Bought a Dud on eBay, Vinted or Facebook Marketplace? Your Rights (UK)

Online marketplaces are great until the parcel never comes, the "designer" item is fake, or it is nothing like the photos. Your rights hinge on who you bought from and how you paid. Here is how to get your money back.

Business seller vs private seller

• Business sellers (traders) must comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and usually the 14-day online cancellation right — full consumer protection applies.
• Private sellers: fewer rights. The item must be as described and the seller must own it, but "satisfactory quality" and the cancellation right generally do not apply. "Sold as seen" carries more weight.

Either way, misdescription (a fake sold as genuine, "working" when broken) gives you a claim.

Use the platform's buyer protection first

Most marketplaces have their own protection — eBay Money Back Guarantee, Vinted Buyer Protection, PayPal Goods and Services. Open a case within the platform's time limit for "not received" or "not as described", and follow their returns process. Crucially, paying via "Goods and Services" (not "Friends and Family") is what preserves this protection.

If the platform won't help

1. Card protections: a chargeback (debit/credit) or Section 75 (credit, over £100) where you paid by card.
2. Report fakes to the platform and Trading Standards.
3. For a clear loss from an identifiable seller, the small claims court is an option.

A complaint/return message template

Dear [Seller / Platform],

Re: Order [item/reference]

The item I bought on [date] [did not arrive / is counterfeit / is not as
described because…]. I am requesting a full refund of £[amount] and will return
the item if required. [For a trader: this is my right under the Consumer Rights
Act 2015.]

I am opening a case under [platform] buyer protection and, if needed, will pursue
a chargeback or Section 75 claim.

Yours faithfully,
[Your name]

Always pay so buyer protection applies, keep the listing screenshots, and act within the platform's window. Between marketplace protection and card chargebacks, most marketplace duds are refundable.