Customer didn’t return an item and eBay refunded them

[lovewebme]

I am a seller on eBay and I have 60 days free return policy. I have honoured all returns and refunded previous customers hassle free. Recently I have a customer who requested a return, I approved immediately and messaged the buyer how to ship the item back. Before the 60 days return is up, the buyer requested eBay to step in to speed up the refund process, without returning the item or getting in touch with me. Ebay initially ruled in my favour without refunding the buyer since the item has not been returned. But the buyer appealed subsequently and eBay refunded them blindly without investigating if the item has been returned and getting in touch with me to check facts. When I appealed to eBay’s second ruling, eBay representative said they ruled in favour of the buyer because I did not respond to the return request right away; but I did, eBay only thought I didn’t respond that’s why the buyer requested eBay to step in, but in reality the buyer requested eBay to step in only to speed up the refund process because the 60 day return expiry had not been up yet, and not because I (the seller) did not respond.

Subsequently I emailed eBay about this, they kept repeating the same false statement that I did not respond to the return request (if they even take a little time to check the return record they will see I approved the return immediately) and subsequently I replied to let them know I did respond promptly, ebay simply ignored me (took more than 72 hours to reply my email, I have to keep emailing them to get the same false statement mentioned above). Quite frustrating.

Does any seller have any similar kind of experience? What do you do in circumstances like this?

[regs43]

Was the Item shipped to USA or Canada? And did you provide a return label and upload it to the case or message it to them in messages? If not I assume thats why the buyer got the case reversed.

[ricarmic]

I think there is a misunderstanding about the timeframes, the 60 day return window is the timeframe that the buyer can request a return, it is not the timeframe to complete a return once a case has been opened.

Once a return is requested (ie a case opened) one has the "3 days" limit to resolve or the bots will close in the buyers favour. Emails/messages should have been received with the "due date" of 3 business days in them.

There's also a misconception I think that replying to case with a message "stops the clock". It doesn't. 

[recped]

@lovewebme 

If you offer Free Returns approving the return is not enough, you must also provide a return label regardless of the reason for the return and that has to be done within 3 days or the buyer can escalate and eBay only considers a "responce" has happened if you provide the shipping label or compensate the buyer in cash in advance if a label is not possible.

Your buyer probably told eBay they were waiting for a label which was never provided.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Returns from cases (such as Item Not As Described) are something completely different from your own return policy. It doesn't matter if you offer 30 day returns, 60 day returns, or no returns at all. The cases have their own rules and regulations that are not changed by your return policy.

When someone opens a return, you will be given a deadline to respond. Respond doesn't mean message them. A response has to be an attempt to provide a label or negotiate a refund (full or partial) that the buyer approves. If the buyer doesn't approve a partial refund, you have to provide a label by the deadline. 

An attempt to provide the label means you either buy a label and provide it in the case, or you message the buyer and ask them to invoice you for the cost of a return label so that you can reimburse them. 

eBay needs to see that you did the above before the deadline that is set in the case. Usually the deadline is a few days, not 30 days. If you do not do the above, eBay sees it that you did not resolve the case. They can be asked to step in. If they step in, the buyer will get the refund and will not be obligated to return the item.

Assuming you either sent them a label or instructed them to buy a label and invoice you before the deadline, and the buyer did not send the item back and got a refund, then it must be an error on the part of eBay. If that happened, use Twitter or Facebook (you can create a throw away Twitter easily) to contact @AskeBay and explain the situation. The "Social Media" customer service accounts are run by actual eBay employees who better understand the policies. If you did fulfill your obligations and the buyer somehow got refunded without sending the item back, I'm sure eBay would probably comp you the refund. 

If it is a really expensive item, you could print a return label and reach out to the buyer with a polite message explaining what happened, and hope that they will return it now that they got their refund. Keep in mind, they aren't obligated to because if you didn't resolve the return by the deadline, you didn't fulfill your end of the policies you agreed to when selling. 

Ultimately, it is a learning experience. Hopefully it wasn't an expensive item, and you can get some value out of the experience.

[brettjet38]

No matter what you sell on eBay, or what your RETURN POLICY is or is not, the ONLY policy that will apply to your sales is the one below...

The BUYER does not need to follow your policy they only need to follow the one below...

This is just an excerpt of the return portion of said policy, you maybe should read up on the rest as a Seller on eBay, your policy while generous as it is, will not trump the... 

