Fraudulent Return Request

[montymills7]

My buyer claimed an item was defective when it was not. He wanted a return although I do not offer any.  I called Ebay to ask what I should do.  They said I should take the item back, but I would not have to give a refund since he is abusing the guarantee policy.  I said I did not want the item, but they said that was the procedure.  I got the item back and Ebay automatically gave the buyer the refund even though I spoke to Ebay four times and they agreed i did nothing wrong and the buyer would be reported and he would not be given a refund.  Since the refund has been issued, now they sat they can do nothing except refund the shipping charges to me. This seems unfair.  Is there anything I can do now and how can avoid this in the future?

Thanks

[pcobra93]

File a complaint with your state Attorneys General office and Consumer Fraud....along with  the other 10 thousand complaints against ebays practices they have already this year alone....that is about all you can do.

[jtro8059]

The best course of action in the future is to take the return and save yourself some time and energy. If the buyer returns the item and it's not the same item, or it is severely damaged, you will probably have a case with eBay... But the majority of the time they're going to side with the buyer. You unfortunately cannot trust what the people on the phone are telling you in many cases. I know it's unfair, and it's why I have started selling less and less on eBay. But that's just how it is. They care about keeping the buyer happy, and in a way you're treated the same way as a large retailer. I'm sure they take a lot of returns that are the fault of the buyer. The silver lining is that if you're selling items that are in good condition, you will likely not run into this situation very often. Take the hit and move on, try to make up the shipping loss elsewhere. Sorry, I know it's infuriating. 

[jtro8059]

Sorry, I missed that they did offer to refund the shipping charges. 

[montymills7]

Thanks for the responses.  I guess I've learned my lesson.  I will just try to move on in the future and not waste time on the phone with Ebay agents.  At least I know I"m not alone now.  Thanks again

[soh.maryl]

1.  Not offering returns means nothing.  ALL buyers have the Money Back Guarantee which means all the buyer has to do is open an item not as described case and eBay will require the seller to send a prepaid return label and to refund upon receipt of the returned item.  Please read the MBG.

2. Have no idea what CS rep you spoke with at eBay but they gave you the wrong information.  See my item #1.  And how would a buyer who claimed the item was defective be "abusing the guarantee policy"?

3. May I respectfully suggest that you read the Money Back Guarantee very carefully so that you'll know what a buyer is allowed to do in terms of opening a case.

[kensgiftshop]

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@montymills7 wrote:

Thanks for the responses.  I guess I've learned my lesson.  I will just try to move on in the future and not waste time on the phone with Ebay agents.  At least I know I"m not alone now.  Thanks again

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It's very rare that they give out good advice.

Since you got Ebay involved, they probably gave you a defect for not handling the return yourself.

Anytime a buyer claims an item is defective and files an INAD, they will get a refund.

When a seller doesn't accept returns, buyers know they can just file an INAD and get a refund and force the seller to pay return shipping.

[48hrs-clothing]

It appears eBay customer services are making statements to it's buyers and sellers which are against eBay's stated policies. You simply got wrong advice.

A buyer has the right to return an item when buyer states reason for return like not as described or defective and it does not matter that seller stated NO RETURNS.

This does not have to be true and buyer is not required to provide evidence to support his claim.

Seller has no option other than accept the return and on receipt issue a full refund and having done this report the buyer as abusive to eBay.

No other choice exists and any CS agent who says otherwise is not applying eBay policies and when cases are escalated then decisions are being made according to eBay's policies. 

You should appeal the decision and ask them to read all case notes as I understand all conversations are recorded and again no guarantee that outcome will be different.