@kssurplus
What you are describing is just ONE of the tactics used by criminals here. It is very common with international buyers that use those freight forwarders in Delaware as well.
The buyer wants your item for free. It is basically pretty easy, and buyers out of the US need not worry about Postal Inspectors, the FBI or any of the usual law enforcement agencies where they might be reported.
When buyers use a freight forwarder, they lose many of the protections offered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee. Unfortunately, eBay's bot system is not programmed to recognize a Forwarder address, so unless the seller knows, it is business as usual.
Had you known about this in advance, you could have contacted eBay through one their social media channels and dispensed with the claim right away.
The seller sends a return label to the forwarder address. The buyer can't use it since the product is already in some foreign country. Since they have to have delivery confirmation to prove a return was made, what was done to you is one of the ways this is accomplished. Others involve buying some cheap trinket from Amazon or Etsy and have it sent to you or another address in your Zipcode (aka cheap trinket return scam, sister to the fake tracking scam). Since doctoring the label retains the same tracking number as the one issued to them for the return label, it is even more of a problem for YOU.
Granted, the claim should never have been allowed in the first place, but I don't know how eBay is going to play the game 'after the fact'. Regular customer service from the foreign call centers that you get on chat or call back are not going to be useful.
If you can get any documentation from USPS i.e. photo of the parcel with the altered label, or a written letter from your Post Master, eBay may give you some sort of courtesy refund(s). But, as you know the eBay policies are first and foremost to protect eBay.
