The Pay & Ship feature is designed to offer security and convenience to our users, and we have taken all possible precautions to ensure that the process works well to connect buyers and sellers without the need to interact in person. We know however that occasionally there will be some concerns with the actual item that is exchanged, and so Gumtree have built a dispute process into the functionality. This dispute process is designed to allow Buyers and Sellers to find a pathway to resolving these issues and is aligned with our Dispute Resolution Policy.

Once a Buyer has received the package, they will be given a 24-hour period to review the goods and ensure that they are satisfied that the item they received matches the listing and that it meets all the expected details as described in the original listing. If they buyer is not satisfied, they will be able to lodge a dispute through the ‘Purchases’ section within the Gumtree app by clicking on the link “Get help with this purchase”.

The Buyer will be asked to complete a short form to provide additional details about the problem they have with the delivery. Once the dispute is lodged, the 24-hour period will be paused to allow the dispute to be resolved before any funds are moved. The Gumtree Customer Success team will reach out to the buyer for any additional clarifications or photos/videos to help better understand the problem the buyer has.

When lodging a dispute, the Buyer will be asked to verify their Identity. This enables all parties involved to be sure that they are interacting with a known person and is designed to increase the trust and safety through the dispute flow.

Once the details of the complaint have been clarified, the seller will be given a chance to respond to the buyer’s concerns. They will be asked to provide any information required to resolve the dispute or evidence to demonstrate that the item that has been sent is as promised in their original listing. The seller will also be asked to verify their ID to ensure that the mutual trust between the two parties can be established.

Based on the details supplied by both the buyer and seller Gumtree will make a recommendation about the suggested outcome of the dispute and confirm this with both parties. If either party fails to comply with the various requests for information, it may impact the outcome of the process.
There may be a need for further discussion between the two parties to arrive at a mutually agreed upon resolution. In this case Gumtree will make all reasonable efforts to mediate the discussion and in cases where it is required will advise on options for arbitration.

Once a mutually acceptable conclusion has been reached, Gumtree will update the status of order/purchase to reflect this decision and arrange for the funds to be released to the appropriate party and, where necessary, for the return of the item.