Buyer returned without authorization and want refund. Now claiming police report

[hee541]

Hi, I’m a baby seller (as in I only sold like three personal items), and recently I sold an item to a buyer. He suddenly claimed that the package came in empty, and requested a refund. but my item was listed as NO REFUND and I definitely did send the item; so i refused to give refund, he opened a case with ebay, and thankfully ebay did NOT authorize refund to the buyer. But after like a week, he decides to just send me back the item (it came as i sent it, which is ridiculous b/c he claimed it came empty). But I was too busy moving out of the country, etc. and he lost the case and I didn’t want to give refund, so I didnt. And now after like one month he contacts me back threatening me that he will make police report. Will I get in any trouble for this?

[lightlily_arts]

This buyer is a nut.  First, they tried to claim they didn't receive their item and they lost the claim because I assume they opened a case was for an item not received.   (probably stupid  attempted scam #1)    The case was closed in your favor because there was a delivery tracking number.   Perhaps you have a stupid scammer and for whatever reason they decided they didn't want to pay for the item and sent it back.  They can't call the police or file any kind of case as no crime has been committed and they are simply blowing smoke up your ar$@.   You aren't required to do anything,  but consider that you have both the buyer's money and your item.   Recently,  I had a similar situation where the buyer shipped their purchase back weeks after the sale  without notification, and then opened a claim to request a refund.    It was definitely a remorse return which was clear in the message they sent me.   eBay indicated that I was not obligated to accept the return as this was a final sale and I had met all the criteria in my listing.   So I declined it  their return request as it truly was a final sale.    I just didn't want to lose money over their  remorse purchase.  However, I shipped the item back to the buyer on my dime since the postage wasn't that much.

[lightlily_arts]

I forgot to mention that bad buyers look for new sellers to scam, and think they can get away with shaking their seller down.   The only reason why your buyer's claim could have been closed in your favor is because they claimed they didn't receive their item as opposed to a Not As Described which is how I would have filed an empty box claim.   All in all you aren't obligated to do anything, but they might try to file a claim with their credit card company too.  That was the reason I shipped my buyer's back.

[hee541]

Hi, thank you so much for your detailed response. The buyer told me that he had went to the bank to get his money back, and apparently they paid him back? But now suddenly they (buyer’s bank) took the money bank and requested him to provide police case if he wants the money back. Will the police look into this situation seriously and cause me any trouble? Im afraid that I wont be able to respond timely because im not in USA.

[lightlily_arts]

I wouldn't believe anything this buyer tells you as it's all lies.  Whatever problems he is having with his bank hasn't anything to do with you.   I believe it's all a fictional story!  The police wouldn't waste even one moment on  something this ridiculous.  Nothing he's said makes any sense and does not involve you in any way.    It sounds like he bought an item he couldn't afford and attempted to recover payment from you  by claiming he never received it.  He lost and sending it back to you was stupid.  You don't have to do anything and I wouldn't bother even responding to this nonsense. The only thing you would have to decide is whether you WANT to refund this jerk less your selling fees and shipping expenses,  but you are under no obligation to do so.  If you are out of the states then it wouldn't be cost effective to mail it back to them again.

[dtexley3]

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@hee541 wrote:

Hi, thank you so much for your detailed response. The buyer told me that he had went to the bank to get his money back, and apparently they paid him back? But now suddenly they (buyer’s bank) took the money bank and requested him to provide police case if he wants the money back. Will the police look into this situation seriously and cause me any trouble? Im afraid that I wont be able to respond timely because im not in USA.

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I'm doubtful the bank did any such thing.  They would have first initiated a charge-back through paypal (which still could happen). 

HOWEVER, the buyer did return the item.  Personally at that point, regardless of the buyer being a nut or not, I would refund the item price only, not including the original shipping.  Send the buyer a message regarding the refund, and put a message in the paypal refund.  Then you can call CS and get your FVF refund for the refunded portion.

Remember that the buyer/scammer can still try to get their money via paypal, so I would recommend refunding the price of the item without the shipping.

[lightlily_arts]

If this seller wants to process a refund they should deduct all their expenses including their eBay selling fees because eBay will not credit their final value if they only process a partial refund.  So they need to deduct 13% + $0.30 of the total and their shipping charges.  I don't know that their buyer actually has a basis for any case with PayPal, and I suspect that the original payment wasn't a credit card.  It must have been a bank balance.  

