Ripped off my eBay buyer, what can I do?

[Allthepenguins]

I sold an item on eBay which took a while to arrive for whatever reason. I kept telling the seller that I would refund if it hadn’t arrived by the date I could put in a claim with Royal Mail by. She kept messaging, leaving bad feedback etc so I just refunded the money out of my own pocket. Low and behold the item has arrived (thank god we sent it signed for) she’s now refusing to refund me as she said she “waited long enough” so I’m basically the item, the postage and the amount it sold for down.
What can I do?

Thanks everyone. I know it’s not a lot of money but I sold it as money is tight at the moment as I’ve had my hours reduced so £30 is a food shop! It’s the principle and how she spoken to me as though she entitled to have the item for free as it wasn’t her fault Royal Mail took 2 weeks to deliver the item. It was signed for by a neighbour so let’s hope she opens it and it’s smashed to smithereens!

Thank you all at least I know I have some channels to go through now x

I've done this via paypal and ebay. I had to phone several times and it cost me more on the phone calls but I got my money back and a voucher.

This was a few years ago, now I use the online help chat facility. I got my money back in two days. I also got all the negative feedback removed.

Always run these things throught the ebay system. They have proceedures for all eventualities and it's best if you follow them.

Did you do the refund process through the ebay platform? If yes then get in touch with them and explain what happened. They'll be able to read the message exchange and should refund you from her paypal account.

@PandemicAtTheDisco that gives me some hope then! Thank you! There’s some bloody horrible people around.

[quote Allthepenguins]@PolloDePrimavera £30 so not a large sum but enough. I’ve sent her a message and she’s told me not to contact her again![/quote]
Absolutely enough! Glad you're doing sthg about it, she's a thief. Good luck!

There is a possibility Ebay will refund you the money but it will be a goodwill gesture and will not be taken from the buyer.

@Allthepenguins sorry to hear this happened to you let us know how you get on. Can always copy all the correspondence to eBay in an email. The cheek of her to have received it and say you can't have your money back.

@Allthepenguins, I am sorry you've had to deal with such a nasty person. In my case, it was definitely opportunistic, not planned. The buyer didn't message me until about 10 days after I posted, I made them wait the full 14 days before refunding and then claiming via Royal Mail. The Royal Mail claim clearly kicked something off on their end as they then delivered it 2 days later but they buyer claimed they didn't have it. It was sent signed for as well but RM were not taking signatures due to COVID. I contacted buyer who just disappeared on me at that point

Unfortunately for me, the buyer did not open an item not received case, so looks like I voluntarily refunded them. Ebay had closed all phone contact due to previous lockdown so I just gave up in the end. It was similar value and I was really annoyed but was too busy with work and kids to fight it

@ZeroFuchsGiven

There is a possibility Ebay will refund you the money but it will be a goodwill gesture and will not be taken from the buyer.

Given you have written proof from buyer that it has been received, I am very hopeful you would get a refund for it. They can't expect to keep the item and money

£30 is a lot of money, if she does this weekly and re-sells the items, she is onto a lovely little earner.

@riddles26 The transaction is complete, The Op refunded when she didn't need to as Ebay would have sorted it. More than likely Ebay would have refunded the buyer at no cost to Op. Ebay or PayPal really can not take the money from the buyer now she has been refunded.

Can you not open an unpaid item case? Presumably you have a tracking number which shows the item as delivered and that is all ebay checks. Or has the sale been completely closed as you have now refunded the buyer?

I hope you manave tomorrow something put OP.

If O was your buyer I'd feel horrible. I was in a similar situation to them waier this year. The seller refunded 3 weeks after posting and it turned up about a week later. I still wanted it so contacted her and sent back the refund.

The Royal Mail seem to have gone into meltdown since lockdown started. We are lucky to get two deliveries a week at the moment and its normally just one.

Thanks everyone. I’m just hoping as I have tracking details and proof it has arrived, plus the fact that I refunded her through the open case she started against me, might mean I have a leg to stand on. It says on eBay that I’ve refunded the buyer but the tracking also says delivered now.

You. Can query the feedback with eBay and they’ll remove it if you have proof.

What an awful buyer OP. I would be tempted to see if she is selling anything cheap, buy it and return the favour.

Don't forget to add her to your blocked buyers list.

Deffo open a case against her on eBay and PayPal if possible.

This isn’t possible.

OP, contact PayPal (if that’s who the claim went through), explain the situation and provide the proof of delivery. They may refund you.

If not, letter before action then a money claim online for small claims court. This will cost you but if you win (which you will) the other party will have to refund you.

It’s up to you if you want to progress with the latter for such a small amount, but personally I would, just out of principal!

It’s shit.

For future reference, I post everything I sell on eBay Royal Mail signed for as it stops people taking the piss.

I hope you get it resolved, op.