Buyer Protection POLICY
1. Overview of Buyer Protection
A. Scope
Buyer Protection is a service provided by Ingka NB AB, a Swedish limited liability company having its registered office in Malmö, Älmhultsgatan 2, 215 86 Malmö, Sweden, with company registration number 559487-7051 (“INBAB”) and applies to all transactions on the second-hand marketplace operated by INBAB (the “Marketplace”).
The Buyer Protection is provided by INBAB to buyers on the Marketplace. INBAB is not a party to the transaction between the buyer and the seller and is not involved in any sale or return arrangements between the buyer and the seller.
The Buyer Protection aims to secure the safety of transactions on the Marketplace and includes the following:
· Listing reviews: INBAB ensures that only genuine second-hand IKEA furniture and home furnishing accessories (not counterfeit or replica items) with the exception of IKEA Food products, home appliances (such as refrigerators, ovens and air purifiers) and mattresses (the “Products”) in safe and usable condition, are listed for sale on the Marketplace.
· Seller verification: The Marketplace is exclusively available to IKEA Family members.
· Secure payments: All payments are processed through INBAB’s payment service provider, which reduces the risk of fraud and scams. The payment service provider withholds the payment to the seller until the buyer has accepted the Product and for a period of 48 hours thereafter.
· Dispute resolution and refund: The buyer must thoroughly inspect the Product when they pick it up to ensure that it is consistent with its listing on the Marketplace. However, if for any reason the buyer later (within 48 hours from clicking the “accept” button) discovers that the Product significantly differs from the information in the listing (please see Sec. 1.D below), the Buyer Protection service allows the buyer to send a refund request to the Marketplace customer support. The Buyer Protection may in some cases (as explained in this Policy), entitle the buyer to a refund of the Product purchase price, the Buyer Protection fee and the delivery fee (if any).
B. Buyer Protection Fee
Buyer Protection is provided to the buyer for a fee of 5% of the Product purchase price and is automatically added to all purchases made on the Marketplace. The Buyer Protection fee is paid by the buyer to INBAB at check-out. The Buyer Protection does not apply to Products offered for free, or if the buyer and seller make alternative arrangements to carry out the transaction outside of the Marketplace.
C. Is Buyer Protection mandatory?
Yes, Buyer Protection is mandatory for all payment transactions on the Marketplace.
D. Conditions for the Product being significantly different from the listing for the purposes of Buyer Protection
The buyer may request a refund for the transaction if the purchased Product
- differs significantly from the listing. A Product is considered to significantly differ from the listing if, among other things:
- there is damage to the Product that was not disclosed to the buyer before the transaction;
- parts of the Product are missing and this has not been disclosed in the listing;
- there are discrepancies between the Product and the listing in terms of the title, description, photos of the Product, its type, quantity, functionality or compatibility (for digital Products) as well as a different color, size or lack of features that the seller set out in the listing;
- there are signs that the Product has been used, and it was described in the listing “as new”, which was also supported by photos included in the listing;
- is not usable despite being described as functional and usable in the listing;
- has not been received by the buyer (e.g. no delivery of the parcel or parcel was empty); or
- is not a genuine IKEA product (i.e. counterfeit or replica).
E. Buyer Protection and statutory rights
Buyer Protection adds to but does not replace, restrict or exclude your existing statutory or other legal rights. This means that both the buyer and seller keep all their statutory or other legal rights (like warranty claims and protections against faulty or defective goods – if applicable) and that INBAB’s decision will not impact their ability to pursue other available legal remedies.
2. Dispute resolution and refunds
A. How to file a refund request and what happens next
The buyer may request a refund by contacting INBAB’s customer support team via the Marketplace. The buyer must ensure that the refund request includes:
a) a description of why the buyer believes they are entitled to a refund; and
b) photos of the Product (including packaging if applicable), that help the buyer to justify the refund claim, if available.
INBAB will confirm receipt of the buyer’s claim to the buyer’s email address linked to their IKEA Family Account. INBAB will also inform the seller of the buyer’s refund request and the basis for the refund request and inform the seller that this means that the payment for the transaction of the Product has been suspended.
Within seven (7) days of receiving the email notification above, the seller may provide information to INBAB regarding the refund request via the Marketplace customer support team, explaining why the seller believes they are entitled to be paid for the Product, and photos of the Product (including packaging if applicable) that help the seller to justify any claim that the transaction amount should be paid to the seller. If the seller does not provide information to INBAB within this timeframe, INBAB will make a decision regarding Buyer Protection based solely on the information provided by the buyer.
