Ebay - Buyer Says Item Not Received, Do I Refund Straight Away?

[mk1975]

hi, i hope you can give me some advice. i sold an item on 29 february, buyer paid on 1st march and i posted same day first class.
on 11 march buyer sent a message saying that didnt receive it and had to buy replacement (dress up outfit) . why waited 10 days to contact me! im suspicious but cant accuse.
i filled a claim with royal mail today, shall i refund buyer straight away or ask to wait. i read somewhere royal mail advice to wait 15 working days for an item to arrive. i already asked to confirm address and buyer did. thanks in advance.

[TWR]

Did you send the Item " to be signed for"? I would not Refund but explain to the buyer what avenue you are taking to address the problem.

[Tuvok]

Did you get proof of postage?

What was the value? You might be covered by Royal Mail.

Did buyer pay by Paypal?

Has buyer filed a claim with eBay or contacted you direct?

[mk1975]

thank you for your replies. i posted first class and have proof of postage. buyer contacted me directly, there is no opened case yet. i messaged back asking to confirm address and wrote that i will put a claim to royal mail.

[mk1975]

forgot to add, value it is only a fiver and paid by Paypal but i feel buyer is not being honest.

[Old_Geezer]

Could easily have waited 10 days before getting worried. If Royal Mail insists it can take 15 days (worth knowing !) then say that you are taking the matter up with them. IMO it is reasonable to ensure Royal Mail didn't deliver. But after that, they are your agents, not the buyer's. If you didn't get things signed for to prove delivery then I suspect the buyer would be entitled to a refund.

[hc4361]

It is the seller's legal obligation to ensure the item is received, not just posted.

The buyer could have started the Item Not Received process through eBay and as you don't have a tracking number a refund would have been granted.

Put it down to experience and ask the buyer to start the process so that she will get the refund and you can claim your eBay fees back

[mk1975]

i will do so, thank you

[Kathyan]

Always, always, always send recorded delivery!! Ebay will always find in the buyers favour if you don't. Proof of posting isn't enough, they need proof of delivery. You leave yourself wide open to scammers if you only send by normal post.

[fiction-factory]

The fact that the buyer chose to buy a replacement is not relevant unless there were some timescales agreed for delivery as part of the contact terms. But as it seems you can't prove he didn't receive it then you have to refund him and you will have to try to claim yourself against Royal mail

[grasscarp]

I would wait until you have a response from Royal Mail. If it was not received why wait so long?
I had 2 odd things recently. One in which buyer said not received and had opened a case with ebay. I sent details of tracking and delivery with Collect Plus (they are good and usually cheaper than Royal Mail) and everything you ever send is there on their website to find. As soon as I did that they closed the case!
Other was a chap in Khazakstan leaving me a negative and saying item not received! I talked to ebay about him and said we had corresponded off line, so they needed me to get him to talk about item through ebay. I wrote via ebay, do you have the item or not as I am no clear. He responded 20 minutes later that he had received it. Ebay could see what he said and took down his lying negative.

[mk1975]

Hi, thank you for all replies. I have good news, messaged buyer to ask to open a case so i refund and get my fees back and 2 mins later i got reply saying she received it yesterday.

[Quizproquo]

Royal Mail is 10 working days and yes you should refund or replace because your buyer has waited the recommended amount of time before letting you know.

[hc4361]

Good :)

[kristinalva]

Buyer can report to ebay in following condtions:-
If your item delivery date has passed and also you haven’t received the items 30 days after the delivery date. You can contact ebay customer team here http://qwikfix.co.uk/ebay-contact-number/.
As you have already sold the item on 29th and the buyer is saying after 11 days that he has not received the item. It is the fault from the side of buyer for intimating you lately.

[hc4361]

kristinalva, your information is wrong and should be ignored. Items not received must be reported to eBay by the buyer within 30 days, not after.

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/ebay-money-back-guarantee/how-to-help.html

In future, I advise you to link to the proper company, not some third party shyster.