...eBay Money Back Guarantee policy.

When the item received by the buyer doesn't match the listing

• Actions and timeframes
• Deciding the outcome
• Exclusions and special coverage

Sellers are required to deliver the item as it was described in the listing. If the buyer receives the wrong item, or the item arrives broken, damaged, or faulty (and was not clearly described as such), they are entitled to return it for a refund, even if the seller doesn't offer returns.

Buyers and sellers may agree to another solution, such as a full or partial refund while the buyer keeps the item, or a replacement item instead of a refund.

Both buyers and sellers must meet all applicable return requirements. If an item is being returned, the seller is responsible for return shipping.

Actions & time frames for "not as described" returns

Action	Time frame
The buyer requests a return Start a return request	Latest: 30 calendar days after the estimated or actual delivery date or within the seller's stated returns window, whichever is longer Trading Cards have a more limited return window. See Exclusions and special coverage
The seller responds to the buyer's request The seller is required to respond and provide a solution to the buyer's issue.	Latest: 3 business days after the request date In some cases, eBay may automatically accept the return on the seller's behalf
If the item is being returned
	The buyer sends the item back	Latest: The latest date to ship the return will be shown in an email sent by eBay to the buyer, as well as within the return request If the buyer does not ship the return by the specified date, eBay may close the return request
The seller issues a refund If return tracking shows the item was delivered, or if the item was shipped through eBay International Shipping, eBay may automatically issue a full refund on the seller's behalf.	Latest: 2 business days after receiving the returned item In some cases, sellers have additional time to issue the refund. You can find the refund deadline in the return details.
Ask eBay to step in If the seller hasn't responded or hasn't issued a refund by the refund deadline, or if the buyer and seller can't reach a resolution, either party can ask us to step in and help. eBay may step in without the buyer asking if the seller didn't respond to the return request	Earliest: Once the seller has accepted the return, or 3 business days after the request date Latest: 21 business days after the request date, if the seller never responded 10 business days after the refund deadline has passed, if the seller is issuing a refund eBay may hold the return request open for up to 35 business days after the date the return was accepted

Deciding the outcome when the item doesn't match the listing

When a buyer reports that an item doesn't match the listing and the transaction meets our eligibility requirements, we will look for all of the following:

• Evidence that the buyer and seller have each met their return requirements
• Whether the seller breached eBay policies when listing the item
• Whether the item can be shipped back to the seller
• Proof of return delivery, if the item was being returned

If we determine that the seller did not meet their return requirements:

• The buyer will receive a refund for the full cost of the item and original shipping, and
• The seller will be required to reimburse eBay for the amount of the refund, and
• The buyer may not be required to return the item

If we determine that the buyer did not meet their return requirements:

• The buyer may not receive a full refund for the item and/or shipping costs

[chicweb]

You are showing the INAD policy "When the item received by the buyer doesn't match the listing". "Actions & time frames for "not as described" returns".

Of course, a buyer could always use this return reason... no matter what. But it goes against TOS if they are misusing it for any other kind of returns.

[chicweb]

I had one case similar in the past. eBay sided with the buyer, even if they didn't returned the item. I was furious...

But, note that I accepted the return right away and was willing to pay for the return shipping label, as soon as the buyer invoiced me (or showed me a receipt).

I had to discuss with customer service on Facebook with eBay for Business and explained to them. I then waited a few days and sent an appeal, explaining everything for the X time, and they sided with me and reimbursed me the amount.

I would suggest you to discuss with eBay for Business on Facebook. They seem to have more tools and power to help. But, did you do everything in your power to accomodate the buyer in the process?

[chicweb]

By the way, for what I read, with INAD, the best way is to always accept the return, pay for the return... even if they are wrong. Then, afterward, you report the user and explain everything. At this point, it's between the seller and eBay to figure things out. I guess eBay tag the buyer's account, if they misused the process ?

eBay can reimburse the shipping back (or part of it?) I think... That's what I heard, but I still don't have enough experience yet to confirm this or not.

[teenytrinkets]

I'm not even sure how this was possible. If there's no tracking with "delivered" to prove the return was received, how can a refund be possible??? Certainly an appeal should have to verify this to overturn the original decision?

The fact that this isn't obvious to customer service when looking at it now is absurd. Obviously there's a fault in the return process if this was allowed to happen. And this type of leniency with buyers for returns just perpetuating the repeated abuse of returns by scammers.