Item returned from buyer missing box and faulty

[Jpar1]

So I sold an item through FB marketplace (AirPods Inc original box) and the buyer received them and then contacted me to say that one of them is faulty. I tested them prior to listing them for sale and they worked perfectly. To save any stress I agreed to refund if they sent them back as they raised a dispute via PayPal. My belief being that their phone settings for each earpiece needs setting up correctly and if it turns out they have done something to damage them I will take them to Apple to look at. Anyway, the buyer has now sent them back to me but without the original packaging and says they think their daughter has thrown it away with another pair of AirPods she had which were faulty! What do I do now? I need all of the item returned for resale, where do I stand when everything isn’t returned? Thanks

[kernowlass]

@Jpar1 

Did the buyer open a dispute for item received but not as described?

Did the buyer escalate the dispute to a claim or did you offer a refund during the dispute stage?

If escalated to a claim did paypal find in favour of the buyer?

Did the buyer return the item trackable with tracking showing delivery of the item back to you?

Is the dispute or claim still open or closed?

If its a dispute and open when does it auto close if not escalated?

[Jpar1]

The buyer has opened a dispute. I offered a refund on return. The dispute is still open with dialogue continuing as I’ve asked for return of everything which they haven’t done and now seems like they can’t do. The item was returned by Royal Mail trackable post as I still have the postage materials. I think there’s around a week to go before it closes if not escalated. Thanks.

[kernowlass]

@Jpar1 

ok, then Paypal do not get involved until its escalated to a claim so you have a few options.

Firstly you can carry on the dialogue and refuse a refund for the moment and as its not a claim the buyer would not get a refund unless you issued one. Then if the dispute 'times out' and auto-closes you can then decide to return the item back to the buyer / give a part refund or whatever you wish that is fair. The buyer can't open a second dispute for the same transaction. 

Secondly you or the buyer can escalate to a claim and the buyer 'may' or 'may not' win the claim especially if you have stated in the dispute stage (before being escalated) that the item was returned incomplete.

If they win you may be forced to refund, if they lose then you are back to the previous option choices.

Lastly if they win and you are forced to refund you have the option of a small claims court action if you want to go down that route?

If the buyer loses and they funded their paypal payment via a credit card then they 'may' have the option of a chargeback but again may or may not win.

A lot of ifs and buts really but it depends on how you play it.

[Jpar1]

Thank you for your advice on this, it’s really appreciated as I’ve never gone through this before as a seller or buyer over many many years. It is fully detailed in the chats that I haven’t got everything returned and she has admitted that she thinks it has been thrown away. So all of the evidence if you like is there in writing. So I guess now I will just have wait and see what happens next. If they had returned everything in full I would have been happy to refund to save all of the hassle as I’m happy to take the AirPods to Apple to be checked as they are still under warranty anyway. Thanks again.