyer asking why he hadn't used the new returns label, and asked if he still wanted to return laptop etc. just as further evidence for EBay that I've been fully cooperative.
I finally received a reply from him saying he'd attempted to post it at the Post Office several days ago and they rejected the parcel because it was 0.6kg over weight. I assume this was the original label, which seems odd because the laptop weight was 2.7kg when I sent it, why would Ebay generate a label for 2.1kg?
He then said that he had no time for this now and that *I* have to organise a collection from his home as he was now far too busy to be dealing with this because of his studies at University.
He has completely ignored the 2nd label I sent to him which I now have to claim back from Royal Mail has it's since expired and that process take 14 days.
I believe that his request is completely unreasonable and have sent another message to Ebay but I'm now at my wits end with this. The buyer has had the laptop for over a month now. But now I'm not sure what is going to happen when it reaches the end of the "hold" period.
I don't know why he couldn't have sent the laptop straight back when I issued the return, or at least got someone to do it for him. I seriously cannot believe that the Post Office refused to accept the laptop. Personally, I would have paid the difference to get it back to the seller and get my refund. More and more this is looking like he's trying to get the laptop for free hoping that Ebay will refund him if the return / case goes unsolved.
Going forward, all I can do is issue another returns label on the assumption he uses it before it expires otherwise I'm going to be paying £27 each time.
Does anyone have any experience with cases like this? Could this potentially go on and on? Surely EBay can't force me to collect if he's refusing to use the label I send him.
First time poster here looking for some advice regarding an Ebay dispute with a buyer.
I sold a mint condition laptop for £600 which was in full working order and had been tested prior to listing.
10 days after delivery confirmation, the buyer opened a return complaining that the laptop wasn't running right and he didn't like the feel of the trackpad.
I knew I'd have no choice other than to accept the return so I accepted immediately and issued the return postage label that Ebay provide to buyers.
Over 2 weeks go by and I have heard nothing from the buyer, the label had not been scanned. I'm thinking perhaps the buyer was trying it on for maybe a partial refund etc. Prior to return, I told him that the laptop had built-in diagnostic tests to confirm there was no hardware fault. I received no response.
5 days until the return deadline is reached, the buyer opens a case against me. I'm completely baffled and contact EBay to ask what's going on, Ebay is threatening to refund him if I don't resolve the matter within 5 days. They tell me that the label they issued to the buyer doesn't have enough insurance on to cover the value of the laptop and they didn't want to risk the buyer shipping it. Thy give me two options, generate a label outside of ebay, or PayPal the buyer money to cover the shipping costs. Naturally I'm upset because I'm now having to pay substantially more to get the laptop returned to me and I've had to wait 2 weeks.
Due the value of the laptop, I found it extremely difficult to find a courier that was reasonably priced that would insure it. So I bought a label for £27 Royal Mail Special Delivery 1pm with up to £1000 insurance (same service I used to send the laptop in the first place). I sent the new label to the buyer.
I receive a message from EBay the following day, I suspect it was a follow up to my phone call as I told them I was unhappy with the outcome of the call because I was annoyed they'd taken 2 weeks to tell me about the label issue. The message was positive, that they had no doubt I was an honest and trustworthy seller and I had no need to worry about the outcome of the case. If the laptop came back damaged, etc. that I would be compensated because I told them I was really worried about the condition of it since the buyer had it for a long time.
A couple of days later, there's still no word from buyer, no communication at all since his initial return message so I decided to send another message to the buyer asking why he hadn't used the new returns label, and asked if he still wanted to return laptop etc. just as further evidence for EBay that I've been fully cooperative.
I finally received a reply from him saying he'd attempted to post it at the Post Office several days ago and they rejected the parcel because it was 0.6kg over weight. I assume this was the original label, which seems odd because the laptop weight was 2.7kg when I sent it, why would Ebay generate a label for 2.1kg?
He then said that he had no time for this now and that *I* have to organise a collection from his home as he was now far too busy to be dealing with this because of his studies at University.
He has completely ignored the 2nd label I sent to him which I now have to claim back from Royal Mail has it's since expired and that process take 14 days.
I believe that his request is completely unreasonable and have sent another message to Ebay but I'm now at my wits end with this. The buyer has had the laptop for over a month now. But now I'm not sure what is going to happen when it reaches the end of the "hold" period.
I don't know why he couldn't have sent the laptop straight back when I issued the return, or at least got someone to do it for him. I seriously cannot believe that the Post Office refused to accept the laptop. Personally, I would have paid the difference to get it back to the seller and get my refund. More and more this is looking like he's trying to get the laptop for free hoping that Ebay will refund him if the return / case goes unsolved.
