This is buyer protection?

[blackbirdglen]

Bought an item that was faulty and seller asked that I return it. eBay said he was to pay for return postage so I sent it COD-Postage to Pay. The seller then decided to refuse to collect the parcel and give me a refund. This stalled eBay`s process as it just sat there waiting for the buyer`s advice that he had received the faulty item.  There was no way for me to update eBay of the situation.

So lodged a claim with Paypal who rejected my claim on the basis that they were unable to confirm from the tracking number that I had returned the item. I had provided Paypal with a copy of the COD docket and receipt with tracking number and had also separately given the tracking number in my covering submission.  I had used that number to track the parcel on the Australia Post site.

After the parcel had sat at the Post Office for nearly a month delivery to the seller was attempted, but the seller declined the delivery with the claim that there was no one by that name at the address. Yes, I had definitely sent the parcel to the correct address. 

I have lodged an appeal with Paypal through their general email contact option and, after a frustrating process, have been informed that my appeal has been referred to their Dispute Resolution specialists.  Not confident though about the outcome, especially now that Australia Post has returned the parcel to me.

[harley_babes_hoard]

Unfortunately you didn't follow the ebay proceedure. You should have not sent the item back and sending COD was a bit rude in my opinion. It is a very expensive service. You should have waiting for the seller to send a postage label to you via email and you should have printed it out and stuck it on the item and sent it back. If the seller then did not send the label you only had to ring ebay and it would have been sorted out for you.

[bsal6160]

dont not blame the seller, ebay or paypal for something that was YOUR fault to begin with. Follow the correct procedure as stated and all would have been in your favour.

[digupatin]

A buyer is only protected when they follow the standard procedures set out by eBay or PayPal. You can only claim from one, eBay or Paypal.

It's been posted on the forums a number of times, the buyer should never return anything until they have received return postage by way of a return postage label, pre-paid satchel, or other approved method, with tracking.

COD postage to pay is definately not an approved method.

Too often a buyer has ended up out of pocket when the seller changed their mind about paying the postage or denies receiving the item in dispute.

Unfortunately it looks like you have learned a very expensive lesson.

[phorum_junkie*]

Did you by any chancefund the Paypal payment with a credit card? If so then you may be able to get your bank to do a chargeback, don't leave it too long though as some only allow 90 days to make a claim. Some smaller banks and credit unions do not cover 3rd party payment transactions either, something always worth checking if you want the extra protection from using a credit card.