Advice please in my account

[bgt84]

Hi
I sold a iPhone 5 on eBay think it was the end of jan, the phone was in good condition just general signs of use it was a year old, the buyer bought it with in 5min of being listed I posted the very next day then about 2 days buyer puts in a claim saying the phone is not what was described said it was damaged, now I know the phone was not damaged when I posted,he also had my mobile number as I text him to say phone was posted, anyway claim went on for a few days he sent photos of the phone and along the top at the side of phone looked like someone tried to open it with a screwdriver or something so I refused to refund him when I saw the photos and I found out he was buying loads of iPhones I believe that he deals in buying and selling of them and I know the phone did not look like when I posted and was working fine anyway eBay got involved said buyer had to return phone and I had to issue refund eBay refunded the buyer and is now suspended my account cause I have not payed the refund but the buyer never returned the phone
What should I do?

You don't have to refund if sender cannot produce proof of delivery.
This is the one good part of your story. Rest is a nightmare (I'm sure you know!).

I have a feeling that if you sit tight long enough that the case will time out & you will get to keep your money. If you pester the supposed buyer they may send some bit of junk claiming it was your phone & then your only recourse is the small claims courts. Let things go quiet & things might just time out in your favour.

ps: you could bit the bullet & try live Ebay chat or phoning Ebay (I think I heard Monday am is good to get the better staff) to confirm that no refund will be forthcoming until Buyer has uploaded delivery info.

But eBay has already paid the buyer and now want me to pay them so they buyer has got the phone and money and my eBay account was put on hold, my paypal account was in the red but now it's fine, I don't sell a lot on there maybe about 3 things since I opened the account but I buy a lot, I was thinking of emailing eBay to see what they say but I really don't want to in case Iam made pay for something that I have never got back or worse like u said any old crap

you should have had the item back before ebay/paypal refunded? Call them and let them know that you haven't received the item back and ask why exactly they have refunded and charged you.

If they did this to me, I'm assuming for an item that was quite expensive they would never receive another penny in listing or final value fees as I would boycott them.

that doesn't sound right; usually they freeze the amount in your paypal account until the item is shown as delivered by tracked return; but they don't refund until that moment. Are you sure you haven't had any tracking info to suggest it was supposed to have been delivered back to you?

No defiantly not seen any tracking numbers ect, this is why I'm thinking it must be some sort of scam cause everything has happened far to quickly, I really don't understand it at all I still have all the emails from eBay ect saved

contact ebay live chat. Doesn't sound like they can give you any worse news than you've already have. How much did you sell for?

they freeze the money then refund once proof of the item being returned has been provided. You need to speak to ebay. I would think if they do return a phone it will be a different model. You did keep a note of the IMEI number didn't you?

No I never thought of that, I have had no contact from they buyer since eBay made a final decision and paid they money, no money has came out of my bank or paypal, as soon as eBay made a decision in the case my paypal went back to normal and I can pay other things it's just my eBay account I can't buy from

so they haven't given them back the money? If they had refunded the buyer your paypal would be in the red? What happens when you log into paypal and click on the payment the buyer made to you?

I have not done that, I got a email from eBay saying they have given the money back to the buyer and want me to pay eBay

so they have refunded from your paypal and your paypal account is now in arrears? You said earlier it was in the red and now it isn't. You really need to speak to ebay about this - are you sure it wasn't a no fault refund?

I have just checked their payment on paypal it says next to it refunded by eBay

and your paypal is in the red for that amount, so you need to transfer funds from your bank to put it back to zero?

No when the case was first opened my paypal was in the red but as soon as eBay made a decision in the case my paypal went back to normal

so ebay have refunded out of their own funds, they haven't given them back the money that the buyer paid you.