Customs chaos cost me a packet on eBay

i sOld a second-hand watch, which belonged to my late mother, on eBay to a buyer in hungary on september 13. i posted it the following day. The total cost, including postage with international tracking, was £315.13.

however, the customs form was lost in transit and the item was held up in Budapest. i completed a second customs form and emailed it across on October 17.

Meanwhile, the buyer opened an ‘item not received’ dispute with eBay, which was upheld. The £315.13 was taken from my account on October 21.

This was despite the fact i’d communicated with the buyer and eBay every step of the way. The buyer knew the item was in hungary because the information was available via the tracking number.

The watch was delivered on November 2. i spoke to eBay’s appeals team on November 7 and provided the delivery confirmation. The appeal was immediately rejected because it is not allowed if a delivery is made after a case is closed. The buyer will not respond.

J. T., address supplied. This letter should be a warning to every reader thinking of posting items abroad over the Christmas period or selling unwanted gifts in the New Year — and not only via eBay.

i have heard of a number of people facing problems

with customs declarations and items being stuck in transit since Brexit.

With large parts of Europe in partial lockdown, postal services are warning of delivery issues. That could mean late Christmas presents or delays for items bought and sold online.

Let’s get to your problem: it is eBay’s policy that if an item has not been delivered by the estimated date, the buyer can open an ‘item not received’ case.

Buyers have up to 30 days to complain and yours waited for the full 30.

if the seller is unable to resolve the issue within three working days of the buyer opening their case, eBay will step in. This can involve a refund through its money back guarantee.

Your item was delivered, albeit somewhat late. The rules for selling on eBay say an appeal can be made within 30 days of a case being closed. however, you have to be able to show that the item was delivered before the case was closed, which you obviously could not.

Despite this, after looking into your case again, eBay has refunded your money.

A spokesman says: ‘We are sorry to hear about the issues Ms T experienced. Due to the exceptional circumstances of this case, we have decided to restore the funds to her as a gesture of goodwill.’

That’s good, but i have suggested that eBay should review its rigid refund policies to reflect Covid and Brexit issues.

surely, if an item is delivered within a reasonable time frame and accepted, and the sender can prove they were not to blame for the delay, then arbitrary cut-off dates for appeals should not apply? A dEBT collector has been pestering me for weeks, saying that i owe £259 to ssE for an electricity bill.

i have provided the date this bill was paid and the date a refund was sent to me. i have even sent proof from my Nationwide account, but they have taken no notice. Yesterday, i received another email demanding payment. i have told them that my husband is having end-oflife care, but they don’t seem concerned.

i’m now with a new supplier; something which could not have happened if i owed money. N. T., Bexhill-on-Sea,

E. Sussex. i CoNTACTED ovo Energy, which has taken over the consumer business of ssE. You had in fact paid £188 for your gas bill in March, which put your account into credit, resulting in the £88.72 refund you received when you switched in July.

however, the electricity account had an outstanding balance of £234.21 from bills issued in February and April.

When you didn’t pay this, the debt was passed to the collection agency.

After investigating, ovo has decided to write this off as a goodwill gesture.

A spokesman says: ‘We have apologised to Mrs T and can confirm the outstanding balance has been cleared and the account is now closed.’

Well done, ovo.