Return case closed with no information

[big-pallooka]

I ordered a dock for my laptop (24 Jan 2023).

According to the seller's page, it was compatible with my model. I sent photos showing proof of incompatibility with my return request (31 Jan Return started).

Seller hasn't changed incorrect details on page for other identical docks they are selling.

Today I got a message ("This return is closed. This return was closed on 7 Mar.") No other details. Did the seller close it? Did eBay close it? Why? What is my next move? I paid using ZipPay.

[countessalmirena]

If you opened the case on 31 January, you should long since have returned the item to the seller - or if the seller did not accept the return within the case, you should have escalated after 3 business days by asking eBay to step in.

If you don’t progress the case by returning or escalating, it times out and will automatically close without a refund.

Dif you not read the eBay MBG page?

[sandypebbles]

You not only need to follow the correct process, you also need to follow through with it

If you don't, eBay assume you are happy with the outcome and close the case

[*sons_n_daughters*]

Ebay automatically closed it because you didn't respond to it. As others have said, you should have escalated it (ask ebay to step in and help), but you ignored it, so it closed. The seller didn't do it. I doubt there is much you can do about it now.

[big-pallooka]

I kept checking back on it and didn't see anywhere to escalate. Had it in my mind the process was longer. Probably should have been doing it when I was fully awake.  I shouldn't have presumed I would be led through the process by the hand. Thanks for letting me know what I did wrong.

[*sons_n_daughters*]

Is Zip Pay paid for with a credit card? If so, you might be able to do a chargeback. Otherwise, all you can really do now is list the item and sell it yourself. Make sure you add enough to cover postage and ebay fees (fees are around 13.4% I think, and that includes postage). 

I don't know how long it's been since you sold something (it appears by your feedback that it's more than 5 years), but you need to sign up for managed payment so you can get paid. PayPal is no longer a thing for sellers. Look in the help pages for managed payments. Plus, there will be up to a 30 day hold on funds, but if tracking shows as delivered, they will generally release the funds early.

In the mean time, familiarise yourself with the ebay money back guarantee, so you know what to do if this happens again.

[papermoon.lady]

---

@big-pallooka wrote:

I kept checking back on it and didn't see anywhere to escalate. Had it in my mind the process was longer. Probably should have been doing it when I was fully awake.  I shouldn't have presumed I would be led through the process by the hand. Thanks for letting me know what I did wrong.

---

For future reference:

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/buying/default/ask-ebay-to-step-in?id=4701

[countessalmirena]

I was sure I’d read that purchases where a transaction is paid in multiple payments aren’t able to be reversed (chargeback), but I can’t immediately see any such statement.

Zip Pay do not offer buyer protection so you’re out of luck there. (They merely tell buyers to arrange a return with the seller directly - ha. When the seller is a reprehensible scoundrel, that is scarcely likely.)

In all sincerity, I don’t recommend using AfterPay or Zip Pay or anything of that sort unless you are buying from an Australian business that can be trusted to correct consumer issues under ACL. For that matter, make yourself aware of the terms of any refund; where does the money go if you are refunded?

If your sole reliance for buyer protection is eBay’s MBG, you’ll need to be more… well, not brutal, but very by-the-book, adhering rigidly to dispute timeframes and jumping in to escalate asap if there’s no seller resolution within, let’s say, 5 business days at most.

NOT ONLY, BUT ALSO (in the grand Monty Python tradition):

Not only that, but bear in mind that if a buyer opens MBG disputes quite frequently, there’s a risk that eBay will cease to cover that buyer under its MBG. No doubt eBay does risk assessments on buyers, and they might decide that Buyer A’s buying behaviour poses a high risk (purchases from dodgy sellers very often and opens disputes at the drop of a hat)…

This is just something over which I’ve mused, given that PayPal Buyer Protection will not be available if PayPal is removed as a payment method in the future, and the chargeback option isn’t available for every sort of purchase (especially not in lieu of product warranty), so it will all come down to disputes squashed into one method with no room to wriggle or with any fallback or any spreading out disputes into different locations…

In other words, buyers should not buy with the thought in the back of their mind “Bit risky, might be a fake, but I’ll be covered if there is a problem.”