Defective item seller won't let me return for a refund

[silver73]

The item in question is in my opinion defective so I sent seller a message within 10 minutes of receipt. There were a lot of messages back and forth with her keep saying I had to phone her as she had some information for me. I said I would prefer to keep correspondence in writing. In the end I took out an incident or whatever ebay call it as we were getting nowhere. Again, she wants me to phone her I say please put information in writing. Get a strange message back saying that if I don't do what she asks she will not accept a return or refund as per her no refund policy. In the end I said I would not be phoning and we'd have to let ebay sort it out. Is she wrong I thought ebay decided what could be returned?

If the item is defective, you are right and you open a case and should get your money back on return of the item.

However are you sure you are using it properly? It's possible she wants to explain in detail how to get it to work and doesn't feel capable of that in writing - many Ebay sellers aren't very good at that. You could still then summarise the call in a message if you phoned her.

eBay do ask that you contact tge seller to resolve and do suggest phoning. Can I ask why you do not wish to call? If you really believe this will have no effect then just open a case.

I agree with you, I wouldn't phone her - seller sounds really obstructive and odd

Open the case with eBay, and return it by trackable means. her no refund policy means nothing, she has to accept a return.

And leave appropriate feedback too - what a terrible seller.

The item is a product that I have used for many years and therefore have experience of and I let the seller know this. I think the information should be given in writing as there is a dispute and cannot understand why the information can only be given verbally?

There is no need at all. Seller is just being an arse. Have you escalated the dispute yet? Do as soon as able then send back with a signature and get your money back. And then leave appropriate feedback.

How do you escalate the dispute? Sorry I just got a dispute number and then saw this graphical representation of what happens next. Do I have to wait seven days before escalating?

Unfortunately, she won't give me her address. Can I find it out? And the paypal account is not in her name it is in a man's name - will that cause a problem?

Yes, wait 7 days then option to escalate will be there. And eBay will give you the address to return, just make sure you get signature as proof so recorded, special or courier with online proof of delivery. Name of account is irrelevant so don't worry about that.

just click on the dispute itself, and when able the option to escalate will be there for you to click on (if that makes sense!).

Thanks so much for that. I have used ebay for over 10 years and never had a problem like this before.

:) very welcome

And if you want low stars to count when leaving feedback you need to mark them as 1 or 2, leaving stars blank doesn't count and has no impact on the seller.

Maybe the seller has a problem with writing like exteme dyslexia, English not first language or an eye-sight problem?

I think if you agree a date and time and give her a number to call you that's reasonable? I don't see why you wouldn't at least try and there is nothing to be lost by not having one single phone call is there? You could even email afterwards to summarise. Seems a bit unfair to not even try.

Hmm. For me, I'd be a bit scared of ringing someone up, especially if I had no idea what it was about. 'some information for you' doesn't cut it really.

No I agree - I find phone calls from eBayers intrusive to be honest. You do not have to phone the seller at all - and tbh I think the seller is being awkward and obstructive.

Do you know who decides if the goods are faulty? The seller seems to think she is the one who decides if the goods are faulty and whether to give a refund.

It's ebay who will decide and they will normally decide in the buyer's favour, as the onus is on the seller to prove that the goods are satisfactory. However if the seller attempts to do this they may win the case.

Paypal are almost always on the side of the buyer and are a lot easier to deal with than ebay. You will have to pay for returning the item usually, whichever sort of dispute you use.

why does she want to phone you? so she can yell at you? intimidate you? get your phone number? to make sure there's no record of the exchange?

She doesn't need to speak to you. There is nothing that can't be said in an email.

Completely agree. Now she wants the product code and a photo of the item. She seems to think that she is the one that decides if the item is faulty and if she gives a refund. I don't want to jump through hoops with the seller I just want to do what Ebay/Paypal tell me to do.

I would ignore if I were you - seller is being an awkward arse. And she is wrong about deciding to give you a refund - eBay will give you back your money once you prove return.

Thanks so much for all your help. I will just leave it to Ebay as I just don't have time for all this and I don't understand why she is not happy for me to return it for a refund.