Ebay issue - buyer getting message saying seller doesn't post to their location.

[PunishmentRoundupWithJoon]

A buyer has purchased an item on ebay but isn't able to pay. They keep getting a message saying that I (the seller) don't post to that address/postcode. I have no restrictions on where I post to (have checked the listing) and have never come across this before. The message they get is to update their delivery address, so it seems to be on their side, but because I have no restrictions on posting in Britain, what on earth can they have as their address?

Does anyone know what this might be and if it's a problem on my side or the buyers? We are perplexed!

Are you using Royal Mail? Couriers often refuse to deliver "offshore" (eg, Scottish Islands, N Ireland) or even north of Perth.

Yes, Royal Mail, but she's in Bolton!

Bolton in Greater Manchester.

Not quite the same, but I bought something on Ebay a few weeks ago and got a message from the seller saying that the delivery company wouldn't allow them to select our address and asking if we'd been blacklisted by them at any point. After a couple of days of trying the seller refunded me.

Not only had we no issues with the company but we've had parcels just before and after that one. I kind of suspected that the seller had run out or something and was using it as an excuse, but there were loads of similar items at similar price so I just bought it from another seller (with no problems and same delivery company).

However the other possibility is there was a bug in the system which caused it.

Are they logged onto a site other than the .co.uk e.g. the .com site instead?

There are credit checking organisations who do weird things with certain postcodes, I was told about it when I was working for one company, and my mum was unable to buy from a certain website because it refused to accept her address (her house was built in the 1960s and other websites were and are fine). I wonder if your buyer has something similar going on. Can they do a click and collect instead and pick up from their local pick-up point?