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Howitzer

Issue with getting a refund from eiei watch straps

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Howitzer

After some advice please gents/ladies/non-committals. And the opportunity to have a little rant about something very inconsequential. 

Have any of our members ever purchased (and more importantly, returned) a strap from eiei watch straps (https://eieiwatchstraps.com/) or had a similar problem to the following with any online seller?

Having browsed around on t'internet for a bit, I stumbled upon eiei watch straps and picked out what looked like a lovely tan strap as a little Christmas present to myself. I then duly parted with what seemed like a pretty reasonable £35 delivered on 12th December using PayPal. The strap arrived and, whilst of pretty nice quality, the colour and finish was somewhat different to that pictured so I took advantage of my right to return and sent the watch back Royal Mail Signed For precisely in line with the instructions from the seller (Ryan). It was duly delivered and signed for on the 24th December by a Mr or Mrs TARLING, which after some light Googling, I am assuming is the manager of the facility, a Mr Chris Tarling. 

I then duly got involved with the Christmas festivities (minus one present), and then chased the seller in early January. He advised that he was on holiday until February but would deal with my return when he got back. He has since emailed today (after considerable prior chasing around) to advise that:

Hi Dan

I have been to pick up all my return straps and yours is not there
 I got 3 back and 1 was a return to sender because there person didn't pick it up. You return was not there.
 
Ryan
 
Gee, thanks Ryan. My name is David by the way, a fact that he had got right all the way through our previous correspondence. Way to knock my fury up a notch. 
 
I replied as follows (although it was tempting to call him Ron):
 
Hi Ryan,
 
Well I posted it tracked and it was signed for by someone called Tarling?
 
Cheers,
David
 
His reply:
 
As I said in my last email your strap was not there. 
 
That's it. No offer of a resolution or anything. He's even stopped calling me by my new name. 

I paid for the strap with PayPal and am awaiting advice from them on what my rights are to try and get my money back. Given I have done everything in my power to return the strap as instructed, and Royal Mail have done theirs, what are your thoughts on where to go from here? I know it's only £35 but I'm on a principle-based crusade now and would like to know if I'm being in any way unreasonable with putting the onus fully on him to sort this shit out or escalate it with PayPal (if that is even possible). Plus it's Friday and I need to vent.

Cheers

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KJ2020

If you have documentation of the return shipment, I would do a PP chargeback. I bought a smart watch that was supposed to be worth  $49 and it turned out to be complete junk. PP almost always sides with the buyer. You should CALL them and open a dispute. Look up their toll free number. No need to wait any longer.

 

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Howitzer
8 minutes ago, KJ2020 said:

If you have documentation of the return shipment, I would do a PP chargeback. I bought a smart watch that was supposed to be worth  $49 and it turned out to be complete junk. PP almost always sides with the buyer. You should CALL them and open a dispute. Look up their toll free number. No need to wait any longer.

 

Thanks mate. Yep, still got all the proof of postage etc. I am not really in a position to sit on the phone to them today (stuck in online meetings but thankfully I can still type :)but will give them a shout on Monday. I just wasn't clear whether disputes covered returns in the same way they do delivery and items etc?

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mr.tourette

Id escalate as soon as possible, youve done the right thing and have evidence of the return as required, not entirely sure why he's being an ass about this, send him photographic evidence (screenshot of the  royal mail tracking) he should realise he hasn't got a leg to stand on. what a cunt! I'll be sure to avoid him in future 

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BenjaminButton

Never a great situation and I'm sure there's great advice on all the PP stuff one can do from other members. But given the illiterate response from them, the fact that they seem to operate out of a storage sea containers address, I think you're unlikely to get your money back from them. Their contact info only has a mobile number, the storage facility address and no business registration information available  - I personally wouldn't have dealt with them. Hindsight's a cunt and clearly Ryan is too. 

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Howitzer
10 minutes ago, BenjaminButton said:

Never a great situation and I'm sure there's great advice on all the PP stuff one can do from other members. But given the illiterate response from them, the fact that they seem to operate out of a storage sea containers address, I think you're unlikely to get your money back from them. Their contact info only has a mobile number, the storage facility address and no business registration information available  - I personally wouldn't have dealt with them. Hindsight's a cunt and clearly Ryan is too. 

Hindsight, is indeed, a cunt. I did um and ah a bit but figured by using PP I'd be OK if it was a shoddy outfit. Classic case of need for trinkets outweighing intelligence on this occasion. The strap was actually pretty nice as I said, and delivered from a completely different address to the return address. Guessing he just has all his stock stationed there. Live and learn eh, and hopefully a warning to others. 

14 minutes ago, mr.tourette said:

Id escalate as soon as possible, youve done the right thing and have evidence of the return as required, not entirely sure why he's being an ass about this, send him photographic evidence (screenshot of the  royal mail tracking) he should realise he hasn't got a leg to stand on. what a cunt! I'll be sure to avoid him in future 

My guess is he's just trying to use delay tactics until I'm out of time but thankfully, assuming PP can help, they do give a lot longer than similar statutory timescales to open disputes.

