topic Re: Refund Sent Too Soon (Again) in Buying

Refund Sent Too Soon (Again)

best3700 — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 10:39:37 GMT

Three or four weeks after the latest expected delivery date, I advised the seller that the items had not yet arrived. I stated that I still wanted them and was just letting them know, but was prepared to wait longer. They very courteously replied, suggesting I contact my local post office. I was unable to do so immediately, owing to a public holiday followed by a personal commitment, but did so as soon as possible. Was told by post office they would "look into it". Next day it was delivered and that same day I received advice from eBay that a refund had been made.

This is the second time since covid-19 delays began that the same thing has happened. On the previous occasion I had considerable difficulty re-paying the amount owed. the store told me to just order another one and send a note, but the item was no longer on the website. After several emails, I was given an email address to send money to, but that email bounced. Finally was given another email address which did go through, but to this day I am uncertain whether the store actually received the money or it went into someone's private bank account. The store certainly did not seem particularly concerned about it. I won't be wasting my time following this one up!

EBay's refund system seems badly flawed. Surely it needs an extra step asking (again, if necessary) whether a refund or send again is appropriate and it would have been sensible to send that question only after I had replied that the item appeared to really be missing. EBay's guaranteed delivery is a nice option, but it should not be abused, and it would be just as good if it were not so badly automated. Given that I ultimately pay for the insurance cover and that delays have been so prevalent during this pandemic, it really needs some modification. Thanks.

Best3700

Re: Refund Sent Too Soon (Again)

davewil1964 — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 10:49:07 GMT

If you got a refund, you definitely opened an item not received case. Maybe try contacting the seller instead.

The options are many. You seem to have chosen the one that gets you a refund. Maybe not blame eBay for your misunderstanding?

Re: Refund Sent Too Soon (Again)

*sons_and_daughters* — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 11:53:01 GMT

If you sent the seller a message using the item not received option, it automatically opens a dispute, even if that wasn't your intention. After X amount of days, if the seller hadn't refunded themselves, ebay would have forced the refund and given the seller a defect on their account.

In future, if you want to send the seller a message letting them know an item hasn't arrived, but you're willing to wait a bit longer, use the "I want to know about using my item, or ask the seller a question" (or however it's worded) option. That sends a message without opening any kind of dispute.

Re: Refund Sent Too Soon (Again)

best3700 — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 23:38:59 GMT

Thanks to both responders; Davewill for his gratuitous advice ('tell someone who might care'), and Tipping-point for actually explaining a workaround. I will try to use that next time, if I remember, although IF EBay were even slightly interested in improving a pretty ordinary system, it seems like it would not be too hard to fix it so it did not need explanations like that to make it work. Cheers,

Best3700

Re: Refund Sent Too Soon (Again)

sugar249 — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 01:21:35 GMT

@best3700 wrote:
Thanks to both responders; Davewill for his gratuitous advice ('tell someone who might care'), and Tipping-point for actually explaining a workaround. I will try to use that next time, if I remember, although IF EBay were even slightly interested in improving a pretty ordinary system, it seems like it would not be too hard to fix it so it did not need explanations like that to make it work. Cheers,
Best3700

If you had bothered to read the help files, you would have known, but hey it's better to slack off one of the contributors here.

I think your comment ''if I remember'' says it all. Easier to blame Ebay, then to look up the help or remember.