Buyer opened premature refund request, but I CANNOT RESPOND.

[ftr_mike]

Hello there,

I recently sold a $1000+ item. Based on the tracking information, it seems to be held up in customs. It is only a week past the estimated arrival date and despite the tracking information having been provided to the buyer, he has already requested a refund. My paypal balance is now -$1150. 

The problem is that I cannot respond to the request. When I open it, it gives me 3 options: Update tracking information, issue refund, send buyer a message. Whenever I click the first or third option, and press continue, the page just reloads and nothing happens. It still tells me I need to respond by Oct 8. 

What should I do? 

I am worried that I will be unable to respond, the buyer will get a refund automatically, and then he will receive the item shortly after. 

[tyler@ebay · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the tag @pjcdn2005 - 

Hi @ftr_mike, sorry to hear that the item you sold ran into some difficulty. Typically in these situations, we would want you to respond with updated tracking information (if the tracking hasn't already been uploaded to the item). 

As a general rule, if the item has made it to customs and is being held (inspection, import charges, etc) we would usually place the request on hold if we are asked to step in, if not find in your favor outright, as the vast majority of import issues are on the buyer's end to resolve (the most common being that duties need to be paid and the buyer has yet to do so). 

I recommend you make sure that the tracking for the package has been attached to item, and 'respond with updated tracking' if not. If you are running into technical issues when trying to do so, @ypdc_dennis had some suggestions that I also recommend: trying from a different browser, clearing cache and cookies, etc. 

If you're still having issues after doing that please consider contacting Customer Support. Thanks!