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KJ2020

PayPal will reimburse you without regard to the seller issuing a refund so you don't need to sweat that.

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Howitzer

Update for those who are remotely interested:

Sooooo... I'm having some trouble raising a dispute with PayPal as non-refund of a return is not available as an option. I've tried to call but the number I have is for a totally automated line, and email support is abysmal. But I shall persevere. 

I emailed the seller to advise him that I would be raising a dispute while I work out exactly how. This is his response: 

"If the roles were reversed and I had sent you the strap but you have not received it would you accept that you didn't receive the strap? what you asking me to do is accept the fact that I haven't received the strap back. This person who signed for it I do not know who they are. Remind me what was the reason you returned the strap? "

I think he might just be really stupid. Plus he's still not even calling me Dan any more. 

My response: 

"Ryan,

If the roles were reversed I'd be trying to work with you to investigate what had happened and come up with an amicable solution based on the evidence at hand. Provided you had evidence that you had sent the item and that it had been received at the address I specified then I'd have to accept that you sent it and that the item's disappearance is my problem.

On that basis, in this case, it is your problem. The facts are this: I sent the strap tracked and signed for to the address advised by you (eiei watch straps, Suite 3, Admirals Yard, Low Road, Hunslet, Leeds, LS10 1AE). Someone called Tarling signed for it at that address. I've done my bit and Royal Mail have done theirs. Some quick Google research has shown that the manager of the returns facility is called Chris Tarling - I suggest you perhaps ask him if he has it? It may be that he was the only person in that day (with it being Christmas Eve). I've told you this before - have you even checked with him? It might be sat on a desk somewhere. If it has disappeared in the interim that is not my fault - that is a security flaw at your returns address and not my problem. 

Being quite frank, the reason for returning the strap has nothing to do with it. My consumer rights related to distance-selling, i.e. products bought over the internet, allow me to return an item within 28 days of receiving it without having to provide a reason. 

Copied from www.gov.uk regarding consumer rights:

Online, mail and phone order sales
Online, mail and telephone order customers have the right to cancel their order for a limited time even if the goods aren’t faulty. Sales of this kind are known as ‘distance selling’.

You must offer a refund to customers if they’ve told you within 14 days of receiving their goods that they want to cancel. They have another 14 days to return the goods once they’ve told you.

You must refund the customer within 14 days of receiving the goods back. They don’t have to provide a reason.

I first contacted you within 14 days and even returned it within 14 days, so well within my deadlines. The fact that you personally haven't received the item, at the risk of repeating myself, is not my problem. I followed your returns procedure and have evidence that it arrived at the address I was given so, again, not my problem.

Normally I wouldn't let things like this get to me but you seem to be insinuating that I am somehow in the wrong and won't do anything to try and resolve this situation, which is incredibly frustrating to say the least, and actually quite offensive. So, although you may want me to, I won't be letting this lie I'm afraid."

I really dislike being "one of those" by quoting consumer rights etc but this twat really has left me no choice.

To reiterate, I recommend that you all avoid eiei watchstraps, which is a real shame as the straps are actually pretty nice. 

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Glaude

Perfectly valid and sane response you sent him.

Curious to see what he'll have to say, he doesn't have a lot of wiggle room here except insinuating that he did receive the package but he was empty, but that will be another matter and you'll probably have resolved the issue via PayPal since then

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Howitzer
1 minute ago, Glaude said:

Perfectly valid and sane response you sent him.

Curious to see what he'll have to say, he doesn't have a lot of wiggle room here 

Thanks. I'm curious too. He just doesn't seem to get it. Just had an email from PayPal, they finally read my message and have opened a dispute manually on my behalf. Let's see how he responds...

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BenjaminButton
Thanks. I'm curious too. He just doesn't seem to get it. Just had an email from PayPal, they finally read my message and have opened a dispute manually on my behalf. Let's see how he responds...


Good for you, that response was perfect. Clear and honest with a dose of consumer rights thrown in.

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deju

I recently got fucked by a similar thing with PayPal. 

You should never go by the sellers instructions on returning goods! I did that and PayPal washed their hands of it. 

I bought from a major multinational company and used their shipped with goods pre paid DPD label. 

Like you it was signed for by them. 

They ignored me weeks later still asking for my money so I escalated with PayPal. 

Goods sent back using companies return policy and signed, pretty clear cut, surely? 

No! 

Paypal say because the address used to set up the PayPal doesn’t match the return address that I have no cover, claim denied. 

The guy I spoke to said that while he’s shocked at a company the size of the one involved did this, he said he was personally aware of companies using this loop hole to avoid claims! 

Learn something new every day I guess. 

I’ve literally had to call them daily explain consumer law and that they are over their 14 day grace to process the refund until some one sorted it. 

