Return approved by eBay, money charged twice - what to do?

[mcoins]

Dear colleagues,

I am dealing with an issue now. A buyer requested a return, given the value of the item and the cost to return to me (as I don't accept returns in my policy), I have suggested partial refund to sort it out. He didn't answer, then he has escalated it and eBay had refunded him in full. The money were taken from my PayPal AND I was asked by eBay to pay it to them so now I can see a "debt" on my account. I have contacted eBay about it but their answers look extremely incompetent and they don't answer my questions at all, as if they haven't read it.

I have several questions to this. 

1. Does the buyer have to return the item now? If so, what happens if he does not return it?

2. Why is this debt here and what can I do to get rid of it?

3. What would you suggest me to do? Now, I have efficiently paid it three times (the item cost, the refund from PayPal and the eBay debt). It's crazy.

Thank you for any help.

If anyone is having similar issues, let me know, as I consider legal actions against eBay if they don't help me voluntarily, as this is a question of hundreds dollars in total. It would be better not to be alone.

[wastingtime101]

Sellers are required to accept returns when the reason is "not as described" regardless of a no returns policy. It's part of eBay's Money Back Guarantee.

Since you did not accept the return the buyer escalated to eBay and the refund was forced. You also got a defect on your selling account. Look at your seller dashboard to make sure your account isn't in jeopardy as it only takes a few cases closed without seller resolution to ruin your account.

If you accepted the return then the buyer would have been required to return it with a return shipping label that you paid for. Since you did not accept the return and the refund was forced, this closed out the case and the buyer is not required to return anything.

If you want the item back all you can do is message the buyer and ask if they are willing to send it back. A cooperative buyer may do this if you provide a prepaid shipping label they can use.

Since the refund was taken from your PayPal account you should not be charged by eBay. If you're seeing a problem like this it could be a glitch or a timing thing. It's really hard to say without more information. You can go to eBay's help and contact link and use the e-mail option that's currently available to sort out any billing issues. You can also contact customer service through the eBay for Business FaceBook and Twitter pages.

[kensgiftshop]

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@mcoins wrote:

1. Does the buyer have to return the item now? If so, what happens if he does not return it?

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If Ebay has already refunded the buyer, they don't have to return it.

When a buyer files an INAD and seller doesn't accept the return in the time given, buyer can ask Ebay to step in and they can refund buyer without them return the item.

If you had accepted the return and provided return shipping, then they would have to return the item before getting a refund.

[cream_couture]

I suggest calling and filing an appeal with eBay. When eBay forces a return, they usually charge your card on file. Paypal places money on hold for a time frame. Once the case is resolved, they take the hold off and the funds are released. Are you sure you were charged by both eBay and Paypal?

[mcoins]

Thank you for the answer.

eBay hasn't told me that.

eBay has however given me time until 26th of March to accept it only to give the buyer full refund a few dozen minutes later (on 21st), so I didn't have a chance.

The buyer has left the shipment banknotes on (probably heavy) rain which caused that their are a little wavy now. He requested full refund based on that. I have - despite it's not my fault - suggested partial refund, which he didn't accept.

I didn't know he can keep it now. He wasn't communicating at all, seemingly he wanted to take an advantage of it.

Anyway, in legal sense I believe it's a theft, he can't keep both. So, I guess I'll have to get in touch with police, as eBay is not willing to help either (and so far, they haven't told me what you did in regards to the return if the banknotes).

P. S. Banknotes are a special kind of item as you can imagine. Even if they were in a terrible condition (which they were not), they still have face value. And my price is not far from that. It's not like getting something damaged that is because of this effectively worthless. 

As of the double charge - I was indeed charged on my PayPal and on eBay but the latter seems to be resolved.

[nh7235]

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@mcoins wrote:

1. A buyer requested a return, given the value of the item and the cost to return to me (as I don't accept returns in my policy), I have suggested partial refund to sort it out.

2. He didn't answer, then he has escalated it and eBay had refunded him in full.

3. The money were taken from my PayPal AND I was asked by eBay to pay it to them so now I can see a "debt" on my account.

I have several questions to this. 

- Does the buyer have to return the item now? If so, what happens if he does not return it?

---

Hi @mcoins, when you do not resolve a return request by yourself, e.g. you offer a partial refund but time runs out and eBay is asked to step in, the policy states:

When an item isn't returned to the seller

In some instances, we may not require that an item be returned to the seller. In these situations, we refund the buyer and may seek reimbursement from the seller, for example if:

• The seller chooses not to accept a return request when they offered returns in the listing, or the return request was opened because the item was not as described
• The seller did not provide a return shipping label or funds for the buyer to return the item

So you see two charges because

1. eBay seeks reembarrassment by charging your PayPal account,

2. on top of the hold already at PayPal when the return request began,

but the  latter is released after eBay stormed in to resolve the case for you.

[mcoins]

Thank you. If you have read my last post here, you know where the problem is.

1. eBay lied to me (about having time until 26th of March).

2. eBay is not above the law.

eBay can't let someone have both the money and the item, it's illegal, especially when it's clear that he has illegally enriched himself. It's a serious crime where I live and I believe everywhere else as well. eBay is (at least from legal logic here) accomplice in the crime if what you say is correct, so I might ask police in where eBay is located to take appropriate actions against them.

[nh7235]

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@mcoins wrote:

eBay is not above the law.

eBay can't let someone have both the money and the item

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eBay didn't, and eBay didn't flaunt your "above the law" argument. Instead, eBay adhered to the policy, to which you illicitly agreed by selling on eBay:

we refund the buyer and may seek reimbursement from the seller

So when you wouldn't play nice with the buyer, eBay paid for, bought, and now owns your item, then gifted it to your buyer. Following, you "may" get a bill from eBay, which you don't have to pay.

It's above board, and not above the law.

[wastingtime101]

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@mcoins wrote:

The buyer has left the shipment banknotes on (probably heavy) rain which caused that their are a little wavy now. He requested full refund based on that. I have - despite it's not my fault - suggested partial refund, which he didn't accept.

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To me that sounds like a packing problem. When I ship paper items I put them in a plastic bag to keep them dry and clean, then I sandwich them between stiff sheets of cardboard to keep them flat. After that I put them in an envelope/mailer and send them on their way.

If you believe eBay allowed the case to be escalated before the timeline you were given to approve the return then you can appeal. Go to the help & contact link and if you can use bullet points so it's easy to follow the timeline of events. Good luck.

[mcoins]

I have appealed it but it was closed with the same result. Now, finally I have received an answer from the customer service that they will refund me within 10 days. I hope it will be so.

Anyway, packing problem or not - eBay told me the buyer needs to return it, which he didn't (clearly - he's refunded - he has no incentive for doing so). His attitude was harsh, as it was not something intentional. On my end, I'd be happy with partial refund - having banknotes basically at face value sounds OK to me. Punishing someone this way for not using plastic cover? Is it anywhere written that this has to be? In 7 years of my experience here, this hasn't happened to me before. To me, the buyer is crook and eBay supports him in this. eBay hasn't bought it, when it has paid with my money from PayPal, so I have maybe (not voluntarily) bought it back but I certainly haven't gifted it to the buyer.