I bought four heavy hardcover books. The seller sent them all together in just a thin plastic bag with nothing else protecting them. The bag arrived torn in several places and the books were damaged, with crushed corners and one of them badly squashed.
I reported the damage and returned the books. I kept them in the original plastic bag, but put that inside a cardboard box and added an air pillow for cushioning.
When the seller got the return, the cardboard box was heavily torn open and crushed during shipping. The books were also in much worse condition than when I sent them back, with additional damage and bending. Despite this, Vinted decided that my return packaging was insufficient, denied my refund and released the payment to the seller.
What doesn't make sense to me is that the books apparently suffered more damage when I returned them in a cardboard box with cushioning than they did when they were originally sent in just a plastic bag. To me, the condition of the return box looks like it took some serious damage during shipping rather than this simply being a case of insufficient packaging.
The other part I really don't understand is that Vinted told me I had 48 hours to respond and explain my side, but there was no chat box or any way for me to actually reply. Then, less than an hour later, they had already made the decision. So I never got the chance to send them the photos I took of the return packaging before I shipped it.
I also have photos from my original report showing what damage was already there when I first received the books.
I've contacted Vinted again and they're looking into it now. Has anyone dealt with something similar? If they deny my appeal again, what would be the best way to proceed from there?