'eBay fraudster ran off with my £13 leggings'

I sold some leggings on eBay for £13 and obtained proof of postage when I sent them. I always take good care with packing and labelling, with my “return to sender” address firmly attached.

Then the buyer opened a complaint with eBay, saying the packet had not been received.

This buyer did not follow any of the usual procedures by contacting me first and did not respond to any of my messages. I checked the feedback and there was a list of comments saying that the buyer had a habit of opening complaints about not receiving goods.

One of the sellers was fortunate to have proof that the item had been received.

With this information, I contacted eBay and had an online “chat” explaining my concerns.

Without one message from the buyer to me, eBay closed the case and took money from my account to pay the buyer.

Linda Fozard, Cheshire

You had not had the item tracked because the cost would have been disproportionate for something of so little value. The proof of posting you had acquired did not provide evidence that the article had indeed been delivered, a situation that, apparently, the buyer was quick and accomplished at exploiting.

Ebay says that if the seller can’t prove that an item was delivered, the buyer will be refunded the full cost via PayPal.

Your buyer had opened an “item not received” case. Ebay then told me that, while it was happy that the correct decision had been made in this case, it had now issued you a courtesy credit so you were not left out of pocket.

It did not though notify you of this, although I did. There was a delay in you identifying it in your PayPal account, but you have recognised it for what it is now.

Meanwhile, you feel, understandably, that the buyer is getting away with murder. You feel her being refunded for your sale colludes with her.

• Jessica Gorst-Williams tackles consumer problems for Telegraph readers every week. To contact her, click here. If you want to ask a general money question, email moneyexpert@telegraph.co.uk. The best of the answers are included in our weekly newsletter