Refund for a lost

[hiqualideals]

I sold an item late December which Royal mail attempted to deliver but couldn't do it as the buyer wasn't in. There was then the option to arrange a redelivery which I reminded the buyer about numerous times but they failed to organise the redelivery or acknowledge my message. They now want a refund. Obviously the parcel hasn't come back to me neither to the buyer. Do they have the right to a refund ?

[ma-647837]

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@hiqualideals wrote:

I sold an item late December which Royal mail attempted to deliver but couldn't do it as the buyer wasn't in.

They now want a refund. Obviously the parcel hasn't come back to me neither to the buyer. Do they have the right to a refund ? 

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No. 

https://ebay.co.uk/help/eBay/go/broke?id=4210 says:

Evidence of successful delivery
We require all of the following to prove a successful on-time delivery:

• Tracking number that can be validated on the shipping carrier's website and which was uploaded to eBay before the latest estimated delivery date;
• A delivery status of "delivered" or "attempted delivery" (or equivalent in the country to which the item was delivered);
• The date of delivery or attempted delivery;

If your buyre [UK spelling] opens a case, eBay will close it, without a refund, as attempted delivery is the same as delivered.

But if you get the parcel back, you can refund -- less your eBay selling fees, plus postage -- if you wish.

[hiqualideals]

Thank you for the reply. They haven't opened a case, they've just mailed me asking for a refund. So I'm guessing I'll refuse them and see if they open a case, which then should be closed by eBay?

[pargran3]

Or politely tell the buyer that it is probably being returned to you since it was not picked up by them. Tell them that a refund will be made when it is returned to you in original condition.

[hiqualideals]

Thank you.

[reallynicestamps]

Also , you will not be required to refund them a penny (British or American) since the shipment was Undeliverable.

This is boilerplate from a discussion on eBay Canada.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

https://www.ebay.ca/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?...
 
This is the part I'm referring to
 
Exclusions and special coverage when the buyer doesn't receive an item


Items collected by a third party on behalf of the buyer 
Not covered


The buyer arranged their own shipping method, such as a courier pickup 
Not covered


The buyer provided an invalid or incorrect address at checkout 
Not covered
I don't know how to do screenshots.  There is a LOT of information on that page.

 
An ethical seller would refund the payment, less shipping costs, eBay fees, and international payment processing fees.
But it's my belief that eBay will not require any refund.
 
Hi @femmefan1946! You're correct in that a refused package is on the buyer and not the sellers responsibility to refund. As long as tracking shows the package was refused, then we would side with a seller if the buyer opened an Item Not Received claim. 
 
I agree that I would not withhold all the money, but it is up to the seller if they would like to withhold shipping, refund the buyer entirely, or keep it all. If the seller is okay with refunding the buyer entirely and being out the shipping costs, then they can cancel the transaction using the buyer requested option since in essence, they did by refusing the package. If the seller wants to retain the shipping costs, then they can message the buyer a heads up (not a requirement but a nice thing to do) and then refund them partially through this flow here. 
Velvet,


[hiqualideals]

Thank you so much!