Buyer Opens Case For Refund On Unpaid Item Case!!! SO MAD!!!

[downsizing704]

I have an item that  buyer was winning bidder on, but never paid - ebay closed the case as an unpaid item, but NOW buyer has filed a request for refund because they never received it.  How is this even possible!!!????   I searched the archives and apparently I am not the only one who this has happened to, BUT unfortunately now you can't even contact ebay by phone..This has been a KNOWN glitch since 2015 from what I can see so why don't they FIX IT?????    No doubt ebay's bot(ched) up system will refund the buyer for an item they NEVER paid for!!!! 

[dhbookds]

why get mad?  just handle it.........  not worth wasting the emotions/energy on........at least in my opinion...........

You can contact ebay by chat or email.......go to the contact/help page and go thru the steps.  You can also email on the Ebay for business page.......

[bonjourami]

yes Ive seen these types of cases in here a few times over the years. If you cant contact Ebay, supposedly these type of cases close out after twenty one days and close automatically.Doesnt affect your account at all.

[downsizing704]

There is no chat page, and it took me three tries to even get email to work....This is a KNOWN problem since 2015 and they still haven't bothered to fix it.  My time is worth something and I shouldn't have to spend it dealing with this.   They closed the case and refunded my selling fees and supposedly the buyer can't leave negative feedback, but can STILL ask for a refund???  There is something seriously wrong with this picture...

[downsizing704]

That's not what I have seen in the archives..I have seen the system auto closes in favor of the buyer and refunds and then the seller has to spend time on the phone straightening it out except now there is no phone option whatsoever...if this is able to happen and in the archives it has been happening since at least 2015 why hasn't ebay fixed it???   We shouldn't have to waste our time on this kind of thing....

[bonjourami]

Any buyer can open any case any time,doesnt mean they will be refunded,or the case will escalate. Ebay cant force a refund when the item was never paid for in Paypal.

[ed8108]

Why would eBay consider this known issue to be a priority fix ?

Have you given thought to

ebay's possible position in establishing priority to address problems

Does not fixing the issue cost ebay money?

[animal-house-8]

You have to do nothing, none of your time is wasted by doing nothing. The case will close with no refund to the buyer. Paypal does not refund money to a buyer that did not pay. Now your know.

[wesk_36]

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@downsizing704 wrote:

I have an item that  buyer was winning bidder on, but never paid - ebay closed the case as an unpaid item, but NOW buyer has filed a request for refund because they never received it.  How is this even possible!!!????   I searched the archives and apparently I am not the only one who this has happened to, BUT unfortunately now you can't even contact ebay by phone..This has been a KNOWN glitch since 2015 from what I can see so why don't they FIX IT?????    No doubt ebay's bot(ched) up system will refund the buyer for an item they NEVER paid for!!!! 

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See this older discussion and trinton's Message #12 and 22 on this same situation calling it an "intended design"(12) and not a glitch.

"I understand that there are some concerns raised here on the thread about a seller having to take extra steps or potentially receiving a defect on their account and I am happy to reassure everyone that if a seller was not paid, then they have nothing to worry about and do not have to take any additional steps. If a buyer did pay for the item, then the seller would simply need to address their concerns as they normally would."(22)

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Buyer-wants-refund-on-item-they-didn-t-pay-for-already-filed/m...

I have seen this before many times on the discussion boards and I get the frustration because no guidance is given to the seller hit with such an absurd case and the natural reaction is that the seller now has to respond and deal with the case when they actually don't. (according to ebay)

😷

[onlinecentral]

The buyer can not escalate the case since they never paid.

Just let the case time out organically.

Otherwise, you can study these moderator comments and threads.

Case for not arrived yet
To summarize, since payment cannot always be recognized by our system, a buyer is able to open a request to communicate concerns with you but this would have no impact on your selling account and eBay cannot be asked to step in on the request because the buyer is not eligible for protection when there is no recorded payment.
I recommend you message the buyer to clarify to them that they did not successfully pay for the item. Again, this is not something that will have any negative impact on you at all, and the request is purely for communication purposes.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Fantastic-new-glitch-or-working-the-way-we-want/m-p/30705290#M...
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Buyer-opened-case-for-item-they-didn-t-pay-for/m-p/30561298#M1...
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Non-paying-bidder-entitled-to-item-not-received-case/m-p/30137...

[sodelight]

Yup, been there! I called ebay and they closed case. However, now as you state, that's not an option.

This is a huge system glitch enabling a scammy buyer to try to get a refund on an item they never paid for! Ebay knows it wasn't paid for, since their system acknowledges that. It should prevent the opening of such a claim. A seller shouldn't have to waste their time on such nonsense. Your buyer obviously did this out of spite. Be sure to add them to your BBL.

[slati_2013]

As others have pointed out, the buyer cannot get a PayPal refund if he\she never paid. Maybe the buyer was confused about having paid. You probably should block the buyer now before they attempt to buy it again. 

[mam98031]

There are a few ways to contact Ebay if you feel you have the need.  I know that many of us prefer to just call, but that is only an option for a few select reasons.  But that does not mean you can't get any customer service.  

https://www.ebay.com/help/home

Drop to the bottom of the page and the email option is there.  Or you can click on the reason for needing assistance and the options for contact will display.  On occasion that could be the ability to call, email or live chat.

https://www.ebay.com/sellerhelp

The seller’s help center give you the ability for file for certain types of assistance.

https://twitter.com/askebay?lang=en

https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness/

It's important to be aware of where you post a question on Ebay’s Facebook page.  A comment on one of Ebay’s marketing posts won't be answered, but comments posted directly on Ebay’s page will.

[mam98031]

I agree with the others.  This really is nothing to get all concerned about.  An annoyance to be sure.  But it isn't going to cost you anything as a refund can not be given on a non existent payment.

[earlyant-77]

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@sodelight wrote:
Yup, been there! I called ebay and they closed case. However, now as you state, that's not an option.

This is a huge system glitch enabling a scammy buyer to try to get a refund on an item they never paid for! Ebay knows it wasn't paid for, since their system acknowledges that. It should prevent the opening of such a claim. A seller shouldn't have to waste their time on such nonsense. Your buyer obviously did this out of spite. Be sure to add them to your BBL.

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Ebay only knows that it wasn't paid for via any electronic payment methods accepted by ebay.

Ebay does NOT know if they picked it up and paid in cash. They also don't know if the buyer mailed you a check or money order. Even though that's not allowed except for a few categories, some sellers WILL still allow a check or money order if the buyer wants to send payment that way(I have no problem with that).

But as said in many posts, no forced refund is possible if an electronic payment is not recorded. The MBG does not apply in this case.