PayPal refund via echeque before I even send the item back-dodgy?

[SloanePeterson]

This is a new one on me so I hope someone can help. I bought something fairly expensive on eBay this week and it arrived today and is clearly a fake. I've opened a return request which the seller has agreed, but they've refunded my PayPal via echeque which it says will take up to a week to clear. I've not had a returns label emailed to me yet. I feel a bit dodgy about the whole thing. The seller has good feedback but why would they initiate a refund before I even send the item back? Are they likely to cancel the payment/ it just bounce? I'm also worried that by even sending them the item back some other poor sod will get duped when they inevitably relist it. Do I wait for the refund to hit my account before I post? It says the returns label itself could take up to a week to be sent too.

[19lottie82]

Some sellers will just refund without requesting the item back, especially if it reduces the risk of negative feedback. It sounds like this is what has happened here.

An echeque will take 7-10 days to clear, so I'm presuming it's the same when one is refunded.

If you want any clarification you can message the seller to say if they want it back then forward you a returns label AND also phone PayPal to confirm the echeque time scale situation.

[SloanePeterson]

Thanks lottie. The thing is, the item was £400, I can't imagine them not wanting it back. From what I've read now the echeque means they've left their PayPal balance with nothing in it so the money has had to be withdrawn from a bank account linked to the PayPal account, but there's no guarantee that they'll get the funds from there either. I'm going to wait till its cleared before doing anything I think. I hope I'm just being cautious as they have lots of good feedback from selling the same kind of thing, the whole e cheque thing just threw me a little. Also, I'd never refund without actually receiving and checking the item over first. I could send her back an empty box! (I wouldn't, but you get what I mean)

[19lottie82]

Yea it you say the item is a fake, so I'm assuming you paid £400 on the premise of it being genuine so it's actually not worth anything like that?

I'm also assuming that if they have refunded you that the return request will now be closed. Look in the eBay resolution centre,does it list your return request as open?

[ijustwannadance]

Do not send item back before the echeque has cleared and you have access to your money even if they send you return label.

[thecapitalsunited]

If it is a fake don't send it back. Ebay has a clear policy on counterfeit goods which is that you don't have to send the item back but you will receive a full refund.

pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/money-back-guarantee.html
Counterfeit items

If a buyer suspects that an item is counterfeit and there are strong indicators that the item is counterfeit, the buyer isn’t required to return the item to the seller. The buyer agrees to cooperate with us to ensure the proper disposal of the item. In such cases, we refund the buyer for the full cost of the item and original postage, and the seller reimburses us for the refund. The buyer may not sell the item on eBay or elsewhere.

[19lottie82]

thecapitalsunited that's not entirely true.....

The buyer must have more than a "strong suspicion" to not have to send the item back. They must have PROOF that the item is counterfeit, usually in the form of a written document for an authorised retailer or the manufacturer.

Otherwise I could buy a 5k handbag from someone on eBay, and put in a not as described case saying I "strongly suspected" it was counterfeit so I wasn't sending it back. Then I'd get my money back and to keep the (authentic) handbag.

[thecapitalsunited]

The paragraph I copied was directly from eBay's website.

[SloanePeterson]

It's nowhere at all on the resolution centre?? I know that I opened a return request as I had an email confirming it, and then one when the seller agreed to it, which was the one saying to expect a returns label in the next week. When I open the 'return details' link it says 'seller approved request' and 'seller issued a refund' it now has an option at the top to open a money back guarantee case if I'm not refunded within six days, so at least I guess they'll step in if I don't have my money back. I'm confused by the whole thing!

[SloanePeterson]

So I'm getting more suspicious. The seller contacted me yesterday to ask where the bag was and I said I'm still waiting to be sent a postage label, which is true. This morning the pending echeque in PayPal is showing as cancelled, and I have an email from PayPal saying that she's been in contact with them about a label, and if I want to open a case to contact them. Surely my case is with eBay? I can't open a PayPal dispute too can I? I feel like I'm about to lose a lot of money

[nauticant]

If you're convinced you opened a dispute in the ebay resolution centre, why don't you phone up ebay to get their version of what's happening?

[19lottie82]

Yes....... phone eBay to double check what's going on and how you should proceed.