For clarity, no refund was ever withheld in this transaction. The return and refund process was handled entirely through eBay’s Money Back Guarantee system and we followed that process exactly as required.
The reviewer suggests the refund took an unreasonable amount of time. As with all eBay returns, refunds are issued after the item has been returned and inspected. In this case the return was requested on 8 January, we approved the return immediately, issuing a prepaid label.
The reviewer did not dispatch the pump until 20 January and it was received by us on 22 January - two weeks after the return request was opened and approved.
Following inspection and testing, the refund was issued on 25 January, which was within three working days of the item being received.
During inspection we identified cosmetic damage (likely from fitting) and a damaged reservoir cap. The reservoir cap was replaced as it was unrepairable. The returned pump was tested using the same procedures applied to all units before dispatch and was found to be fully functional.
The reviewer complained that the pump was noisy - it is quite likely that the damaged inlet on the reservoir cap, which can only be attributed to over-tightening, allowed air to be sucked into the pump and cause the additional noise. The inlet on the reviewers pump had become oval in shape so would not mate correctly with the connecting hose which is circular.
In accordance with eBay’s return policy, deductions were applied to reflect the damage to the reservoir cap and general product reinstatement.
The reviewer subsequently opened a case to dispute the deduction. After reviewing the case, eBay confirmed we were not found at fault and our seller performance metrics were unaffected. The platform chose independently to reimburse the reviewer to close the case.
The review also refers to a “core surcharge” being withheld. This is incorrect. The item purchased was an outright pump sale (“No Exchange Needed”), meaning no exchange or core charge formed part of the original transaction.
Separately, we offered the reviewer the option to sell us their old pump for £20 for recycling purposes, which the reviewer accepted. The payment has been settled with the reviewer.
This review relates to a single transaction that the reviewer has now posted about across multiple platforms, including multiple reviews on Trustpilot.
Our Trustpilot profile was only created recently, which is why there are currently very few reviews here.
We have however been trading for many years and maintain a long-standing record of positive feedback across other platforms, including 100% positive feedback on eBay and consistently strong 5 star reviews from customers on Google.
We are often recommended within Mini owner club groups on Facebook where we actively help and support members with technical issues related to the Mini Steering System.
We take product quality and customer service very seriously and have supplied thousands of pumps over many years. In the rare event that a genuine issue occurs we work with customers to resolve it quickly and fairly, as reflected in other customer reviews.
We retain full records of the transaction, communications and testing process and are happy to provide them to Trustpilot if required.