why does ebay refund money even if buyer does not request it

[tccollect99]

Im a little upset here, as we all know during covid the postal system at times are slower,  In 20 years on ebay i have never has issues that are happening now, I have had a few items take longer then normal and buyer opens a case for item not arriving after emailing customer and discussing it with them they agree to give it some more time after a few days they get a pm from ebay asking if item arrived, when they respond no ebay automatically refunds there money, customer even said they did ask for a refund or were given a option if they had talked to seller, is it just me or is this not right

[coffeebean832]

It's an automated system. By selecting no, the buyer escalated their request to a case and eBay pushed the refund through.

Since it sounds like your buyer is communicating and cooperative, they may be willing to re-pay after (if) the item eventually shows up. You can get their e-mail and send them an invoice through PayPal.

[friskya]

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@coffeebean832 wrote:

It's an automated system. By selecting no, the buyer escalated their request to a case and eBay pushed the refund through.

Since it sounds like your buyer is communicating and cooperative, they may be willing to re-pay after (if) the item eventually shows up. You can get their e-mail and send them an invoice through PayPal.

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Alternatively, he can also ask the buyer if he wouldn't mind sending a check directly to him at the return address shown on the shipping label. I was given this advice in a similar situation, except in my case over a month had passed and eBay had refunded me for the INR case. Because the seller had been so helpful, it was important to me that he get paid for the item - even though eBay considered the matter closed. 

[yuzuha]

They don't. The buyer has to actively choose to open a case and then escalate it for that to happen.