Fraudulent Return Request

[reclaimedperfecttreasures]

Yesterday, I received a message thatmy funds are on hold. Fire initiated, a refund request stating I had refused a refund and sent a photo of a similar broken casserole dish.p

Problem is I had just shipped ordered dish the night before, it had just barely left SLC to New York. The item still in transit, not even received by buyer. 
Frst I thought it had to be an instant mistake. Possibly buyer had previously purchased something similar from another seller that arrived broken then ordered one from me and by mistake claimed my item arrived broken rather than someone else’s.

I reached out to buyer, expressing the concern and letting them know they haven’t even received their order yet from me. No response.

I checked buyers history. There’s zero feedback & account was open the day order was placed. I strongly believe this is a fraudulent attempt of theft

Reading several things online that eBay always sides with the buyer and will automatically issue a refund. I am wondering if they ever investigate and will see that the item in the photo could not possibly be mine as it’s not even been delivered. Buyer claimed I refused a refund yet there is no communication from this buyer to me. Will eBay see all of this? Do they ever side with the seller?

[kibble-net]

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@reclaimedperfecttreasures wrote:

Yesterday, I received a message thatmy funds are on hold. Fire initiated, a refund request stating I had refused a refund and sent a photo of a similar broken casserole dish.p

Something doesn't add up here. Did the buyer ask to cancel before you shipped?

Also, why was a fire initiated?

[caldreamer]

EBAY return system is "automated" and after item is returned, EBAY will be force you to give a refund. 

Yes, EBAY can see all your correspondence with this customer stating item was "not delivered yet".   I would talk to EBAY customer service right away and explain the situation.   Go to HELP type words REQUEST CALLBACK and wait for EBAY customer service to call you back.   Make sure that your cellphone settings do NOT block "unknown callers" otherwise, EBAY will not be able to reach you. 

I would try phoning this customer and politely leave voicemail message explaining that item was not delivered (how could it be damaged) and they must have you mixed up with another Seller.  Ask them to close "return request" and open case with correct Seller.

[reclaimedperfecttreasures]

lol, no fire that was bad autocorrect.

no buyer didn’t ask to cancel, I’ve never heard from buyer.  No response to my msgs trying to figure it out what happened.  Return request was made the 17th with a photo of a broken dish.  My dish was just delivered on the 20th.

[reclaimedperfecttreasures]

Thank you, there was another reply suggesting the same thing. eBay told me I have to wait and call back on the 23rd.  I don’t know why.  I hope they don’t automatically refund this, it was delivered on the 20th and still no correspondence from buyer. They won’t reply to my msgs trying to figure out what happened.

[reallynicestamps]

The phone reps have a terrible reputation for getting you off the phone as soon as possible even if that means giving you the advice you want to hear instead of the advice you need to have.

Here are your options for contacting Ebay Customer Service.

Please be aware that for social media CS, you send them a Private Message and briefly explain what your problem or issue is. Feel free to leave your Name, address, phone number and/or your email address in this message. It is private and secure and it may help to speed up the response for you.


https://www.facebook.com/ebay -Message button in upper right on landing page.
#204760888466
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/


https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/How-do-I-contact-Customer-Support/m-p/32016431#M1783851 -> Automated Assistant, type AGENT -> enter. You will then get more options.
Your options will be on the left. If you use the link below you can only get to the Automated Assistant or Chat box type AGENT in the box and hit enter. You will then get more options. Not all options are available 24/7. It will depend on staffing available. So sometimes you can request a call back and sometimes you can't. Sometimes you have the Chat option available and other times it won't me. If it is important to you to use one of those options, just try back later.

The social media Chat accounts are covered by trained eBay employees with some authority.
And you get a transcript so you can compare what you heard with what you were told.
 

And IMMEDIATELY put the shipping/tracking number into the Claim.

Even though eBay already has it.

They want to see you actively cooperating. 

[participatrophy]

Hey @gurlcat didn't you have a buyer recently who pulled this same nonsense?

[gurlcat]

@participatrophy  Yes but it wasn't recent (August 2024).  

