Ebay refunded buyer for return, buyer never even sent the item out.

[totoro470]

I've had immense issues with this buyer starting back to Feb 18th.  It all started when he claimed he didn't receive the item even though tracking showed the item was "delivered". At the time I told him to check with family, neighbors, or his carrier before we do anything else. I didn't hear back from him until a whole month later- he said he got the package from his neighbor and it was the wrong items. I'm thinking to myself "Not sure how this is my problem, if this really happened it sounds more like mail theft to me." I believe him anyways, I am as nice as possible but I tell him to return the items anyways. He then started the return process and somehow messed that up resulting in no items being sent, tracking never updated beyond the "post office awaiting package" step. I asked him if he had a different tracking number, he somehow ended up sending me the item number instead and was unable to produce a valid tracking number.

Fast forward to this week and he receives the package back to himself, obviously he did something wrong. He tells me yesterday he doesn't know how to return the items properly so I tell him to follow ebay's return process and use the label that they provide. I guess he then contacts ebay where they simply gave him a refund without him actually returning the item. In the return details, ebay even states "We received tracking information from the buyer that shows successful delivery." How is this possible when HE is the one that received the package back by his own admission? There are no tracking details in the case showing that the package was ever even received by the post office. So now I am without the item and ebay refunds the buyer despite never sending the item back?

This buyer has been begging for a refund since the start, his story never lines up and it makes no sense. If ebay were to actually review the case and his messages this would be obvious. I read that you can "appeal" a case but there is actually no reasonable way to do so and ebay is on a skeletal crew right now for whatever reason so now I can't call. All I can do is report the buyer but how is that going to help me get my money or items back? It's massively disappointing to see that buyers have so much power that they don't even need to prove that they sent the item back.

[pburn]

Have you tried contacting eBay customer support via email, Facebook or Twitter:

Email: Use the "Help & Contact" link, and then click on the "Email us" button.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ebay or www.facebook.com/ebayforbusiness

Twitter: www.twitter.com/askebay

Good luck!

[totoro470]

I appreciate the reply. I just tried the email option, only problem is they seem to only want a "brief" explanation (which is kind of frustrating given how convoluted the story is and how long the history goes back). Hopefully if they go through the messages and double check the tracking they will see for themselves.

Thanks again.

[paradiso*bella*a*venire]

Reporting the buyer may or may not help in getting your item/money back but it WILL put the buyer on Ebays radar.

Suppose this buyer done this in the past? Suppose other sellers had that same mindset and didnt report? The non reporting sellers are the ones who allowed that buyer to continue doing what they do.

But, suppose one or two sellers DID report the buyer, and all Ebay needs is one or two more reports before buyer is dealt with? Then this report  very well could be what brings them down.

Reporting buyers/sellers is important for the future,  not the present, which is what turns people off from reporting. Buyers/sellers that do not report problem people are doing a disservice to their fellow buyer/seller in the long run because they are sending that problem person on down the line to the next buyer/seller to deal with when their report couldve very well been the one that gets them dealtnwith by Ebay

One lone report will not move Ebay into action. This is why many wont report because they expect to see something done on that lone report. Ebay needs to see that pattern before deciding buyer/seller is a problem. If no one reports the  problem, then as far as Ebay knows , there isnt one because.......no one reported it!

[five*sisters]

" In the return details, ebay even states "We received tracking information from the buyer that shows successful delivery." How is this possible when HE is the one that received the package back by his own admission?"

It sounds like Ebay believed there had been an attempted delivery to you that failed and the pkg was returned to the buyer. Thereby you lost all seller protection, and Ebay refunded him. Fair or not, Ebay considers an attempted delivery the same as a delivery.

[totoro470]

---

@five*sisters wrote:

" In the return details, ebay even states "We received tracking information from the buyer that shows successful delivery." How is this possible when HE is the one that received the package back by his own admission?"

It sounds like Ebay believed there had been an attempted delivery to you that failed and the pkg was returned to the buyer. Thereby you lost all seller protection, and Ebay refunded him. Fair or not, Ebay considers an attempted delivery the same as a delivery.

---

I thought maybe that's what happened but since the buyer didn't use the tracking/label that ebay provided him the status on the case never updated. Since the case closed, I can no longer see the tracking info but the latest from the post office still says "Pre-Shipment Info Sent to USPS, USPS Awaiting Item." Even ignoring that tracking, the status on the case, even now, still shows the item as not shipped (I added a picture below). Even if he somehow found a way to provide a tracking number, it was not the one ebay wanted him to use and ebay still has no tracking uploaded.  -I've never had any issues receiving returns in the past and get packages shipped to me every other day. The odds there was a problem on my end are very very low, add onto this that the buyer has been acting suspiciously and even admitted that he had no idea how to perform a return.

[paradiso*bella*a*venire]

either he had no idea how to, or, he tried a scam on you that went 7 ways to heck wrong 😆

wouldnt that be poetic justice at play? 😉

[totoro470]

Absolutely seems that way. The first time when it was marked as "delivered" he demanded a refund because he claimed he didn't receive it. That fell through so he then claimed his neighbor gave him the package and it was the wrong items. At this point, if he was smart, he could've just sent me an empty box (or a box with garbage in it) and got his refund- Instead he thought it was better if he just pretended to return the item.

-If I posted his messages here you could probably see he isn't the brightest (spelling many common words wrong, no punctuation at all). I would've assumed he was a kid if he hadn't admitted the item was for his son.

[woodyscollectibles · Accepted solution]

Just send them an email. They will go back and read all the messages and follow the tracking. They will refund you even after the fact. It sounds like he gave them a sob story. They are short staffed but if you send them a message with a description of everything that is going on they will take care of you just like they would have when you could talk on the phone. They still have great service it just takes a little longer. Also your protected once they see all the messages and tracking. They will refund you trust me there. Stay safe.................Woody

[woodyscollectibles]

They will. Take care...........Woody

[totoro470]

Just wanted to update for anyone in the future that has similar issues. CS resolved the case in my favor, all he had to do was check the tracking and saw the buyer never attempted a return. They gave me the money back and also prevented any low DSRs and negative feedback.

Thanks again to everyone that helped!

[bar-29368]

Glad you've been made whole, but of course the buyer still managed to get free items with his money back from ebay.

[vajon]

I'm experiencing the same issue with a buyer, although my case is a bit different.

How long did it take for Ebay to resolve the problem, from the moment you contacted Ebay, to the moment they resolved the issue?

[cashvaluerecovery2011]

Simple case of a bad scammer being helped along by bad policy. This guy was gonna get a free item one way or the other.