Item Not as Described Chargeback: UK Seller Evidence Guide

Read the allegation before building your response

Record the provider, process, dispute reference, reason wording, amount and response deadline. Save any time and time zone; keep notification and deadline dates separate.
Save the original listing, product description, selected variant, stated condition, photographs and order record.
Read what the buyer actually says is wrong. Identify the feature, defect, damage or difference, and when it was reported.
Preserve messages, photographs, testing records and any repair, replacement or refund already offered or completed.
Check whether a return was requested, authorised, sent, received or inspected. Record each stage separately.
Check any parallel return or marketplace case and its current task. Do not assume that sending a buyer message completes the payment-dispute response.

“Not as described” is a dispute reason, not a finding that you misled the buyer. It is also not proof that the complaint is dishonest. Identify the factual issue you can answer. If the actual allegation is non-receipt, use the item-not-received chargeback guide.

Legitimate complaint, misunderstanding or unresolved return?

A neutral diagnosis helps you choose relevant evidence and a reasonable resolution.
Situation	Useful distinction	Next action
An undisclosed fault or material difference	The complaint may be supported by the sale record and inspection.	Acknowledge confirmed facts; use the provider’s resolution or acceptance options rather than deny a documented defect.
Feature / compatibility misunderstanding	The buyer may have expected something different, but check how clearly the listing described it.	Show the purchase-time specification and relevant messages. Do not assume a vague description resolves every ambiguity.
Damage during delivery	The goods may have matched the listing at dispatch and still arrived damaged.	Preserve buyer damage and packaging photos, dispatch condition and carrier findings; keep any carrier claim separate.
Return / refund already resolved	A completed remedy may answer some or all of the disputed amount.	Attach the completed refund or replacement evidence and state exactly what it covered.
Returned item materially different	A model, serial or contents mismatch needs a careful order-to-return comparison.	Check for a mix-up or replacement history; document the mismatch without assuming intent.
Only a suspicion of fraud	Disagreement, poor communication or failure to return does not establish dishonesty.	Describe missing records or conflicting facts and ask for review. Do not invent an abuse allegation.

A listing that says “no returns” is not evidence that a damaged-goods complaint is false. Likewise, a photograph showing an item working before dispatch does not rule out a later fault. Address the particular allegation and any supported remedy instead of treating your return policy as a complete defence.

Build a comparison of the sale, complaint and resolution

Practical evidence suggestions: keep original files and identify which order, item and date each record belongs to.
Record	What to show	What to avoid
Original listing and description	Purchase-time text, variant, measurements, features, included accessories and any disclosed limitation.	A current edited listing presented as the exact original. Label later corrections clearly.
Condition and photographs	Actual item condition, order-linked pre-dispatch photographs, packaging and relevant test results.	Stock photographs presented as proof of this unit’s condition.
Model and serial	Model, unique serial where held, dispatch allocation and any repair/replacement history.	Confusing a model code with a unique identifier or inventing a missing original serial.
Buyer complaint	Exact defect or difference, report date, buyer photos/video and any technician findings.	Cherry-picking a sentence that changes the meaning of the complaint.
Communications and remedy	Troubleshooting, return arrangements, offered solution, buyer response, repair report or replacement tracking.	Calling an offer “accepted” without the buyer’s agreement or completion record.
Refund history	Amount, date, transaction reference, recipient and pending/completed status.	Describing a partial or pending refund as full completed repayment.
Return progression	Request/reference, authorisation, label, tracking, seller receipt and inspection date.	Treating a label creation as return dispatch or a carrier scan as completed inspection.
Returned condition and contents	Paired photos, identifier comparison, missing accessories and documented testing.	Assuming wear or damage was caused by the buyer without supporting evidence.

Build one comparison per disputed point. For example, if the buyer says a charger was missing, identify whether that charger was included in the sale, what packing records show and what remedy was offered. Delivery tracking by itself cannot answer that question.

For identity issues, use the wrong-item return guide. For the correct unit returned damaged, used or incomplete, use the return condition guide. These inspection checks support the payment response; they do not create a right to deduct a refund under every provider.

Choose the next action from the facts you can establish

Keep the deadline visible while resolving evidence gaps.
Check	If confirmed	If missing / disputed
Does the original description support your position?	Quote the relevant feature or disclosed condition and identify the attached purchase-time record.	Retrieve the original if possible; acknowledge uncertainty rather than substitute a later listing.
Is there evidence of a real defect or transit damage?	Address the supported complaint and record the remedy route.	Describe the reported issue and evidence still requested; avoid claiming a fault was disproved.
Was the issue already resolved?	Show the completed refund, repair or accepted replacement and what amount/issue it addressed.	Distinguish a proposed solution from an agreed and completed one.
Was a return required in this process?	Record the instruction, address, deadline and current return stage.	Ask the provider; do not invent a universal “no return, no chargeback” rule.
Did the returned item change identity or condition?	Preserve the paired evidence and report through the active route.	Say no mismatch is established; continue the required response or refund task.
Is the notice deadline confirmed?	Submit through that task before the cutoff and save confirmation.	Ask the provider promptly; a return or repair discussion does not itself extend it.

Your response should follow the payment reason even if another dispute feels more unfair. A missing-refund allegation after a return needs refund records; a defect allegation needs product evidence. Explain any reason change and date it occurred.

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Identify who decides: eBay, PayPal or a card issuer

eBay UK: challenge evidence is different from protection eligibility

eBay’s handling guidance recommends pre-dispatch condition photos, resolution messages and returned-condition evidence for these allegations. Accept or challenge through the payment-dispute task; the buyer’s payment institution decides. Its five-calendar-day notification response window is not extended by an unresolved return. Use the notice cutoff.

