eBay

mokie11559 · ‎03-28-2018

Return started 3/23 automatically for does not fit. Waiting for a tracking # & for item return to refund buyer. Says buyer must provide tracking by 3/30. OK, nothing so far.

Away from pc today, come back to check & within minutes buyer changed to not as described & asked ebay to step in. Buyer refunded automatically! WTH? What happened to having a chance to respond?

Got US rep & asked how can a fit/remorse return started be changed to nad & refunded within minutes without item return? Told me give them 24-48 hours.

Within minutes got a courtesy refund from ebay. How is this allowed to happen in the 1st place?

michael_atw · ‎03-28-2018

Since the vast majority of our case decisions are decided by Customer Service agents, mistakes will happen from time to time.

Not according to a CSR who told me 4 months ago that once it is escalated it is automated while it is escalated.

And another CSR last week who essentially (even though he evaded saying outright) told me that it is automated all the way to the resolution.

mokie11559 · ‎03-28-2018

Yes, I did. I will say that I got a US rep so he understood clearly. And I will give ebay credit for reversing the decision & refunding me quickly. It just should not happen to begin with.

coffeebean832 · ‎03-28-2018

@Anonymouswrote:
while there are some instances where our system will close cases, these are very limited. Typically this will only occur when tracking has been provided that confirms delivery in an item not received case (seller favor) or there has been no response to the case before we are asked to step in (buyer favor). The OPs case was closed incorretly by a Customer Service agent, has been resolved and appropriate coaching has been provided. In the rare instances where the incorrect decision is made (even when it was our system that made this decision), we are able to appeal the case and fix our error.

Trinton, does "no reponse to the case" include if the seller has sent messages through the case trying to work things out with the buyer? I've read conflicting information depending on the circumstances of the case whether messages through the case count as a response or not. Thanks in advance for providing more information.

stuff4divas · ‎03-28-2018

@michael_atwwrote:
I've had eBay mess up in a similar way before. You just have to waste time complaining about it - as you learned.

Here is an example of one of my return cases (i am the seller):

Feb. 5 : You opened a case

Comments: I (seller) called ebay on 1/19/18 and was told by xxxx that this case will expire and automatically close after 30 days, but it did not. So I called ebay again on 1/27/18 and was told by xxxx that it would close on the following Monday 1/29 in my favor since there has been no response from buyer to my communication or return of item since case was opened on 12/27/17. This case still shows open as of today 2/5/18. Please close case in seller’s favor, thank you, stuff4divas.

Good news - we reviewed your case again, and we refunded $ xxxxx to your original payment method.
Just allow up to 48 hours to receive the refund.
There was a technical error on eBay. You don't need to do anything else. This case won't be included when we evaluate seller performance. Note: It may take up to 24 hours to update in your Seller Dashboard.

stuff4divas · ‎03-28-2018

@mokie11559wrote:
I always call as asking ebay to step in automatically is like stepping in doggy doo

😄

vintagemoth12 · ‎03-28-2018

It was my understanding that if a buyer opened a case then the seller got to work it out with the buyer and get additional information as sometimes the buyer will file a return on the wrong item and some sellers like to get photos to be sure it is the right item.

I sure hope this is not the new norm. This is like a kick in the seat or a slap in the face, so to speak!

mokie11559 · ‎03-28-2018

And I'd rather step in doggy doo than call ebay 🙂

mokie11559 · ‎03-28-2018

There was nothing to work out, this was an automated return for does not fit. Return was automatic & buyer gets a label from ebay. There was nothing to respond to, just wait for item back & refund as I had 14 day returns policy on it. It was buyer changing it today from a remorse/fit return to a snad & in the space of 12 minutes ebay refunded the buyer without buyer returning the item. I had to call to get a courtesy refund as I followed protocol & this should never have happened in the 1st place.

Anonymous · ‎03-28-2018

@coffeebean832 wrote:

@Anonymouswrote:

while there are some instances where our system will close cases, these are very limited. Typically this will only occur when tracking has been provided that confirms delivery in an item not received case (seller favor) or there has been no response to the case before we are asked to step in (buyer favor). The OPs case was closed incorretly by a Customer Service agent, has been resolved and appropriate coaching has been provided. In the rare instances where the incorrect decision is made (even when it was our system that made this decision), we are able to appeal the case and fix our error.

Trinton, does "no reponse to the case" include if the seller has sent messages through the case trying to work things out with the buyer? I've read conflicting information depending on the circumstances of the case whether messages through the case count as a response or not. Thanks in advance for providing more information.

Hi @coffeebean832, great question! Happy to confirm that messages sent through the case absolutely count. Any response to the case itself, be it a message, an offer of a return/refund/partial refund/replacement/denying the return/etc. all count as the seller responding to the request. An automated acceptance of the return the seller sets up also counts as a response. When we talk about the seller not responding, we essentially mean they ignored the request from the time it was opened to the time we are asked to step in. Once a request is opened, the seller is informed that they need to respond to it by a certain date. If this doesn't happen, they may loose the case if we are asked to step in.

