Seller has accepted a return, instigated refund, after receiving returned item he cancelled refund.

[snowrow]

The item was not as described and had a small broken part and no access code to run the software, so it was returned upon agreement from the seller.  The seller had refused to refund shipping so I returned the item at my own expense.  

Upon receiving the returned item, the seller claims that he reported three AAA batteries were missing in the return shipment and that it must be Ebay who cancelled the refund.  Message from PayPal indicates stopped by seller.

It is impossible to contact Ebay for help on this matter.

The Ebay return system will not allow me to contact them for another two weeks at which time I am afraid the seller will be gone South.  Any thoughts from members on how to proceed with Ebay will be helpful.

Snowrow

[femmefan1946]

It takes a long time for a seller to 'go south'. Unless he is kicked off eBay for bad behaviour, there is usually a breathing space of about six months, which among other things, allows eBay to collect their fees.

If eBay and Paypal are not willing to refund you because some of the return shipment was missing (he said/she said), go instead to the credit card I hope you back your Paypal account with, phone their 1-800 customer service number and ask about a chargeback.

I have to admit, as a seller I am happy to hear that eBay/PP will not refund when the return shipment is not what was originally shipped. That's a fairly common buyer scam.

This is not meant as a reflection on you, just a comment generally.

[dmil8030]

Hello 'snowrow', 

<<The item was not as described . . .so it was returned upon agreement from the seller.  . . . .  

Upon receiving the returned item, the seller claims . . . three AAA batteries were missing in the return shipment and that it must be Ebay who cancelled the refund.  Message from PayPal indicates stopped by seller.>>

The question is --  were the three AAA batteries missing when he received the return?  In other words, did you remove three AAA batteries before mailing it back?

You don't say.

I take it that you have had communication with the seller in which he asserts it was not him but ebay who halted the claim.  Yet the official version shows it to be the seller himself.  That is usually the version to believe.

At this point the seller has both the item and the money.  Is the item in fact  'minus the batteries'?  If so, you can reasonably expect to receive a partial refund, - minus the cost of three AAA cells.

<<It is impossible to contact Ebay for help on this matter.>>

Really?  What happens when you use the Help & Contact link at the top of the page and endeavour to click your way to a phone number and pass code so as to speak to an ebay representative?

[momcqueen]

If you have an open Returns case, you get routed through in a way that it is actually impossible to find a number within Help and Contact pertaining to your problem. Been there.