Going forward, all I can do is issue another returns label on the assumption he uses it before it expires otherwise I'm going to be paying £27 each time.
Does anyone have any experience with cases like this? Could this potentially go on and on? Surely EBay can't force me to collect if he's refusing to use the label I send him.
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Comments
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wow - that's seriously unhelpful. i'm not an expert but just wanted to say I think you've been very patientI think I saw you in an ice cream parlour
Drinking milk shakes, cold and long
Smiling and waving and looking so fine0 -
You've done as eBay asked and issued a return label with insurance, call them, tell them the buyer is refusing to return the laptop and ask the case be closed in your favour.0
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This sounds very frustrating... just trying to see the buyers point (it's hard!) is it possible the buyer has repackaged with extra packaging and that's knocked it over a weight limit? Might be worth double checking the weight limits and sending one for the next tier up (or ask buyer what the weight is so you can get the correct label).0
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Hi Rosemary
No, he is claiming this was with the original Ebay label which Ebay informed me was an insurance issue, not weight. Someone is telling fibs.
The Special Delivery label I sent, I put down 5kg so there was no dispute with the weight since it covers almost double the laptop weight. He has ignored it completely, and is now expecting me to collect.0 -
Hi Rosemary
No, he is claiming this was with the original Ebay label which Ebay informed me was an insurance issue, not weight. Someone is telling fibs.
The Special Delivery label I sent, I put down 5kg so there was no dispute with the weight since it covers almost double the laptop weight. He has ignored it completely, and is now expecting me to collect.
Have you called eBay as per post 3?0 -
No, I haven't called them yet. I did message them today but it said it can take 48 hours for a response.
I've read so many horror stories where EBay have ruled in the buyers favour despite the seller being cooperative and they've ended up massively out of pocket because of "Buyer Protection". And sellers have been urged not push Ebay otherwise they refund anyway. I was hoping someone had first hand experience of dealing with cases like these. Could Ebay potentially side with the buyer and expect me to collect?
I've had a look on Parcels2GO and they are quoting £40+ but will only insure up to £200 for computers. That's a 1/3 of the value. And there's no guarantee buyer will be available.0 -
No, I haven't called them yet. I did message them today but it said it can take 48 hours for a response.
I've read so many horror stories where EBay have ruled in the buyers favour despite the seller being cooperative and they've ended up massively out of pocket because of "Buyer Protection". And sellers have been urged not push Ebay otherwise they refund anyway. I was hoping someone had first hand experience of dealing with cases like these. Could Ebay potentially side with the buyer and expect me to collect?
I've had a look on Parcels2GO and they are quoting £40+ but will only insure up to £200 for computers. That's a 1/3 of the value. And there's no guarantee buyer will be available.
You need to call eBay as per post 3. If the return time has lapsed, the case will go in your favour.
If you fanny around, then it may time out but likewise the buyer could ring and get in there first.....I will leave you to it....0 -
The return time hadn't lapsed. It was due to elapse on Monday 22nd. He contacted Ebay 2 days ago saying he couldn't use the label. EBay then opened a case and informed me (when I called) that the buyer hadn't been able to send it due to issue with insurance and asked me to create my own label. He's since said the issue was weight.
He's ignored my label and is demanding I now collect as he has no time to deal with it any more. The case is on hold until Monday 22nd.
I'll ring them after work.0 -
The return time hadn't lapsed. It was due to elapse on Monday 22nd. He contacted Ebay 2 days ago saying he couldn't use the label. EBay then opened a case and informed me (when I called) that the buyer hadn't been able to send it due to issue with insurance and asked me to create my own label. He's since said the issue was weight.
He's ignored my label and is demanding I now collect as he has no time to deal with it any more. The case is on hold until Monday 22nd.
I'll ring them after work.
Certainly ring them, you may find they ask you to wait until a certain date for the case to time out if the buyer doesn't return the laptop at all but I can't see eBay expecting you to collect the laptop as per the buyers request having sent them a £27 special delivery label covering excess weight and insurance.0 -
My only concern is the label has expired so he can’t actually send it now even if he wanted. Special Delivery labels only seem to last 1 working day. I didn’t find out until after I purchased it.
But that’s the only option I have. I’m either going to have to send another label. Ie. Give him notice that I’m sending a label again and he has a day to use it or I PayPal him the money and send evidence to EBay. And he has to get the label himself. If he still doesn’t send the laptop he doesn’t have any come back.0
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