Buyer received itgem after case closed. What are my options?

[hatsfromoz]

Hi all

I am in Australia and someone from UK  bought an item that was promptly shipped. That was in Nov. Tracking shows item in UK in about 2 weeks, then stuck. Customer opened a case. At that time postal services are overloaded and UK had postal worker strikes, so all deliveries were delayed. This was communicated to the buyer as well as I engaged Australia Post to try and find parcel. At this point customer was very much active, replying to messages, etc.

Long story short, eBay closed the case, refunding buyer. No problem, I understand. However item was finally delivered a week later. Now customer has $220 item for free, which I am not happy about.

Here is what I did so far: (this was going on for the last 3 weeks)

1. Contacted e-mail and appealed case. Decision held and eBay suggested I contact buyer directly

2. Sent multiple messages to buyer asking for payment or return item (at our expense). Silience

3. Multiple complaints to eBay eventually resulted in their promise to look into it and, possibly, suspend buyer. I have a feeling they just told me that to get rid of me

4. Tried to call customer multiple time. Always get voicemail. Of course, no actions on my message. Tried SMS multiple times too

5. Yesterday I contacted their local police station and filed a "theft" and/or "fraud" case. Also added buyer to BadBuyersList

Anything else I can do?

It is not that much matter of money, but principle. Being a buyer myself on different platforms, I understand post, especially international, can be slow at times. Yes, I would open case, occasionally getting refund. But if item finally arrives, I would contact seller, offering to pay (if I still need the item) or asking them to organise return (if I do not need it anymore). Had buyers do same with me. This is normal, ethical action. First time I got a thief like that.

[hatsfromoz]

How do you get to speak with "International Dispute Resolution Centre".

It is quite obvious Indian support staff are unwilling to escalate the matter or make a decision. Perhaps they afraid it cause some metrics hit?

[jellybirddesigns]

What if you log in to Ebay.co.uk and use the chat function there?

[hatsfromoz]

I did. Same. Quite possible it is same "call center". Indian names.

[hatsfromoz]

Just wondering if it worth going to VCAT (Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal)? It will cost about $100 which will be paid by eBay if I win.

Will certainly take at least a year before mediation/hearing

[papermoon.lady]

There are also international debt collectors. Not sure what their fees are, but you could have a look.

An Australian buyer once came here to say that a German seller had put an international debt collector after him for a debt of about $20.

[jellybirddesigns]

You could look into international debt collectors, but my personal take on it is to write it off in your taxes.

[imastawka]

If all has failed, I think you need to write it off as a learning experience.

Maybe add another dollar or two to each listing, so that if it happens again, you have a contingency to cover your costs - for whatever reason sees you out of pocket.

I hope you have blocked this buyer from future sales.

[papermoon.lady]

From a practical point of view it would probably mean less stress, but I think the OP does not want the buyer to get away with it.

[gutterpunkz05]

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@hatsfromoz wrote:

How do you get to speak with "International Dispute Resolution Centre".

It is quite obvious Indian support staff are unwilling to escalate the matter or make a decision. Perhaps they afraid it cause some metrics hit?

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Hi there,   The International Dispute Centre, is virtually non contactable.  You can request  Ebay AU  CS, arrange for them to contact you, but in all likelyhood you will miss the call at some ungodly hour.  And as you do not have an open case, they may not even bother, have never heard of an appeal being re-opened, especially as the IDRC are virtually a law unto themselves and they can be very vindictive.

There is a way to force an override of a non  return email address, but they do not like it, cost me thousands in lost sales, did I mention they can be very vindictive.

While  most call centres are situated off shore, (country of choice)  trying to ascertain where a call centre is located is irrelevant, especially if relying on name/accent of staff.

All the best, but be carefull

[countessalmirena]

gutterpunkz, would the risk you mention apply if, for instance, the OP attempted a complaint through the AFCA, citing Adyen?

(It may be a stretch in any case…)