Emails are completely useless. They're not read by humans in the first iteration, but instead - some days after being received - there will be a bot-generated response. The response will look as though someone didn't even read your email, and has replied on a completely different topic with a placebo answer. (Keyword-triggered.)
Using the Have us call you option seems to connect the enquirer with a CS rep higher up, with the ability to make decisions.
Have photos ready (as files that you can upload or email) to show the damaged area before and after, as i-once-was-bump says.
Have ready the information about the date and time when you approved the return. As you said, 23rd May approval, and the buyer only sent the item on 4th June, which is certainly not within five business days. You relied on eBay's Money Back Guarantee Policy and requested eBay to step in and close the return option on the basis of the buyer not sending the item as per the terms of the eBay MBG. As you read, โThe buyer must send the item back to the seller no longer than 5 business days after starting the return.โ
(Had you contacted eBay Australia via Have us call you at that time, when you requested the case be closed, I believe it would have been closed.)
By what you have posted, the motherboard was damaged by the buyer - is that correct? That is, the short circuiting was not a fault with which the item was received by the buyer, but the buyer's actions resulted in damage to the motherboard probably due to mishandling, and this was the cause of the short circuiting? IF SO, then the buyer has made a fraudulent claim.
Point out that the buyer received the motherboard on 1st April, and it was not until 21st May that the buyer indicated that there was anything wrong. This suggests that the buyer had installed it and was using it until his actions damaged the motherboard. Quoting from the MBG again, โThe eBay Money Back Guarantee is not a product warranty, and does not replace your Australian Consumer Law rights.โ
Apropos of that, do you have anything to show or suggest that the buyer was using the item? That it arrived undamaged? You need to be prepared to demonstrate that the item condition of the motherboard when you sent it (and when the buyer received it) was not the item condition of the motherboard when you received it back. You must have an answer for the eBay CS rep when he/she presses you on how you can know this. If you simply say that it was sealed so you can't prove the item condition, you won't have made your case. Is the item damage VISIBLE? If it's clearly visible, or if it is clear that the item has been used, you are closer to making your case.
So... gather your evidence. Can you make a Statutory Declaration stating that the motherboard has been received back in used damaged condition and that it was not sent in that condition? Can you get a letter from the company making the the motherboard that the damage is indicative of having been used? Anything on letterhead from your supplier about the sort of damage...
Anything communicated by the buyer is also important. Did the buyer give positive feedback? Is there any wording in any communication by the buyer indicating use?
Only when you have all the information to hand should you use the Have us call you option. It's worth taking a day or so to get all the evidence together.
Following the pattern set in my reply in another thread... Before you call, summarise how you want the conversation to go. Set objectives for the conversation and don't move past an objective until you have achieved it. For instance:
- Briefly explain that you are worried that your buyer of item number xxxx has purchased a brand new item (motherboard) from you and has made a fraudulent claim under the eBay Money Back Guarantee. (Very brief. This is an introduction to the situation, not where you argue your case.)
- Point to the listing itself. Of vital significance is the condition of the item (Brand New, sealed) and any photos you have. This is an important point, and you want the eBay CS rep to agree that the item condition is brand new and sealed, and that the photos show that it could not have the damage that has occurred to the motherboard post-sale. You can't move on from this point until the CS rep agrees, so make sure you have all the information about item condition for this point.
- Once the CS rep has agreed about the item condition, produce any buyer communication/s referring to the buyer using the motherboard, and point out that the damage which the buyer alleges would have meant that the motherboard could not be used at all, had it been there before the buyer installed the motherboard. Point out that you agreed to a return based on the buyer's claim that there had been a short circuit due to some LEDs failing, which is a possible fault that can occur. ON THAT BASIS you were happy to receive the item back. However, the buyer's claim was fraudulent, because the short circuit was a direct result NOT of any LED failure, but to damage caused to the motherboard through the buyer's mishandling. And finally point out that even though you accepted a return on this basis, the buyer failed to return the item within the ftimeframe stipulated by the eBay Money Back Guarantee.
Offer to upload the Statutory Declaration, the letter from the manufacturer/supplier, the photos, and any other relevant information. Don't do this after the call ends; you should aim to have everything resolved in this phone call.
You can't move on from this point unless you patiently get the eBay CS rep to agree.- That is, the basis on which the Significantly Not As Described claim was made was fraudulent;
- The item ceased to work, not because of an intrinsic failure of any of its parts, but due to visible damage caused by someone mishandling the item; and
- The timeframe for the buyer to return the item was not met. You requested that the case be closed on the basis that the buyer failed to meet the requirements of the MBG timeframe, and under those circumstances you understand that you are not obligated to refund the buyer.
- Once the CS rep has agreed that the item's return was outside the MBG timeframe, and that it is possible (even likely) that the buyer may have misused the MBG, ask for a reversal of the decision/case and discuss with the rep about the resolution that you're happy to offer - i.e., send back the damaged item to the buyer so that they can get it repaired once they receive it back.
Quite literally, this must be done point by point. You can't move to the next point unless you achieve agreement with the CS rep on the current point. That is why you must have all the evidence ready before you contact eBay. The more you point out that the buyer has not met the conditions of the MBG, the better. But you also want to ensure that there is sufficient evidence that the damage is buyer-caused.
Good luck!