INBAB may request the buyer and/or the seller to provide additional information regarding a refund request, such as a detailed description of the circumstances of the case, photographs of the parcel containing the Product, and any other evidence that might be necessary to decide on the refund request. INBAB will allow the buyer and/or seller reasonable time to provide the requested information. If the additional information is not provided to INBAB within the timeframe specified in the INBAB request, INBAB will make a decision regarding the refund request based solely on the information already provided to it.
INBAB analyses the refund request based on the information provided by the buyer and the seller (if applicable), and decides whether the Product meets the criteria set out in Section 1.D above.
If the circumstances of the case indicate that the buyer and/or seller may have committed a crime, INBAB may request that the buyer and/or seller report the case to the authorities. A copy of such report to the authorities must be furnished within seven (7) days of the request being made by INBAB.
INBAB will issue a decision on the refund request within thirty (30) days of receiving the refund request, and will inform the buyer and seller of the decision via email.
B. Time limit to request the refund and the results of the request
A refund request must be made within 48 hours from the time the buyer accepts the Product in their Account. If the request is not made within this timeframe, the buyer loses the right to request a refund under the Buyer Protection and the payment is released to the seller. Any claim between the buyer and seller after this time is not covered by the Buyer Protection and must be handled by the buyer and seller directly between themselves without the involvement of INBAB.
If the buyer submits a refund request within the 48 hours, a dispute procedure will be initiated by INBAB and the payment service provider will suspend the release of payment for the relevant Product to the seller until INBAB decides on the refund request claim in accordance with this Buyer Protection Policy, or the buyer withdraws the refund request.
Until INBAB resolves the claim, the buyer has the right to withdraw the refund request. To do so, the buyer should inform the Marketplace customer support and the dispute will be closed and marked as resolved. If the buyer is compensated by the seller outside of the Marketplace and/or decides to keep the product (i.e. follows through with the transaction), the buyer shall immediately withdraw the claim under the Buyer Protection. Not withdrawing a refund request under these circumstances may be considered fraud and result in a breach of the IKEA Family Terms & Conditions.
C. Decision on the refund request
After reviewing and making the final decision on the refund request, INBAB will inform the buyer and the seller whether the request (i) is approved and the payment for the Product will be refunded to the buyer, or (ii) has been denied and the payment for the Product will be released to the seller– with the following criteria and further procedure applicable:
· Complete refund: A complete refund will be approved for a refund request that meets the criteria set out in Section 1.D above and is supported by the evidence referred to in Section 2.A above. In the event INBAB approves the refund request, and the Product has not been seized by law enforcement authorities or lost in the post or in transit to the buyer, the seller has the right to demand that the Product is returned to the seller by the buyer.
The suspended payment for the transaction will be refunded to the buyer via the original payment method. Such refund will be processed no later than thirty (30) days after INBAB approves the refund request.
The above procedure also applies if documents received by INBAB indicate that the Product has been seized by law enforcement authorities as a result of a notification of a potential crime (please see Sec. 2.A). In such a case, INBAB will provide the seller with the information it has about the seizure of the Product, and the payment will be refunded to the buyer.
· Rejection of the refund request: In cases where none of the criteria set out in Section 1.D were met, and/or the information provided to INBAB contradicts or doesn’t sufficiently substantiate the claim and/or not meet the criteria set out in Section 2.A above, the refund request will be rejected and the payment service provider will release the suspended payment to the seller no later than thirty (30) days after the date of the decision.
D. Return of the Product
If the buyer’s refund request is approved, the seller may request that the Product is returned to the seller, unless the Product has been seized by law enforcement authorities or lost in the post or in transit to the buyer. INBAB does not arrange Product returns between buyers and sellers as part of Buyer Protection. This means that any such arrangements must be made directly between the buyer and the seller.
E. Complaints about Buyer Protection
INBAB is responsible for handling complaints regarding Buyer Protection. If you have specific questions, comments or complaints in relation to Buyer Protection please contact INBAB using the Marketplace customer support chat (available here)[VP1] . When submitting a complaint, please provide your name and surname, your address and the reason for the complaint. INBAB will respond to your complaint within fourteen (30) days of its receipt.
F. Changes to this Buyer Protection Policy
This Buyer Protection Policy may be modified and updated from time to time for valid reasons only, such as changes in the provisions of law, service scope adjustment, due to required technical updates or other important changes in INBAB’s operations. INBAB will publish information about changes to this Policy on the Marketplace.
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