I declined a return and buyer filed a chargeback

[faeriechilde]

I had a buyer purchase a dress from my ebay shop.  It states in the listing that I do not accept returns.

After she received the item, she opened a return case because the dress did not fit her, and I declined the return because as I mentioned, it states in the listing that I don't accept returns.  I also messaged the buyer and pointed this out to her.

Today, weeks after I told her I don't accept returns, she has filed a chargeback with her credit card company because I did not give her a refund.  Now ebay has a hold on the funds for the transaction.

Has anybody ever had an issue like this?  I uploaded evidence on the dispute page showing tracking proving the item was delivered, showing the details of the return case, and showing my return policy.  I feel like I have a pretty solid case, but I'm really worried that I'm going to be forced to refund the buyer even though she still is in possession of the item she purchased.

I'm honestly really livid about this.  How is keeping an item AND trying to strongarm me into giving a full refund anything but fraud and theft?

I tried to call ebay about this, but right now they have their customer service line shut down and there is literally no way to talk to customer service.

[divwido]

eBay, this is your job.  You should back up sellers who  do not accept returns or who have buyers try to side step that policy. 

[pjcdn2005]

What type of chargeback is it? You're in MP so if it is an unauthorized use chargeback all you need is proof of delivery to the payment address.  (Paypal just required proof of shipping)

If it is another type of chargeback, I'm not sure how MP handles those although typically most chargebacks are in favor of the buyer.

[faeriechilde]

I don't know exactly what kind of chargeback it is.  The message I received from ebay said the buyer "filed a payment dispute outside of eBay" and " the reason for this dispute is that the buyer hasn't received a refund."

I don't even understand why ebay is letting this go through.  Why would I give the buyer a refund if I declined the return request, per my store policies?  She still has the dress, so giving her a refund would basically be like giving her the item for free.

[uniwarehousewares]

in my personal opinion if tracking shows delivered to buyer address then you will win the case, then this buyer might leave you negative feedback in order to see if you can be blackmailed or not. you are lucky that this buyer didn't open not as describe otherwise return was going to be approved automatically and he was suppose to get a free return label from your pocket provide by ebay to this buyer.

he /she has only negative feedback to leave you, before he leave you any feedback you should report this buyer so if he leave you negative then you can appeal about it. 

[lacemaker3]

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@faeriechilde wrote:

I don't know exactly what kind of chargeback it is.  The message I received from ebay said the buyer "filed a payment dispute outside of eBay" and " the reason for this dispute is that the buyer hasn't received a refund."

I don't even understand why ebay is letting this go through.  Why would I give the buyer a refund if I declined the return request, per my store policies?  She still has the dress, so giving her a refund would basically be like giving her the item for free.

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Chargebacks are filed with and decided by the buyer's credit card company. eBay has no control over the decision, they just have to accept it.

Nobody here can predict what the CC decision will be. They tend to favor their customers, obviously. The reason given with the return is vague, but it is probably copied from whatever options the CC provided to the buyer when they filed the chargeback. Some CCs will expect merchants to accept returns, so they may decide for their buyer and take the refund because you didn't accept the return request. If you had accepted the return, then they would probably have required the dress to be returned first. Although some CCs only expect the buyer to make the item available for the seller to arrange the return.

I'm sorry that you probably aren't going to like this answer, but it's the truth. Many CC companies are more demanding of sellers than eBay is. 

[outdatedrecreated]

You're going to lose. In August, I sold a laptop to a buyer. In September received notification of a charge back request stating it was "unauthorized charge". I provided tracking information showing it was delivered. On Oct 12, received a notification that I was protected under seller protection and they released my funds. Then, a month later, on November 12, received a notification that the buyer had changed their reason for the dispute and said it was "not as described". There was no option to appeal. I'm out my computer, my money, and have a chargeback fee on top of it. eBay doesn't care, and they surely lack the ability to tell the truth. They told me I had to contact the buyer if I want my item back or want to go to small claims. Here's the kicker, its outside of 90 days so I don't have the buyer's info and they won't give it to me. The mafia has more credibility than eBay. Don't sell anything you cannot afford to be scammed out of. That's the best advice I can give. 

[jen_768395]

Because the buyer attempted to return it, their cc will side with them

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@jen_768395 wrote:

Because the buyer attempted to return it, their cc will side with them

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^^^THIS^^^

All the buyer has to do is show the attempt to return and they win.

The buyer gets the item and their money back. The seller gets the money pulled from them plus they get to pay a $20 chargeback fee.

The best return policy is ANY policy other than a no return policy.

[lamber9347]

@faeriechilde - The problem is you aren't understanding that your own terms  in your listings do not supersede the policies for this platform. You keep stating that you don't accept returns but it clearly states in the TOS that even if you specify “no returns accepted,” under the eBay Money Back Guarantee, the buyer can still return an item if it doesn’t match the listing description. Had you accepted the return the buyer would have had to pay for return shipping if they had selected doesn't fit as the reason. That is the policy here. I'm not saying your buyer was correct, but that is the policy for this platform.

Since the dress doesn't fit the buyer and you refused her return when she was expecting the MBG, now she is probably upset. You had an opportunity to get the dress back and resell it. Buyers only have one chance to open a return case so obviously she selected item doesn't fit and wasn't trying to cheat the system by filing an INAD. When you declined it voided her one chance at a return via eBay. She was inadvertently forced to go to her CC company. 

I do still want to say you have beautiful clothing for sale and I find your pricing very reasonable. I would be happy to purchase from you and I have marked your store for me to come back to. I'm sorry I didn't write what you'd like to hear, but read up on the TOS and you'll see what I am saying. You've got quite a but of FB accumulated so obviously you are a good seller. Try to concentrate on that and let this one go. So you got one bad buyer, it was bound to happen at some point. Best of luck to you.... 

[mattashine]

I feel for you. But here are some hard truths about this place and the other entities associated with it.

Adding terms like "as is" and "no returns" does not override the policies of the company processing payment or eBay itself. That is just reality. People like to have some faith their terms are iron clad. The only ones that are iron clad are the ones that are the policies shared by ebay and who collects your money.

I am hoping one small possible positive with ebay managed payments is it gets rid of one layer of bureaucracy. I had a few chargebacks over the years where eBay sided with me, but Pay Pal did not. Pay Pal's 180 day refund window is a bit disturbing as well.

[mtgraves7984]

I'm honestly really livid about this.  How is keeping an item AND trying to strongarm me into giving a full refund anything but fraud and theft?

@faeriechilde 

I'm sorry you're going through this (I probably did, too... only one time )... but 'No Returns' and no refunds are two different animals entirely. And truthfully, you allowed this 'strongarm' move. Had you accepted the Return... you'd have refunded only the item price (seller pays shipping, since a remorse return), and then only after you got the dress back . Also, you would have your dress back to resell... and I find that if something sells once, it will again.

I know you're livid now, but step away from it for a bit. Breathe. A lot of us have been there. Good luck to you.