Vestiaire Collective - item delivered, I've not been paid

[DeliveryDelivered]

Any advice on this one?

I sold an item on Vestiaire Collective (online selling platform), posted next day 48-hour tracked (UK).
Delivery attempted two days later - "address inaccessible/addressed incorrectly/returned to sender". Address provided from buyer via a pre-paid downloaded label
Notification from VC that item is being returned to me
I check in on tracking for the next few days
Three additional attempts made at delivery ("address inaccessible" each time and therefore, the item was never returned to me, the postie/sorting office still had it.

Then, success! Item delivered on the fourth attempt. Time and date stamped on the Royal mail tracking system.

Days pass
Nothing feeds through onto the VC site in the ways is always does when an item is delivered. Your earnings from the sale then reach you 72 hours later

Today, I get onto the online chat with VC to ask what's going on.
They say the item has been returned to me.
It hasn't, it's gone through the local delivery office to where the buyer lives and has been delivered to them.
I've sent them screenshots of all the tracking.

VC have passed my concern to another team to investigate.

Obviously, I'm now without my item and no money for it (a three-figure sum) and I'd hazzard a guess that the buyer has been refunded as the sale has been cancelled, so they have their money and my item (for free).

Any advice you can expertly furnish me with, in case VC come back and repeat that the item has been returned to me?

They say they'll get back to me withing 48-hours.

Thank you in advance, all help gratefully received.

Yay! Glad you've had a positive result.
I was quite worried on your behalf.

But don't reply to VC until you get the money. Just in case.
Maybe this buyer is trying it on. Deliberately putting the wrong address on the label but the local postman recognised the name and delivered to the correct person. Or there is some sort of post box on vacant land belonging to the buyer but they haven't built a house there yet?

I reckon you're onto something there.
And, I'll be doing nothing VC-related until the payment has arrived

I've still not received my payment from VC.

Am guessing this is because, as the buyer was refunded, VC are waiting for the buyer to actually pay for the item they bought and received several weeks ago. And I suspect the buyer, who has proved themselves to be dishonest every step of the way, is hoping I'll just drop it.

Why VC can't pay me and then go after the buyer is anyone's guess. I've kept my end of the seller agreement.

VC still won't specify when I'm likely to receive my payment, so I am intending to email them today and ask for their legal department contact details.

Is it a Letter Before Action that I need to send?

Thank you for your ongoing help with this, it's unbelievable.

I had the same issue and it was a long process until they finally paid me, the buyer had to pay again (luckily my buyer was honest) and they fed us both a line of BS and lies, but I am so turned off by them, they claimed a shirt I sold (too small for hubby) had BO when it was washed and put away, the buyer (in Switzerland) accepted it and we talked via DMs and I asked him to sniff it, he said absolutely no smell, so I think the person who is apparently an expert is an expert in sniffing glue and just made it up, but you can't appeal or talk to them as all you get is copy and paste replies