Even when you file claims with PayPal you still have to prove you have a legitimate claim and their buyer shouldn't have shipped the item back without opening a case.

It seems to me that their buyer bought something they couldn't afford and attempted a poorly executed scam to get it for free which bit them in their butt.

[monster-deals]

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@hee541 wrote:

 Will I get in any trouble for this?

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In trouble for what?

Tell your buyer to pound sand...less nicer than that if you like.

BBL and ignore forever.

[candiesduds]

I agree the buyer is a nutcase for sure, however since they shipped it back how do you feel you are in the right to keep ALL of their money and now have your item returned to you? In your response down below it seems like your only concern is rather or not you will get into trouble keeping both, so quite frankly it sounds bad on your behalf as well. Two wrongs don't make a right!

While you may not be required to send a refund what is your validation for keeping both? Don't be a scammer also, refund the buyer back the item cost minus the shipping and Ebay/Paypal fees and leave it alone. Block the crazy buyer.

[green-night]

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@lightlily_arts wrote:

This buyer is a nut.  First, they tried to claim they didn't receive their item and they lost the claim because I assume they opened a case was for an item not received.   (probably stupid  attempted scam #1)    The case was closed in your favor because there was a delivery tracking number.   Perhaps you have a stupid scammer and for whatever reason they decided they didn't want to pay for the item and sent it back.  They can't call the police or file any kind of case as no crime has been committed and they are simply blowing smoke up your ar$@.   You aren't required to do anything,  but consider that you have both the buyer's money and your item.   Recently,  I had a similar situation where the buyer shipped their purchase back weeks after the sale  without notification, and then opened a claim to request a refund.    It was definitely a remorse return which was clear in the message they sent me.   eBay indicated that I was not obligated to accept the return as this was a final sale and I had met all the criteria in my listing.   So I declined it  their return request as it truly was a final sale.    I just didn't want to lose money over their  remorse purchase.  However, I shipped the item back to the buyer on my dime since the postage wasn't that much.

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Seriously? You shipped it back to your buyer?  LOL.  Just no. 

[lightlily_arts]

Yes  as I did not feel that it was ethical for me to keep both the item and the buyer's money.    She paid $167 for her purchase and she should get what she paid for.  The postal cost was minimal to me as she was in the same postal zone and I had extra towards the shipping as I charge flat rates based on zone 8.

[lja440]

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@hee541 wrote:

Hi, thank you so much for your detailed response. The buyer told me that he had went to the bank to get his money back, and apparently they paid him back? But now suddenly they (buyer’s bank) took the money bank and requested him to provide police case if he wants the money back. Will the police look into this situation seriously and cause me any trouble? Im afraid that I wont be able to respond timely because im not in USA.

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The police will take the report, and they will ask you for your side of the story. Just provide them with what you have posted here. You could probably just e-mail them copies of the eBay messages and the tracking information. I'd do this just for the fact that it will put this to bed the quickest for the police who have much more important things to worry about.

[green-night]

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@lightlily_arts wrote:

Yes  as I did not feel that it was ethical for me to keep both the item and the buyer's money.    She paid $167 for her purchase and she should get what she paid for.  The postal cost was minimal to me as she was in the same postal zone and I had extra towards the shipping as I charge flat rates based on zone 8.

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I don't think I can emphasize enough how much of a tremendously bad idea it was for you to send this item back to your buyer.     Once you had your item back you should have kept it.    If your buyer opens a NAD chargeback you are going to regret doing what you did.  If you felt so ethically inclined then you could have refunded the buyer a portion of what they paid.  Send it back?  God no. 

[lightlily_arts]

It could have been different but in this case I disagree as there are communication details that I haven't shared.  This buyer requested a return via eBay and it was declined as I wasn't obligated to accept this return.   This was strictly a remorse purchase and they handled it poorly.   Had they  not waited nearly a month before sending it back  ( without prior notification) and agreed to a partial refund  to offset my expenses the outcome could have been different.   I returned their item as the transaction was a final sale with no returns.   I already knew that they wouldn't pursue it further.  You still need to prove that there is a legitimate basis to file a PayPal claim.  This buyer received exactly what was advertised, and I would have dredged up our messages and the eBay claim for support.   PayPal does review your documentation and will support a seller if the buyer received what they purchased. 

[kensgiftshop]

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@hee541

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If he shipped it back in the same condition as you shipped it, you're lucky.

Just refund the item price and relist.