Anonymous · ‎03-28-2018

@mokie11559 wrote:

There was nothing to work out, this was an automated return for does not fit. Return was automatic & buyer gets a label from ebay. There was nothing to respond to, just wait for item back & refund as I had 14 day returns policy on it. It was buyer changing it today from a remorse/fit return to a snad & in the space of 12 minutes ebay refunded the buyer without buyer returning the item. I had to call to get a courtesy refund as I followed protocol & this should never have happened in the 1st place.

Hi @mokie11559, can I ask you where you saw a reference to the term SNAD or the phrase significantly not as described? I've looked over a number of examples from others and remain uncertain where this is stemming from. If there is a reference to a buyer claiming the item is not as described once eBay is asked to step in or once the case is decided, I would like to review the context for possible improvements so we can avoid some confusion.

Additionally, the timeframe between when we are asked to step in and when a decision is made is often not an indication of the length of time the details are reviewed. There are many times where Customer Service is contacted and reviews all of the request details prior to selecting the option to "escalate" the case for a decision. In much the same way that you can call in and talk to Customer Service about a case, come to a resolution and have this applied to your case before the call ends, a buyer can do the same.

Lastly, I do want to clarify that we do not consider this refund a courtesy - you were owed an appeal for the mistake we made. Typically a courtesy would be considered an exception to our policies and not generally repeated. When we make a mistake, we fix it by compensating any financial losses and ensuring there are no negative marks on your account. I wanted to be clear that this was not an exception or a one time offer to you to resolve this, but the right thing as we were the cause of the problem for you in the first place. Hopefully you won't need this protection again in the future, but if you do, we will absolutely take care of it again for you without issue.

Anonymous · ‎03-28-2018

@vintagemoth12 wrote:

It was my understanding that if a buyer opened a case then the seller got to work it out with the buyer and get additional information as sometimes the buyer will file a return on the wrong item and some sellers like to get photos to be sure it is the right item.

I sure hope this is not the new norm. This is like a kick in the seat or a slap in the face, so to speak!

Hi @vintagemoth12, in the OPs situation, the return was accepted on their end and the buyer was given time to return the item. We made a mistake when we were asked to step in and have since resolved this mistake. Our error is not an indication of a new norm, just an unfortunate event that we've worked to resolve.

mokie11559 · ‎03-28-2018

The message from ebay states: The case is now closed. We reviewed the case & decided to issue the buyer a full refund. The buyer claimed that the item didn't match the description. And the amount was debited from my account.

I called it a courtesy refund as it came from ebay, not the buyer

coffeebean832 · ‎03-28-2018

@Anonymouswrote:
@coffeebean832wrote:
@Anonymouswrote:
while there are some instances where our system will close cases, these are very limited. Typically this will only occur when tracking has been provided that confirms delivery in an item not received case (seller favor) or there has been no response to the case before we are asked to step in (buyer favor). The OPs case was closed incorretly by a Customer Service agent, has been resolved and appropriate coaching has been provided. In the rare instances where the incorrect decision is made (even when it was our system that made this decision), we are able to appeal the case and fix our error.
Trinton, does "no reponse to the case" include if the seller has sent messages through the case trying to work things out with the buyer? I've read conflicting information depending on the circumstances of the case whether messages through the case count as a response or not. Thanks in advance for providing more information.
Hi @coffeebean832, great question! Happy to confirm that messages sent through the case absolutely count. Any response to the case itself, be it a message, an offer of a return/refund/partial refund/replacement/denying the return/etc. all count as the seller responding to the request. An automated acceptance of the return the seller sets up also counts as a response. When we talk about the seller not responding, we essentially mean they ignored the request from the time it was opened to the time we are asked to step in. Once a request is opened, the seller is informed that they need to respond to it by a certain date. If this doesn't happen, they may loose the case if we are asked to step in.

Thanks Trinton. Let me throw out a hypothetical:

The seller responds through a Not As Described case and requests more information from the buyer to handle the claim. Maybe it's photos or information about USPS markings on a package - whatever. The buyer does not reply to any of these requests for information - complete silence from the buyer. Then the buyer escalates the case to eBay.

You are saying that the case will not be automatically decided since the seller has responded within the case. You are saying that a human CS rep will review the situation and either a- provide an extension on the case since the seller needs more information or b- they will find in favor of the buyer or the seller depending on other details of the case and what's being claimed.

Is that correct?

rixstuff · ‎03-28-2018

Even though it is "automated" always respond to a return with "I will gladly refund ONCE I GET THE ITEM BACK" - that way there is a record that you didnt just blow off the dispute and it puts the spotlight ON THE BUYER to get it in the mail and provide return shipping info. Anybody looking at the dispute could see you were on the ball, the buyer not so much and decide in your favor.

jpcustomsonline · ‎03-28-2018

@rixstuffwrote:
Even though it is "automated" always respond to a return with "I will gladly refund ONCE I GET THE ITEM BACK" - that way there is a record that you didnt just blow off the dispute and it puts the spotlight ON THE BUYER to get it in the mail and provide return shipping info. Anybody looking at the dispute could see you were on the ball, the buyer not so much and decide in your favor.

shame that we can't respond IN the dispute.