Common sense has left the Vinted building. AIBU?

[JMSA]

I usually buy clothing on Vinted, so nothing that would really get damaged in transit. Most recently, I purchased an ornament on there. Something from my past which had a little bit of sentimental value (not monetary!), but had got damaged a few years back.
It arrived yesterday and was broken. The seller, bless her, had wrapped it in some brown paper and put it inside an empty cat food box. I mean, it should have been ok, but we got unlucky. Bubble wrap would have kept the item intact, but it had space to move around inside the packaging, hence the breakage.
I clicked on the 'there's an issue' button, and sent photos of the broken item, what it should look like (so the original photo), the packaging it came in, the shipping label, all as requested. I then threw the item in the bin, as there were sharp broken fragments.
Here is the message I received back from Vinted. AIBU or is this utter madness? So to add to the inconvenience, I'm supposed to package up this damaged, unusable item and send it back to the seller. And it is irrefutably and visibly broken.
And they've the cheek to tell me to package it safely!
I messaged Vinted back to put my side across, and they sent back the exact same message.

This is what happens when companies use AI instead of people.

It is madness, but that's their process and they won't deviate from it. I've had one where I posted something, and evri must have mixed up the tracking number as it was different from the label I'd printed. Could never get beyond the standard replies so just lost my item and the money.

The seller may choose to refund without you having to return it, but not guaranteed.

Vinted is definitely in the favour of sellers unfortunately - I've had items clearly not as described and it's been at my expense to return the item to be able to get a refund...putting me out of pocket for the seller's actions. It's infuriating.

Hi op, I don’t understand, that message doesn’t say you have to send it back. It says they’ve shared your issue with the seller and given generic info on what to do IF the seller asks for it to be returned.

presumably the seller won’t want it back, and that will be confirmed once they’ve looked at it all, but it’s fair for vinted to let you know what the process could be as many disputes are along the lines of ‘not as pink as I thought’ so then the seller will have the item back to relist

That's weird, I had someone post me boots from vinted which were just wrapped inside a plastic bag and got badly damaged in transit. I kept them for a while in case vinted wanted me to send them back but they just refunded, no need to post back.

Just contact the seller, show the pic and ask for a refund

Obviously inform Vinted there's an issue so the money is suspended but in this circumstance and in others, dirty, worn etc contact the seller as well

Logically, it makes absolutely no sense at all.

However, it is in Vinted terms and conditions, that to get a refund you must send back any item that is significantly not as described. And this includes broken items.

The seller is really nice. The photos of the damaged item must have been sent to her too, when I clicked the 'issue' button. She was very apologetic and I sent a polite reply, 'please don't worry about it, these things happen'.
So hopefully she will do the right thing and agree to a refund.

Hmm, the seller is at fault for the breakage, but you really shouldn't have thrown it in the bin. I would have kept both item and original packaging (in a larger box or wrapped up in e.g. a towel) until resolved. Can you rescue it from the bin?

Agree that vinted's response is unsatisfactory, though.

It’s the sellers item so if they want it back that’s fair enough, can’t imagine why she will want it back but it’s hers so there we are.

Yeah, fair point. In the 3 years of using Vinted, that was my first broken item, so I wasn't sure of the process. It didn't occur to me that I would need to send back a smashed item.

Thanks for your replies everyone!

@JMSA

Did you choose the option to say broken in transit or inadequate packaging as they usually just refund you, and you don't need to return.

If you put not as described, that would be a reason why it is giving an option for the seller to request a return or refund without returning.

The seller can pay for the return if they wish - but are not obliged to or they can refund without returning.

If they opt for a return and will not pay the return, then you either have to pay the return fee, or if you don't return within the time, vinted will release the money to them.

You could try legal @ vinted. co . uk (without the spaces)

It was inadequately packaged if you look at the way vinted expect a parcel to be wrapped in the help centre.

The contract is between vinted and the courier, so it is not worth trying them either as they will just say to speak to the seller.

You should never bin anything until you get a conclusion from vinted as they never give an answer you would think is common sense.

You would also need to return the original packaging as it should go back as it arrived with all parts included - I always put everything in a box, following vinteds packaging advice, if I need to return anything taking loads of photos as the seller also can raise an issue when they get the item back and I don't want them holding up my refund.

I definitely didn't state 'not as described', as that wasn't the issue. I marked it as a delivery/damage issue. It seems they no longer refund automatically for this, if they ever did.

I bought some hatching eggs once from ebay and they arrived in a normal card egg box with clingfilm and brown paper on. Every one was broken.
The seller insisted i return them to get my refund.
So I did. 3 weeks later.

Thanks everyone. The refund has thankfully gone through.