Fraudulent buyer - help please?
I don’t really know why I’m wasting my time on this as the order was only £9.95 BUT I suppose its the principle of it and it could happen to another seller for an order that is much much more money.
Customer orders a pair of ROSE PINK crystal heart earrings.
I dispatch using my normal A5 paper envelope inside an A5 POLY envelope.
Customer raises a return saying item is wet - return gets auto authorised as is the process.
I message customer to firstly apologise, and secondly query how the item is wet as I us a POLY envelope.
Customer advises item damaged upon receipt - I accept this and once again apologise.
I receive the item back today.
As you can see from the pictures attached the interior of the package is not just wet - it is absolutely soaking - the pink dye is from the pink velvet drawstring pouches I use.
ALSO - the earrings enclosed ARE NOT MY STOCK. They are fuchsia pink not rose pink. The earring wires and the jewellery findings are clearly different from MY PRODUCT visible on the right hand side - this is what the customer ordered from me. The customer clearly had some old earrings and fancied a new shiny pair FOR FREE.
So, can anyone advise how this is addressed without calling the buyer an out and out liar?
Can buyers be blocked?
Am I able to overturn the refund and get the return postage refunded to me also?
As I said - It’s not really worth my time due to the low value BUT it could happen again - to me or other honest sellers on this platform.
Thanks in advance
0 replies
Seller_SITNVuZK87zGK
Has the return been processed via an Amazon Prepaid Return Label?
Has a Refund at First Scan Taken Place?
If yes then you need to file a Safe-T Claim under the reasoning of materially different product returned.
If a refund at first scan hasn’t taken place, you can refund yourself, but apply a partial refund under the reasoning of being a materially different product.
You can’t block buyers here, and you shouldn’t need to liaise with the customer any more - though you could report them.
Seller_WIndmNYDp7rQF
Amazon need to get a grip on this as this sort of behaviour is becoming rife.
Reddit even has discussions about how to get free stuff from Amazon by making fraudulent criminal claims against sellers.
Seller_JuIlkqNrUDuQA
Safe-T claim raised. The time is not an issue - 2 pictures and 5 minutes filling in the claim form may help another seller with a vastly more expensive item than mine.
Lets hope Amazon rule in my favour - as I said, I’m not worried about the £9.95 (plus the £3.35 auto return postage Amazon have charged me), I just want this kind of thing stamped out. If we all accept it, it will become even more common than it already is 
Seller_FJ7iUPrNEk7Rh
To be honest, this needs to stop with the sellers. We need to stop giving refunds for no reason. I recently purchased a book which said it was in very good condition, when it arrived it clearly wasn’t so I just emailed the company saying that the book wasn’t as described and maybe they should look at their description. Instant refund. I didn’t want a refund, just wanted to say that the book wasn’t in the condition described. I then emailed to ask to repay the book but got no response. We need to stop giving instant refunds just because of this fear of neg feedback etc. It may send a message to Amazon that we aren’t prepared to put up with this any more.
Seller_pD4k5nUkDbIgP
This is the kind of advice you can find in places like Reddit:
Whatever item you want for free you should have an empty or damaged duplicate. You can use the damaged ones as proof to amazon. You get a free item (regardless of price) and full refund. Always works. You can keep it up and even sell the new goods for cash if you choose to.
Seller_UAx9xXY88oBoj
It might not be the buyer at fault here. Are there additional sellers offering the same item?
This could be the stock of another seller that’s “riding” on your listing with a similar & badly packaged item.
It seems more likely than the client having a nearly-identical, improperly packaged product to return by themselves.
If that is the case, making sure your products are brand registered could help prevent such things.
Seller_xUKHc5xSYJmI4
Looking at the photograph rust does not appear is short periods and therefore possible the ear rings have been exchanged for an older pair which have been used. If the product looks used then surely this does not qualify for a return especially for hygiene purposes. I guess the option is to inform the buyer that they have not returned the product in accordance with the returns policy and there you have the option to deny any refund or offer a partial refund. If an A-Z claim is raised there is an option to defend such claim quoting actual wording of the policy.
Many sellers have had experiences where the buyer is actually abusing the platform exchanging old items for new or falsely claiming the item is defective but not returning the product. We always take a video footage of the return also take photographs as proof when such claim arises. We know from experience there will always be a small group of opportunists who will try and beat the system.
Seller_JuIlkqNrUDuQA
UPDATE
So yesterday I was told by the Safe-T Claim team that my pictures were not enough evidence to proceed and I was asked to take a picture of the return label (no idea why?) - more time spent but I’m not leaving this one drop.
This morning the claim has been granted, although the refund is £7.51 not the full £9.95 - I’m assuming Amazon are still charging their fees here (?) but I have questioned it.
Also, no sign of the £3.35 return postage I was charged - again, waiting on an answer on that one.
