r/vestiaireco

Vestiaire Collective sided with buyer despite my pre-dispatch photos showing the tag – has anyone successfully escalated a case like this?
Post
I’m posting this because I’m genuinely shocked by how Vestiaire Collective has handled a disputed return, and I’m hoping someone from VC can escalate this properly.
I sold a relatively expensive Maje dress from my personal wardrobe. I have the original retailer purchase history and matching bank transaction, as well as original listing photos and iPhone photos showing the dress and tag.
The timeline is what concerns me most:
Friday: Buyer paid for the dress and immediately started pressuring me about delivery because she said she needed it for Saturday.
Saturday 14:17: Buyer collected the parcel.
Saturday 23:25: Buyer first claimed the dress had arrived without its tag.
So the buyer had possession of the dress for 9 hours and 8 minutes before reporting that an immediately visible tag was supposedly missing.
I had photographs taken before dispatch showing the tag attached and submitted a detailed evidence pack to VC, including:
original listing and pre-dispatch photographs;
original iPhone photo information;
original purchase/order history;
matching bank transaction;
postage and tracking evidence;
the buyer conversation and exact timeline;
previous communications where I had already raised concerns with VC; and
a UK suspected-fraud report reference.
I specifically asked VC’s QC team to examine the returned dress for the tag attachment point, cutting/broken threads, whether the detached tag was inside the parcel, and any signs of wear or alteration.
Instead, VC sent me a generic decision saying their experts found that the item “doesn’t match the description”, cancelled the transaction and warned that this would negatively affect my seller status.
What really shocked me was the explanation I subsequently received from VC Customer Care.
I was told my photos showing the tag attached were insufficient because they did not prove that the tag was still there at the “exact moment” I packaged or shipped the parcel.
But how can that standard only apply to the seller?
If my photograph cannot prove what happened immediately afterwards, then a buyer’s photograph taken after receiving an item cannot prove what happened during the nine hours after collection either.
I am not saying that VC should automatically assume the buyer removed the tag. I am saying they should not automatically assume that I did.
Surely the correct approach is to examine all of the evidence and physically inspect the returned dress.
I have now submitted a formal complaint requesting:
an independent senior QC review;
the complete QC report and inspection photographs;
confirmation of the condition of the tag attachment point;
confirmation of whether the tag was returned inside the parcel;
confirmation of whether the dress showed signs of wear/alteration;
removal of any negative impact on my seller account;
compensation for the disputed dress; and
return of the dress to me at VC’s cost rather than automatically relisting it.
The automatic relisting part is particularly bizarre to me. VC says the returned dress no longer matches my description and wants to penalise my seller account for that discrepancy, but then wants to relist that same returned dress under my account.
I have asked them not to do so.
Has anyone successfully escalated a similar case beyond first-line Customer Care?
@VestiaireCollective / VC team: if you monitor this subreddit, I would appreciate someone senior reviewing this case. I have a complete evidence pack and formal complaint ready for review.
I would attach only 3–4 screenshots publicly: the buyer saying she needs it Saturday, tracking showing 14:17 collection, her 23:25 complaint, and Cindy’s extraordinary “exact moment you packaged or shipped” response.
Don’t upload the police reference, buyer’s name/address, your bank statement, order number in full, or the full evidence pack to Reddit. Those stay private for VC/police. This way the Reddit post is strong enough to attract attention without giving Elizabeth information she could potentially use if she sees it.