Returning an item through a forwarding company

[sembonda_0]

Hi all,

I got an item which is the complete opposite of what it was described to be. Women item, instead of men, gold instead of sliver colour, 18 mm instead of 20 mm Daniel Wellington watch band. Anyhow, I feel scammed but want to fix this calmly. 

Thing is I'm based out of Ukraine and have ordered the item through a local forwarding company that has a permanent address in the US. I have no way of returning it through the same channel. What can I do? 

[robot-hands]

Sell it yourself.

You used a forwarder so you are not covered by the MBG.

...but you never know, ebay likes to bend their own rules to suit just about every buyer anymore.

Try a SNAD and see what happens.

[lintbrush*]

@sembonda_0

When you contract a third party to get involved in the transaction, you forfeit your Money Back Guarantee protections.  That's a risk you assume when you use one. 

The seller is only responsible for the item up until to the shipping address provided in the transaction.  While I doubt it happened, what if the re-shipper you hired switched the product deliberately or mistakenly? What if the courrier they used for the international leg damaged the product?  The seller, who had nothing to do with hiring them, is not held responsible.   That is between you and the forwarding company.

The only thing you can do is contact the seller to let them know the wrong item was shipped.  They may just send another one (depending on value - but this would cost you again for international shipping) or they could require you to return the watch band in order to receive a refund, but they would only have to give you a shipping label  from the US address you provided.

However, they aren't required to do anything because of the reshipper you contracted.

[sembonda_0]

Thanks for your input, appreciate it. I must say this is frustrating, as the product eventually made its destination and it's quite obvious it wasn't tempered with... Either a deliberate "mistake" made by the sender who hadn't had the purchased item in stock or an honest mistake which any reasonable seller would fix immediately at their own cost.

Anyways, thanks for your suggestions. I think it basically puts eBay in a "never touch" box for us Ukrainians... Not a safe place to buy with so many bogus accounts, fake reviews and counterfeit products. 

[sembonda_0]

Thanks @robot-hands. Could you please point me in the right direction as to where a SNAD could be opened? I've tried "request a refund", but it doesn't let me do it via eBay, as apparently I bought the product using PayPal (I don't even have an active account there anymore, so no idea how that happened...) and have to dispute through them. 

[missjen831]

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@sembonda_0 wrote:

Thanks @robot-hands. Could you please point me in the right direction as to where a SNAD could be opened? I've tried "request a refund", but it doesn't let me do it via eBay, as apparently I bought the product using PayPal (I don't even have an active account there anymore, so no idea how that happened...) and have to dispute through them. 

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Just keep the item or sell it. You aren’t eligible for the money back guarantee. 

[robot-hands]

You can try your luck opening a paypal not as described case in their resolution center or if you used a credit card you can intiate a chargeback.

Both are stretches though.

Or if you end up with a very sympathetic CSR you might get a courtesy refund.

[hafoster]

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@sembonda_0 wrote:

I've tried "request a refund", but it doesn't let me do it via eBay, as apparently I bought the product using PayPal (I don't even have an active account there anymore, so no idea how that happened...) and have to dispute through them. 

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If that was a credit card, file a credit card chargeback for Not As Described:You'll need to send a single email asking for a prepaid return label --

to provide as supporting documentation to your card issuer.

Sounds like your seller took advantage you're using a freight forwarder.

[sembonda_0]

This so unfair. I have no use whatsoever in this item and I doubt I'll have any luck trying to sell it in Ukraine. Anyways, hoping for some reasonability from eBay or the seller - in my world it's their fault and the responsibilty is fully their to fix it! I paid for it in full (which wasn't cheap at all btw) and got scammed by a fishy seller. Anyways, lesson learned - back to Amazon, never had an issue with them... 

[sembonda_0]

Omg @hafoster you're 100% right. Just heard back from those freaking scammers: 

"We can assure you the correct item was shipped. Perhaps there was a mixup with the mail forwarding service that you utilized. We would recommend opening a case with eBay to resolve the matter."

They're quite obviously trying to put this on our best mailing service in Ukraine which I never had a negative experience with. How can I make sure there are consequence for their bad faith operation? It's a shame so many people get scammed on this platform... Here's their shop FYI - https://www.ebay.com/usr/fashiondirectly?ul_noapp=true

[missjen831 · Accepted solution]

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@sembonda_0 wrote:

This so unfair. I have no use whatsoever in this item and I doubt I'll have any luck trying to sell it in Ukraine. Anyways, hoping for some reasonability from eBay or the seller - in my world it's their fault and the responsibilty is fully their to fix it! I paid for it in full (which wasn't cheap at all btw) and got scammed by a fishy seller. Anyways, lesson learned - back to Amazon, never had an issue with them... 

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You can’t expect eBay or the seller to be reasonable when you had the item shipped to a 3rd party. 

[aproudparent2010]

When you use a forwarding company you forfeit your buyer protection.

[lintbrush*]

Well, they actually have very good feedback with no negatives and almost 1,700 positives for the past 12 months.

I have almost zero doubt they made a mistake, but this is on you.

If I owed you $100 and gave it to someone of my choosing to give to you and they ran off with it, I'd still owe you the money.  If you sent your agent over to collect it and they ran off with the money, then you'd be out the money.

It's no different in your scenario.  

Sorry it happened.

[dtexley3]

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@sembonda_0 wrote:

Omg @hafoster you're 100% right. Just heard back from those freaking scammers: 

"We can assure you the correct item was shipped. Perhaps there was a mixup with the mail forwarding service that you utilized. We would recommend opening a case with eBay to resolve the matter."

They're quite obviously trying to put this on our best mailing service in Ukraine which I never had a negative experience with. How can I make sure there are consequence for their bad faith operation? It's a shame so many people get scammed on this platform... Here's their shop FYI - https://www.ebay.com/usr/fashiondirectly?ul_noapp=true

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You purchased using a forwarding service which voids the MBG.  You can open a SNAD, however it's up to you to pay the postage from your location back to the forwarding service.  I understand why you might feel this is unfair, but that is the risk you, the buyer, takes when using a forwarding service.  I would contact the forwarding service and work with them to get the item back to their location and then file a SNAD return request to get your money back.

[missjen831]

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@dtexley3 wrote:

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@sembonda_0 wrote:

Omg @hafoster you're 100% right. Just heard back from those freaking scammers: 

"We can assure you the correct item was shipped. Perhaps there was a mixup with the mail forwarding service that you utilized. We would recommend opening a case with eBay to resolve the matter."

They're quite obviously trying to put this on our best mailing service in Ukraine which I never had a negative experience with. How can I make sure there are consequence for their bad faith operation? It's a shame so many people get scammed on this platform... Here's their shop FYI - https://www.ebay.com/usr/fashiondirectly?ul_noapp=true

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You purchased using a forwarding service which voids the MBG.  You can open a SNAD, however it's up to you to pay the postage from your location back to the forwarding service.  I understand why you might feel this is unfair, but that is the risk you, the buyer, takes when using a forwarding service.  I would contact the forwarding service and work with them to get the item back to their location and then file a SNAD return request to get your money back.

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But again....he’s not covered by the MBG. This would be a win for the seller. eBay will close the case in the sellers favor if the seller fights it.