Can a buyer initiate a chargeback without opening a return?

[dees_den]

A buyer received 2 of 3 boxes this afternoon, USPS shows the third box is arriving this evening. Buyer threatens to get his money back via his credit card company because "this is fraudulent". 

I sent him shipping progress detail via USPS which clearly shows 2 boxes have been delivered and the third arriving in a few hours.

He then complained one of the two boxes he received was torn (but not that anything was damaged).

Sigh - I can guess where this is going but he cannot get a refund without initiating a refund, right? 

[inhawaii]

Yes.

The chargeback is done with the buyers credit card company or however he made payment.

It's not done through ebay.

If the credit card company determines he gets a refund, ebay will refund him with your funds.

The double-whammy is the buyer does not have to send the item back.

The triple-whammy is that ebay will hit you up with a $20 chargeback fee.

Sorry this is happening to you.

[reallynicestamps]

Yes.

There are three levels of Buyer Protection.

EBay offers 30 days from delivery.

Paypal (not every buyer uses this) offers 180 days from payment.

Cards vary but usually 90-180 days from payment.

When he goes for chargeback, it will be shunted to eBay.  Give the tracking numbers and Proof of Delivery to any and every message you get about this.

Repeat yourself.

You are likely dealing with a different robot every time. So repeat the trackingnumbers.

BTW, there is a pretty good chance that your bellicose buyer is not longer allowed to use the Money Back Guarantee, which is why he goes for the chargeback.

And, if he does go for the chargeback, and it is refused, neither eBay nor PP will entertain an appeal to their buyer protections. No double-dipping.

But keep entering those tracking numbers.

[nuclearomen]

yes, chargeback has to do with the buyers payment method being notified not ebay, but ebay will honor the chargeback process. You'll have to go into the the system and provide things for the buyers payment institution to review for decision...usually that decision is in favor of buyer, BUT I have heard sellers say they have won the decision also.  

[dees_den]

Appreciate the tips - I had a gut feeling from get-go about this sale. I did send a message to the folks at ebay for business on FB - perhaps that might help me in the long run if they can put a note in the system ... wish me look. I will circle back with outcome.

[dees_den]

I will add - it seems crazy that someone could initiate a chargeback within 1 week of the purchase, within days of receiving item(s). Wouldn't CC company question that?

Disappointing this system of scam is so prevalent ...

[nuclearomen]

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@dees_den wrote:

A buyer received 2 of 3 boxes this afternoon, USPS shows the third box is arriving this evening. Buyer threatens to get his money back via his credit card company because "this is fraudulent". 

I sent him shipping progress detail via USPS which clearly shows 2 boxes have been delivered and the third arriving in a few hours.

He then complained one of the two boxes he received was torn (but not that anything was damaged).

Sigh - I can guess where this is going but he cannot get a refund without initiating a refund, right? 

---

short answer - no - CC's are only interested in their clients protections, when a chargeback is filed to ebay there is a process that then takes place, doesn't matter the reason of the charge back or when it was made, that process is done regardless. The difference is ebay is not involved in the CC's decision, that is left to the CC to decide, that is why I said you will need to provide things for the CC to review and your only allowed to upload 1 document...so need to cut and paste things into one document related to the order. After that they have 30 days (or more can't remember) to decide. It can be won by the seller, but ebay won't help you. 

[nuclearomen]

I quoted the OP's original post by accident above, was meant for his last post... just saying. 

[dbfolks166mt]

     They most certainly can and do. EBay probably gets hit with multiple chargeback requests everyday. A lot of scammers and buyers simply use the chargeback process because it is the path of least resistance. Fortunately you are dealing with what appears to be an INR chargeback and not a NAD. 

     As others mentioned dispute the chargeback and simply upload the tracking information showing the item as being delivered and the CC company will close out the request in your favor, generally. You will also not get hit with the $20 CC company processing fee. 

     With NAD chargebacks the seller is pretty much toast. You have a couple of choices. You can dispute the chargeback and try to fight it but you are unlikely to prevail. The CC company may charge you a $20 processing fee in addition to fully refunding the buyer. Under current Federal laws the CC companies are not required to make the buyer return the item, although some do but generally the CC company is only focused on the financial transaction. To pour salt into the wound eBay is still going to charge you the FVF's on the transaction even after they have fully refunded the buyer. 

     You can accept the chargeback and avoid the $20 processing fee but again you may not get the item back and eBay is still going to hit you with the FVF's in addition to fully refunding the buyer. 

    The sad part is eBay could be working with the CC companies under the parameters of the current Federal laws to stem some of this but that requires resources eBay is unwilling to commit to the process due to the potential impact to their bottom line. 

[nuclearomen]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

     You can accept the chargeback and avoid the $20 processing fee but again you may not get the item back and eBay is still going to hit you with the FVF's in addition to fully refunding the buyer. 

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i forgot about that, great point to state! Yes, Ebay will charge you the FVF's + $20 processing fee. 

[mtgraves7984]

Sigh - I can guess where this is going but he cannot get a refund without initiating a refund, right?

@dees_den 

Semantics... He cannot get a refund without initiating a refund  with his CC, true. He cannot get a refund without initiating a Return  with eBay, though. I'm hoping your buyer starts here... you'll be covered in an INR. Good luck.

[ms.rodriguez*]

Tell the buyer to please be patient. YOu mailed the 3 boxes at the same time and one got separated during the shipping. He needs to wait.  Let him know that you have alerted ebay about the delay in the 3rd box arriving. Perhaps this little ploy will calm him down a bit.

[kensgiftshop]

Is this about the books that you stated in the listing:

"Lot of 32 books = 50 lbs in two bankers boxes"

[vintagecraze50]

I had a buyer once initiated a INR chargeback when tracking clearly showed the item was delivered to their address on their ebay account. The case was closed in my favor. About two weeks late this same scammer opened a Not as described chargeback on the same item. Yes, they can do that too. Terrible to say the least. So, I took a picture of my request stating that this buyer needs to be investigated by the credit card company for fraud. I sent that response in the upload document section because, What THE HECK ELSE are you going to download to support yourself in a situation like this. About a month later I won the chargeback but I did not know whether ebay actually reimbursed me and STILL then credit card company gave this scammer back their money and kept an expensive jewelry item. This stuff has got to get more regulated by the govt.

[vintagecraze50]

Yes, they have to start with the return request. Not jump directly to the CC. Technically that is what all buyer are suppose to do first-deal with the merchant. It is even laid out in the rules for initiating a chargeback, but still they do this.