Dodgy seller?

[pickledparsnip]

Hello, am trying to sort out a problem on behalf of my sister. She recently returned a shirt to a seller who said she would refund her when she received the shirt. Has been maybe 2/3 weeks now and seller claims she has still not received it. Sister did not send it back via recorded delivery, but does have proof of postage.

So, would the next step be that she sends the seller proof of postage to claim via Royal Mail? I don't trust this ebayer, in one of her feedbacks a seller said that she lied about having received some gig tickets when there was proof that she had signed for them. Hmmmm...

I am wondering if she's being a bit tricky as my sister is returning the shirt due to it reeking of BO (even after washing). Maybe she's doing it out of spite, embarrassment? Maybe she's not received the shirt, I just don't know.

Help! Thanks

Did your sister open an Ebay case to return the shirt ? Either as an item not as described or just a straightforward return request case ?

The seller would not claim via Royal Mail - that would be your sister's responsibility as the sender of the item. Royal Mail will not count an item as lost until 15 working days since postage has passed. Then you can fill out a form from the Post Office to claim.

Unfortunately as it wasn't sent back recorded or tracked your sister could be onto a loser here if she didn't open a case before returning the shirt.
Has your sister communicated with the seller through Ebay messages ? That would provide her with some proof to Ebay that she has requested a return so it may be possible to contact them and see whether she can still open a case.
I've never had a restrospective case and if a buyer ever contacts me for a return I always open a return case / cancellation case for them to follow.

It does sound like the seller is a bit dodgy. In my experience of 4 years of selling I can count on the fingers of one hand how many items have gone missing in the post and the vast majority of what I send is not tracked. The post is very reliable.

Occasionally Ebay will provide a no fault refund when a seller claims non-receipt of a return especially if the seller has a track record of items going missing.

i agree seller does sound dodgy

without online proof of return, paypal will not refund

your sister had better claim from royal mail for the lost item

oh and get her to check if the seller has relisted the shirt!

Thanks for the feedback. My sister did not open a case, just communicated with seller through ebay messages. My bloody fault, told her to do that as thought there was no need to open a claim. So, is it too late now to open a claim? Or would her best bet be to just claim via Royal Mail?

If I were in your sister's position I'd certainly give opening a case to say you have returned the item a try. You have nothing to lose.
You may be lucky and get a refund on a no fault basis.
If they don't refund you then unfortunately Royal Mail would be the route to claim through.

However as fergoose correctly points out do check if the shirt has been relisted. If it has, note the item number and contact ebay as that would be your proof that the seller has received it back. I would personally go Ebay case rather than paypal as paypal don't as far as I know have a no fault option - they will require tracking info.

It's sad that some sellers behave like this as the vast majority are honest and above board. The seller should have opened a case or pointed you in that direction. Ebay's resolution centre is very good for buyers. The cases also protect sellers as they can show that they have worked to resolve any issue and resolved cases do not count against them.

Good luck.