 @reclaimedperfecttreasures  LOL to me the story is pretty clear.  They broke their own casserole dish, or maybe it was their mom's or something, and now they are desperate to replace it, trying to get it for free.  They photographed their broken one to pretend it's the one you sent.  But they are such an idiot they don't realize how it looks when they try to start the return before they could possibly see your dish broken ... because they don't even have it yet!  🤣

I have had this same crazy thing.  It turned out to be a pretty fun bronco ride, and in the end I kept my money and got that scammer banned from eBay.   I will post a link to that thread below.  You can read it if you want, but note: the details about the delivery address turned out not to be terribly relevant, so skip past those replies, go to page 2, message 32, where the really important stuff starts.  
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Beyond-Bizarre-Return/m-p/34619838#M2442374 

What you must do is REPORT the buyer for abusive behavior.  Then when you get the item back, report them again for sending back a different item.  Even if it looks like the same dish, you will reiterate the fact that they filed the return (with the photos) days before your package was delivered to them. 

[reclaimedperfecttreasures]

I look forward to reading that thanks!  I just got off the phone with eBay, said o need to accept the return… at my expense of course.  Bummer it only gives me the option of what I paid to have it shipped and of course the box had to be a little bit larger so I could accommodate all of the foam padding and bubble wrap which this should be able to be sent back in a tiny box since apparently it’s broken  I have to pay for it not because of the money lost,  it’s the principal.

[gurlcat]

@reclaimedperfecttreasures  Don't worry about exactly what to do at each step until you get there.  I am here most days and will see your replies to this thread.  Right now, as far as eBay knows, all you have is an ordinary return.  So the next "normal" thing would be for the buyer to use the return label (you did issue that to them, right?) and ship back .... something.  

As you can see in my situation they returned something completely different just to match the package weight.  In your case I suspect the buyer will return a shattered dish.  I will help you with how to respond, regardless of what's in the return box.  But for now all you can do is report the abusive behavior of them starting a return before receiving the item.  Mention that the tracking SHOWED they hadn't received it yet, so whoever reads it will be reminded they can verify that.  

FYI, reporting any kind of abusive bull from buyers is more important than many sellers think.  It is not about getting a buyer "punished" (which usually doesn't happen, and you wouldn't know anyway).  It's about insuring that you get your seller protections.  Kind of like how you report a theft to the police even though they'll probably never catch the thief and get your property back -but you need the police report for your insurance claim.  It's similar here.  

[gurlcat]

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@reclaimedperfecttreasures wrote:

I look forward to reading that thanks!  I just got off the phone with eBay, said o need to accept the return… at my expense of course.  Bummer it only gives me the option of what I paid to have it shipped and of course the box had to be a little bit larger so I could accommodate all of the foam padding and bubble wrap which this should be able to be sent back in a tiny box since apparently it’s broken  I have to pay for it not because of the money lost,  it’s the principal.

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Yeah you have to accept the return because the only alternative would be refusing, which would result in eBay stepping in and snatching your money.  For now you have to play ball as if this is normal return and you're just being a good seller.  -By the way you won't see the charge for the return label immediately; it may show up in a day or two, maybe longer (varies for some reason).  But it will be LESS than the original label.  Not drastically less, but somewhat.  eBay gets a bulk deal for return shipping, and pass the savings onto sellers.  

By the way, I know this is a leap of faith but stop calling the phone reps.  Any time they give the correct information it's just random good luck, because VERY often they are wrong, and you won't get any slack for the fact that you followed their wrong advice.  These forums are full of horror stories about bad outcomes from listening to phone CSR's.  They're poorly-trained contract workers in foreign countries.  

Like @reallynicestamps  said, the social media reps are actually much better.  But they should still be a last resort.  You will be able to win this just by using the eBay features.  And if somehow it doesn't go the same way it did for me (like say whichever employee handles your case is stupid), THEN we'll move onto getting help from a social media rep.  But put it out of your mind for now.  

[babyers88]

@reclaimedperfecttreasures 

None of this sounds right, for one they should not have been able to open a return before the item was ever even received. How that happened is bizarre at best.

But regardless, when the rep noted to call back on the 23RD (tomorrow) that is because ebay has to wait for x amount of days before they can manually intervene. 

So.... tomorrow, call back and this should be closed in your favor as buyer fraud

afterwards be sure to add them to your blocked buyer list and file a report on the buyer.

during the process with speaking with the rep after you hang up you will get a case opened message/email stating the funds are hold (even if they are already)

then usually within a hour more or less you will get another message/email stating the case has been closed in your favor and there is nothing else you need to do.
Then generally the funds on hold are released by midnight presuming you have no other holds 

***if while on the phone with the rep it sounds like it is going any other way be sure to point out that the picture of the broken item and request was opened before it was delivered.