For not-matching-listing protection, eBay looks for its specified refund or same-type prior Money Back Guarantee resolution conditions. Listing photos alone do not establish cover. Check full eligibility and exclusions; follow the detailed eBay payment-dispute guide.

PayPal UK: internal claims and external chargebacks

UK Seller Protection excludes significantly-not-as-described claims, including claims made through PayPal or the card issuer. Do not assume the transaction’s eligibility label or delivery proof covers a damaged/defective-goods complaint.

In PayPal’s internal process, the dispute is the buyer/seller conversation and a claim asks PayPal to decide. An external card chargeback is decided by the issuer, with evidence supplied through PayPal. Check which task is active and answer its request on time.

Direct store / processor: use the stated reason

Stripe distinguishes product unacceptable from product not received. Product-description and condition evidence should address the former. Another processor may use different labels and fields; check the notice rather than copying a platform’s evidence checklist as a universal rule.

Use the processor’s response portal and deadline. There is no single seller response period for all card disputes, and a buyer’s filing window is not your evidence deadline. Record any subsequent request separately.

What if the buyer never returned the item?

Start by distinguishing no return requested, return authorised but not sent, return in transit and return marked delivered but not located. Save the instructions, dates, agreed address and tracking. A buyer keeping the item is relevant context, but not an automatic chargeback defence or proof of fraud.

The effect of non-return depends on the actual process.
Route	What the verified rule supports	Practical action
eBay payment dispute	eBay offers “Try to get my item returned” when accepting or challenging, but says return cannot be guaranteed.	Use the available return request and preserve it. Do not state that the bank must reject the dispute without a return.
PayPal internal claim	Buyer Protection says PayPal may require return to the seller or another specified party as part of settlement.	Read the actual case instruction. Report non-compliance with an instruction, rather than inventing a return requirement.
External card issuer / other processor	The reason, evidence request and applicable provider/card process control the response. A marketplace return policy is not a universal issuer rule.	State whether return was requested, what was offered and whether goods were received. Ask the processor which non-return evidence it accepts.

Return distinctions: eBay’s return option during a payment dispute; PayPal Buyer Protection return provisions. The external-card guidance above is a conservative practical approach, not a claim that every issuer requires the same return conditions.

If return tracking says delivered but you cannot locate it, use the seller’s missing-return investigation guide. Do not describe an unseen parcel as a proven wrong-item return.

Reconcile returns, refunds and overlapping cases

Record the product complaint, marketplace return and payment dispute as linked events with separate references. List who issued each refund and whether it actually completed. If a replacement was sent, identify its serial or tracking separately from the original.

eBay closes open returns, cancellations, INR reports and Money Back Guarantee cases for the same transaction when a payment dispute opens. Preserve the return record and respond through the payment route. An earlier closed case is evidence of history; it does not automatically answer the new allegation.

PayPal’s Buyer Protection rules close its claim if the buyer also pursues that transaction with the card issuer or another party. For Amazon A-to-z or another marketplace, confirm the live status and instructions instead of importing that rule. An Amazon A-to-z appeal concerns the Amazon decision, not an issuer chargeback.

Before paying again or making a refund deduction, ask how the existing remedy should be recorded against the dispute. Use exact figures: an accepted £20 partial refund on a £100 order should not be described as a £100 refund. A repair offer or replacement dispatch also does not prove the buyer accepted the resolution.

Write a condition-focused response and escalate the right issue

Use a short chronology: sale and stated condition; buyer’s specific complaint; relevant comparison; resolution offered/completed; return and inspection outcome. Attach only records that support those facts and identify any unresolved gap.

Dispute [reference] concerns [precise allegation] for order [ID]. At purchase, the listing described [relevant specification / condition], shown in [attachment]. The buyer reported [issue] on [date]. Our records show [supported comparison and limitations]. We offered / completed [remedy, with evidence]. Return status is [stage]; inspection found [facts, if inspected]. Please assess the attached sale, complaint and resolution records against this dispute reason.

Adapt the wording; do not assert that an offered remedy was completed or that a buyer caused damage unless the evidence supports it. Save the final response, attachments and submission confirmation, and monitor further requests.

If you lose, identify whether the issue is the issuer outcome, a protection refusal or an unreconciled refund. Ask for the decision reason and available review route. eBay’s protection review is separate from the ordinary marketplace appeal; the eBay payment-dispute guide explains its notification-based review window. Do not assume an external issuer offers the same review right.

A supported transit-damage claim may be separate. Preserve packaging and carrier evidence, identify the label contract holder and check the booked service’s conditions. A product dispute does not itself prove courier liability. If the carrier refuses, use the courier-claim rejection guide and account for related refunds or recoveries.

ParcelClaim uses the information you supply. It does not retrieve provider data automatically, submit disputes automatically or contact banks/card issuers. You check the notice, review the prepared response and submit it yourself. No protection, reimbursement or dispute outcome is guaranteed.

Keep the dispute organised as it changes

The optional £6.99 one-off Seller Case helps organise the provider and process, reason, reference, disputed amount, overlapping cases, evidence gaps, next action and deadlines where known. It can prepare a reason-specific response for you to review and send.

Use Something Changed updates to keep the same case and its timeline current when evidence, a return, refund, deadline or decision changes.

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Sources & policy review

Policy checked: 4 November 2026. ParcelClaim Research Team checked the following first-party material. eBay and PayPal links use UK guidance; Stripe documentation describes its processor workflow. Read the live notice and terms applicable to your transaction.

Evidence tables and response examples are practical editorial tools, not universal provider rules. Account eligibility, checkout market, shipping programme, dispute reason and case stage can change the result. No guaranteed outcome is implied. ParcelClaim is independent of the providers named here.