Any suggestions when customer service is clueless?
I had a buyer purchase an item and make a return request claiming item not as described. I approved the return.
Somehow eBay glitched and allowed the buyer to escalate to a case before the item even made it back to me. I called customer service right away when I got the notification, and the rep acknowledged the glitch and told me not to do anything. She verified that the item still showed "in transit" and assured me that the case wouldn't be closed in the buyer's favor.
The next day, I received a notification that the case was closed in the buyer's favor which resulted in a refund and a defect on my account for closed without seller resolution even though I still didn't have the item back yet. I called customer service again and they again saw that it was still in transit and told me I should appeal the outcome of the case and provide screenshots of the tracking. I did so immediately.
The next day, while waiting for a response, the item finally came back, so the appeal was denied. I called customer service again and explained it again and said that I am ok with the refund now that I had the item back, but I needed the defect removed. The rep told me to appeal the defect, which apparently is separate from appealing the case. So I did that.
This appeal also was denied and the response stated that tracking showing "out for delivery" counts as delivered. I know that isn't true, and even if it was, it wasn't out for delivery when they approved the return and gave me a defect. It said "In transit to next location" on the screen shot I took for the appeal.
I shouldn't have a defect for waiting to receive the item back before refunding but customer service seems completely clueless on how to fix it.
Any ideas? My sales have tanked since this happened and I did exactly what I am supposed to do.
Any help appreciated.
jonathanbrightlight
·10 months ago@eclectic_apparel
Ok, I admit I'm confused still, but the screenshots seem clear that something happened that shouldn't have.
I guess one thing that might matter is if there was an original estimated date of delivery for the return shipment that was prior to August 7. Do you know if you have a record of that anywhere?
EDIT TO ADD: I just noticed in the last screenshot it says that an attempt was made to deliver the return to you on August 1. The tracking does show Out For Delivery and then Forwarded on August 1, in Round Rock, TX, which is where your listings indicate you are. The part you showed then says it was delivered to a parcel locker in Davenport, FL, and then a Return To Sender was processed a month later on Sept 8, which sounds like it was sitting in a box at a post office and never picked up. Are you or were you ever in Davenport?
By the way, you also need to remove the buyer's username and any of their personal details from the screenshots. The moderators are likely to remove the ones you've posted.
eclectic_apparel
OP10 months agoI'll have to try to see if I can find an estimated delivery date, not sure if that still shows after delivery. That shouldn't matter though, we can't inspect or refund until the item is actually delivered.
I apologize, I didn't know we could no longer post buyer usernames. I was in these forums all the time many years ago and we posted them all the time, even had a huge thread of problem buyers so other sellers could block them. It was never a problem, but like I said, that was a long time ago. I appreciate you letting me know.
But honestly I don't think the appeal people even took the time to even look at what happened, once the item was refunded I wasn't asking for a refund, just to have the defect removed. The fact that the rep mentioned not holding the buyer accountable tells me that they didn't even read the claim or understand that removing a defect doesn't punish the buyer.
albertabrightalberta
·10 months agoThis happened in August? Over 2 months ago?
eclectic_apparel
OP10 months agoYes, I've been going in circles with customer service for 2 months now.
jonathanbrightlight
·10 months agoThe progression you're describing doesn't make sense to me. Can you post the actual messages you received from eBay at each step, without any personal information for you or the buyer of course?
eclectic_apparel
OP10 months agoYes, here is the tracking from both USPS and eBay showing the item was returned back to me on August 8. As you can see in another screen shot, the buyer escalated and the case was closed in her favor on August 7, which shouldn't have happened.
I'm also attaching screen shots of the emails I received and have whited out my name.
 
 
 
 
 
 
eclectic_apparel
OP10 months agoAs I was just reading the email in the last screen shot again, I noticed that the rep said they "cannot held the buyer accountable since they did their part in returning the item". Why are they thinking that removing the defect I received because of an eBay glitch = holding the buyer accountable? They just seem completely lost.
eclectic_apparel
OP10 months agoJust wanted to update that I finally got the defect removed. And I learned something new. When you file an appeal and receive an email response, you can reply to that email. That's what I did, not really thinking anyone would actually see it. But I got another response saying that the defect is removed.
bonanza125
·10 months agoIf they are denying it and nobody in appeals department is going to remove it then unfortunately the defect will stand. You will have to wait a year. You can continue to reach out to the appeals department to see if you can find someone who will remove it but most of them I believe agents will read prior notes and will probably continue to deny your request.