In short pray the address they supplied to ship returns matches the PayPal. But I wouldn’t hold your breath! 

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GingerApple

:balls:

So this cunt's knowingly scamming our Howitzer!!?!

What a wank stain!

How much is it to issue a claim in the small claims court these days? If it's around £35, it's worth doing it on principle (once you've exhausted every other avenue  obviously)!!!!!!

The cunt's sat there laughing at you. Cunt. Fucking hate this shit. Cunt.

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Howitzer
I recently got fucked by a similar thing with PayPal. 
You should never go by the sellers instructions on returning goods! I did that and PayPal washed their hands of it. 
I bought from a major multinational company and used their shipped with goods pre paid DPD label. 
Like you it was signed for by them. 
They ignored me weeks later still asking for my money so I escalated with PayPal. 
Goods sent back using companies return policy and signed, pretty clear cut, surely? 
No! 
Paypal say because the address used to set up the PayPal doesn’t match the return address that I have no cover, claim denied. 
The guy I spoke to said that while he’s shocked at a company the size of the one involved did this, he said he was personally aware of companies using this loop hole to avoid claims! 
Learn something new every day I guess. 
I’ve literally had to call them daily explain consumer law and that they are over their 14 day grace to process the refund until some one sorted it. 
In short pray the address they supplied to ship returns matches the PayPal. But I wouldn’t hold your breath! 


Oh massive bollocks. I’m amazed that they hide behind that bullshit. Seeing as the return address is effectively a storage facility, he might have got away with this. The prick. Let’s see. Rest assured I shall spend a lot more than £35 of my time irritating the crap out of him if PP wheedle their way out of it.


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:balls:
So this cunt's knowingly scamming our Howitzer!!?!
What a wank stain!
How much is it to issue a claim in the small claims court these days? If it's around £35, it's worth doing it on principle (once you've exhausted every other avenue  obviously)!!!!!!
The cunt's sat there laughing at you. Cunt. Fucking hate this shit. Cunt.


Succinctly put, but with gratuitous use of the word cunt. Kudos.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Howitzer


Good for you, that response was perfect. Clear and honest with a dose of consumer rights thrown in.


Thank you! Took my time over that one.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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GingerApple

Only £25 via the small claims court by the way - money well spent just to annoy that twat. Screenshot the page that lists the manager as Tarling in case you need it later on.

Glad you approved of all my 'cunts'.

Cunts!

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deju

Yeah try PayPal but if not get all your facts and go to small claims! 

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Howitzer

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Glaude
2 hours ago, GingerBubba said:

Screenshot the page that lists the manager as Tarling in case you need it later on.

+1

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Howitzer
13 hours ago, GingerBubba said:

Only £25 via the small claims court by the way - money well spent just to annoy that twat. Screenshot the page that lists the manager as Tarling in case you need it later on.

Glad you approved of all my 'cunts'.

Cunts!

Done...

 

11 hours ago, Glaude said:

+1

...and done.

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GingerApple

Yes!!!! Go get the fucker!!!!!

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mr.tourette

wondering how this panned out? 

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Howitzer
wondering how this panned out? 

In short, I’m going to get bummed by PayPal, who are spectacularly useless. Will give a full update when I get a bit more time...


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Howitzer

So after committing to tell the full story, I find my enthusiasm dwindling. So here is a slightly longer update than above:

After trying several times to explain my situation to PayPal, and their continuing reluctance to actually bloody listen, finally some good news came through - they have told me that I am entitled to a refund! Hurrah!

All I have to do to receive this refund is return the item to the seller :picard:

What the actual fuck. It's depressing how much time I've wasted on this already and they serve up this new level of fuckwittery. The final kick in the spuds being that I need to return the strap to a completely different address to the one given, presumably (as per @deju's experience) his registered PP postal address, and as I returned to a different address, I will not actually be entitled to a refund when it comes down to it. 

So looks like I will lose this particular battle, and after smacking my head against the brick wall that is PayPal "Customer Service" for several weeks, my early bravado has petered out and I honestly have neither the energy nor the time to pursue  a small claim (or any other avenues) for the sake of £35. 

In conclusion - lesson learned the hard way. Avoid eiei watchstraps at all costs and if you have paid for something through PP, initiate any refund through PP and not directly with the seller. Despite the appearance of stupidity, this one clearly knows what he's doing when it comes to withholding refunds and extracting himself from PP claims. Prick. I do have his home address now though. Just saying. 

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deju

@Howitzer it seems to be an updated process by PayPal for refunds. But they need to make it clearer. 

Imho if it has to be to an address. Then PayPal are failing buyers by not having a specific returns address for business sellers that they must fill out that must match on everything. 

I mean a company is more likely to take returns to a different address . 

Massive failing by PayPal. 

It’s like they made the process for private eBay sellers and never thought about really companies. 

 

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