Annoying refund situation

[ChocolateForAll]

I hope this makes sense! I sold an item on eBay. Buyer didn't pay, so I chased after a few days. Buyer states that they're locked out of PayPal and will pay tomorrow. Does not pay and after several more days and two further unanswered messages to chase payment I open a case. I couldn't work out how else to end the sale. Buyer pays within a couple of days then messages me, unhappy at my having opened a case. I explained that I had no choice and they said they didn't get my messages as were locked out of eBay altogether. Now they want a refund despite only paying yesterday.

I think they are just being dicks. My questions are a) do I actually need to refund them (was an auction that they won. Around £15), and b) will I still get charged PayPal/eBay fees?

Thanks for reading all that! Any thoughts, please?

As a private seller, no you don't need to refund.
However it might just be easier to do so, as the package "might never arrive" after you send it. Even if you send it "signed for", they don't need to accept it and you will still have to refund if they open a not received case.

Also you increase your risk of them leaving you negative feedback .

Asswipes like this really annoy me as they put people off using eBay, but my advice would be, Cancel the transaction and block them!

PS if you cancel the transaction then you will get all your fees back .