Buyer granted refund whilst item is in transit

[masdan]

Hello all, 

I sold an item through Ebay to a chap in Brazil.  I shipped the item International Signed for Airmail ,within 3 days of 'late' payment, to the address on the transaction details page, I then marked it as despatched and provided the tracking details in both PayPal and Ebay.  The buyer opened up a case against me as soon as he was able to, I responded to the problem in PayPal resolution centre, after checking on the status of the item with both Royal Mail, and Correios online and by telephone.  I informed the buyer (and even took the time to include a translation) of the status, explaining also that he may experience delays due to striking public sector workers in Brazil and backlog of incoming international mail.

Nevertheless, as soon as the buyer was able, he escalated to a claim, without any correspondance to me.  Once again I provided all tracking information, and the status as displayed online with Correios.  The item is in Brazil, still on what I can only assume is a HUGE pile of mail waiting to be processed for delivery.

After days the status remains the same, I have continued to provide any details requested in the notes of the claim, as well as contacting the buyer through Ebay.

But now the funds that were put on temporary hold when the case was escalated have been refunded to the buyer, leaving me somewhat out of pocket.  I do not blame the buyer at all, he certainly shouldnt pay for something he hasn't yet recieved, but should PayPal have at least attempted to verify the information I have provided to them, stating that it is very much still on its way, held up in Brazil and I would like to think WILL arrive!!

I presume I have met all the seller requirements to be eligable for seller protection, and as such if I discover (with continual checking of the status) that the item has been delivered would an appeal against the 'refund' decision be entertained?

Any steers would be most helpful, I really dont think I couldv'e done much more other than hand deliver it myself.

Many thanks in advance.

[masdan]

And now as of today the item is out from the mail holding centre for delivery .................  and I'm still hoping that someone might be able to advise me, and hopeful that a MOD might eventually respond  :S

[masdan]

And now the item has been delivered!  I have appealled against the decision to refund the buyer and included screen shots of the online tracking information showing the status as delivered, as files, as well as providing links to the carriers websites as additional notes?  Will PayPal even bother to view these?

[masdan]

Now this is getting beyond a joke!

PayPal have declined my appeal and I have received an email as such:

"Unfortunately, the information you supplied is insufficient for us to track the shipment of the merchandise.  The copy of the tracking site you have provided us is not valid proof due to the fact there is no buyer information on it.  We cannot see where it was delivered and to who.  This being the case, we are unable to grant your claim appeal at this time"

Can PayPal not add 2 to 2 and come up with an answer of 4?

I supplied the tracking information to them when the item was despatched, this associated it to the address on the transaction details page.

I have shown visual proof that the item with the very same tracking reference has been delivered in the district to which it was sent. There is no option to view a signature at this time, only that it has been delivered. 

Is it not within PayPals powers to 'hold' the funds for this transaction (as they were more than happy to do against me!!) and request the buyer to confirm receipt?

My next question is, will correios update the delivery status of the item to include a signature as Royal Mail do ...... eventually.

Having wondered around the community pages now I'm noticing a common thread amongst members.....Regarding Paypal, If your a seller ..... your going to lose.

[PayPal_AdrianO]

Hey there,

You need to appeal the decision with a proof of postage receipt so we can see the exact address it was sent to. Once that matches we may be able to grant the appeal. You can upload a sac or photo of the receipt through our name change facility and then appeal stating you uploaded the receipt showing the address. To upload;

1. Log in to your account at www.paypal.co.uk

2. Click 'Help'

3. Click the link 'Ask Louise'.

4. Type 'How do I change the name on my PayPal account?’ on the virtual chat then click submit.

5. On Louise's response, click 'Secure Form'.  (This opens up a new page)

6. Select the first option then continue

7. Click Upload Files.

8. To upload your documentation, click 'Browse.'

9. Select the file you want to attach.

10. Click 'Open.'

11. Click 'Attach this File.' Information about your file appears under the Attachments box.

12. Repeat as many times as required, up to a total file size of 5000kb.

13. Click 'Send Files to PayPal' to submit. 

[masdan]

Adriano,

Thank you for your response which I have followed, and PayPal have accepted my information AND agreed my appeal!  🙂

However the case is again closed, and I am left with the message that I should contact the buyer to have him send payment to me.  Considering that the buyer has been unresponsive to my friendly emails I wonder if the is any further recourse if he does not acknowlegde my sent payment request and invoice.  Again, left to chase this myself ............  or can Paypal help?

Thank you for your advice so far 🙂

[biz-arts]

Same thing happened to me from a chap from Sout-Korea (agnusdei89) It is very fustrating as he keeps my money in hostage. He is the one that cried to me ship ground and never wanted to pay Expedited (Canada Post) I told him that I do not recommend this shipping and that if he would agree that i ship this way, that I wouldn't be responsible if the item is still not delivered after 1 month (it can take sometimes up to 2 months) So after 1 month he hit me with an ebay dispute because item not received. How unfair this is! I am truly sick to my stomach that they can grant this. Especially when someone doesn't want to pay for fast shipping when it was clearly written in my item description. The fellow still bids on it and had me hostage from day 1. I have sold a few times to people from Japan and they were always very patient, never had any problems before. And plus when I email my concern with the fellow (very untrustworthy by the way) he then blackmails me to stop complaining or else he will give me negative feedback. I have been selling for 10 years through different web sites and always had 100% feedback which is quite a challenge. Since this fellow will certainly never pay for item ( he also said that even if he would receive the records he would have to try them out 1 by 1 ( about 25) and see if he would be happy and then maybe) So I could read between the lines that this guy is a fraud. If Ebay and paypal allows this, it only opens the door for people like him to continue this scheme.

[kernowlass]

The way you choose to send an item should not be up to the buyer.

If they don't want to pay for the postage you have listed on your auction then just refund them and relist the item.

Don't let them dictate terms to you.

If you can't prove with tracking number that the buyer received their item then you will probably have to refund but that was your choice as you decided to send it surface mail and not with tracking.