To not refund until an item is returned.

[DrewsWife]

Quick back story. I sold a craft machine on fb to a girl I have known for a couple of years. We agreed on £50 with her paying courier.

I packaged the machine. Sent it with all the bits needed. And some free extras. She messaged me to say not everything needed was there and that she wanted a refund and someone told her she needed a super duper plate for the machine that costs £21. I know she doesn't need the plate as I have used the machine but she wants a refund.

So I hit the next message from her demanding a refund. I tell her to courier it back. And I will sort it and now she won't until I refund her.

Q the stand off.

I messaged her to say that as she clearly doesn't trust me on a how to work the machine she has never used before and b that I will refund her as soon as it's returned to me. Ad now I don't trust that she will actually return it so won't refund until I get it and the additional bits back.

Am I being unreasonable?

If I send a courier I cannot trust she won't send him away.

If she sends the courier away then she doesn't get the refund. You should use a courier I think, if you haven't stated she should pay for it at the time of sale you'll be breaching the law by asking her to pay.

Maybe tell her that you will send the courier, if she refuses to hand the machine over you will assume she has accepted the goods and forfeited her right to a refund.

If she's messing you around using the courier rather than a friend will offer you protection and you need to check the machine carefully to ensure she hasn't broken it before you give her the refund.

E.g. She might claim your friend is harassing her etc - not likely but professional courier keeps records and gives her no opportunity to give you further trouble. She doesn't want to hand them over she keeps the goods and you don't worry about it anymore. She can't take you to small claims if you've sent the courier and she's refused and kept the machine.

I don't think you've said whether this is ebay or not?? Whatever, you absolutely can't refund until you have it back in the same condition as you sent it or you'll never see your goods again

Also bear in mind she has to return it by a trackable method, or she doesn't get her money back

Good luck - unfortunately there are shysters everywhere

Thanks. It wasn't eBay. Had my fill of them. It's on Facebook and I wish I had never started it.

Did you keep a list of every single item that you sent? Suppose you don't get everything back?

I wouldn't trust her until I had the machine back in the same condition I had sent it.

And no-one is entitled to a refund for anything if you haven't been told you can have one at the outset.

Nanny0gg - you are entitled if it is distance selling in order to inspect the goods.