Buyer opens ridiculous PayPal claim- am I screwed?

[tripledoublesportscards]

Hey everyone. Long time lurker and first time poster.  I'll try and keep this short !

I'm located in Australia and I sold a couple of items (trading cards) to a buyer in France. Total was $165, shipped fully tracked in accordance to eBay / PayPal policy.

Buyer was charged fees by French customs. He said he refuses to pick up the package at the post office unless I pay the tax for him!

In the "item not received" dispute, he claims because the item was shipped fully tracked, declared at full value, and because I didn't warn him about potential tax charges, therefore I'm responsible to pay the fees imposed by the French government.

My response- (1) There is no way a seller can be familiar with the laws of different countries; (2) It is actually against the law to falsify documents; (3) I would have had to fill out a customs forms anyway even if I shipped standard mail.

Just wondering if anyone has been or know someone who has been in a similar situation?

I've responded with screenshots of his threats and demands he made on eBay. I've also provided a very detailed statement expressing my views and concerns related to the issue.

I have read some horror stories where buyers have manipulated the system and I fear that I may become a victim of the process.

Do I even remotely stand a chance to win the case?

Any insight would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[tripledoublesportscards]

Yeah the fact he went straight to PayPal instead of eBay, sort of suggests to me that he has done this people. Of course that's pure speculation.

There are "attempted delivery" scans on the tracking, so it's not even a case of item not received, which makes this entire situation even more crazy.

He claims if it was sent as a normal letter, he would not have been charged the fees which isn't true, because I would have needed to fill out a form anyways. And I would have declared exact value on that as well.

Just a really weird situation.

[lm-entertainment]

as is the usual case, ebay's help pages don't provide a clear cut answer - there is the below screenshot, but then on another page it says that the seller should include a disclaimer in listings saying that the buyer is responsible for any import fees. though, to my knowledge; and it appears that everyone above is of the same opinion - buyers have and always are responsible for any associated import taxes and people from the EU should know this better than most. 

unfortunately, the french customs site is in - you guessed it - french, with only selected parts in english. regardless, you shouldn't have any problems in winning this case. 

[tripledoublesportscards]

Yeah I was quite surprised she even suggested that to me!

Since France is a part of the EU, the buyer should have been more than aware how the law works in their country.

Chances are I will be calling PayPal again so I make sure to point that out to them.

I think the fact that this is their law, should hopefully work in my favor.

Hopefully PayPal sees it that way !

[tripledoublesportscards]

Even almost 24hrs after this situation has occurred, I still can't believe someone would think it's reasonable to ask the seller to cover the customs fees for the buyer!

I did forward all screenshots of our eBay conversation and also made note of it in my statement to them. So fingers crossed, they do their investigation objectively without bias toward the buyer.

Yeah I did tick the option to return the package if it doesn't get delivered. But I've never had anything like this happen in the past, so I'm not sure how long that would take or what the PayPal process would be.

It's not "item not received" as the buyer claims. There already been delivery attempts, that fact along with the fact he refuses to pay the fees should decide the case in my favour, without going through the 10 day investigation process.

[imastawka]

When a buyer doesn't receive an item

The buyer is responsible for paying any customs and duty fees for international postage.

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-pol...

[retrowise]

He got no chance if tracking shows the item is delivered at customs waiting for pickup.

He definitevelly has no chance if "He said he refuses to pick up the package at the post office unless I pay the tax for him!"

Make sure you send copy of his message to Paypal dispute. In unlikely case Paypal would still sight with him, I'd take it up with trade comission or even further. You've done your bit properly as a seller.

[tripledoublesportscards]

Thanks for that 🙂

Yeah, I tried to look at eBay's policies and as you say it is not very clear at all. When I was on the phone to them last night, they did confirm this responsibility for the buyer only.

I did find some information the the EU website and it does indicate 2 type of taxes (Duty & VAT), so really, I'm fairly certain he is well aware of this.

Which adds to the frustration even more.

[tripledoublesportscards]

Thanks for everyone's feedback. It really helped put my mind at ease and also allowed me to gain some new knowledge along the way 

Received an email from PayPal this morning.

Because the buyer has reported that the claim has been amicably resolved,
this case has been closed.

When he escalated the claim, communication had stopped between me and him. 

Regardless, a pleasant surprise indeed, a decision that I happily accept 

[countessalmirena]

@tripledoublesportscards,

I'm glad this worked out for you. Hopefully you won't be faced with a similar issue in the future, but if you do, you will know that it doesn't matter whether or not the buyer is aware that any customs or duty fees are his/her responsibility. Sheer common sense should inform the buyer that it's the case! - but in any event, the buyer is responsible and should take any such potential costs into consideration. Ignorance of the fact doesn't provide an excuse.

If you want some sort of disclaimer, feel free to use the following (tailored if you need to personalise it or re-word it):

BUYERS OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA
We welcome international buyers.

Please note that the buyer is responsible for paying any customs and duty fees for international postage.

As parcels are deemed to have been delivered where refusal by the buyer to pay any applicable customs, duty or import fees results in goods not being released by Customs, we encourage buyers to familiarise themselves with their local customs, import and duty fees as appropriate for purchases sent from Australia.

[brerrabbit585]

You're lucky they didn't accept the package and pay the fees, then wreck the items and claim they weren't as described!