Most problems are solved by the two steps before raising anything. Do those first; they take ten minutes and they are also what makes a raised issue strong if you still need it.
Step one: message the seller
From the order. Say what is wrong, factually, with a photo.
This resolves the large majority of problems, because most of them are a misunderstanding about what was included or a courier that did something odd. A seller who can fix it in one reply usually will — they have more to lose than you do.
Step two: give them a short, real chance
Not three days, and not four minutes. A working day.
Where it is a return, the app already states the clock: The seller has 48 hours to reply. You have to wait 48 hours before Metzee can step in on a return, and that is not a delay — it is the window in which most of these end well.
Step three: raise it
Open the order and use Return or replace / Start a return for something that arrived and is wrong, or Ask Metzee to help to escalate where the seller has not answered or you cannot agree.
Ask Metzee to help is the escalation. It is not a louder version of messaging the seller, and using it first skips the step that solves most cases.
What to attach
This is what decides it, and it cannot be created afterwards — only produced:
- Photographs of the item as it arrived, including the packaging if it was damaged
- The parcel before you opened it, if it looked disturbed
- The listing text or photo you are relying on — "the description said X"
- Your messages with the seller, if something was agreed there
What to write
Short, specific, no adjectives. A dispute is read by somebody with no context, and the record is what decides it.
This works: "The listing said 22K hallmarked and showed a HUID. The piece that arrived has no hallmark. Photos attached."
This does not: "Seller is a fraud, please help urgently."
The first one settles a case. The second one asks somebody to go and find out what happened.
What happens next
The order shows Issue open or Issue reported. Metzee decides a dispute within 48 hours of it being opened.
While it is open, that order's money is held and not released to the seller. So the money being in the system is why this works at all — it is not a claim against a policy, it is a disagreement settled while the payment is still recoverable.
The time limit that matters
Raise it within days, not weeks. Courier records age out, sellers forget individual parcels, and a complaint a month later is decided on much thinner evidence.
For an item that never arrived, the moment tracking says delivered and it is not with you is the moment to start. Tracking says delivered but nothing came.
Questions people ask
Does raising an issue get the seller in trouble?
A dispute decided against them counts toward their defect rate. One decided in their favour does not. That is the right incentive and it is not your problem to manage.
Can I withdraw it?
A return can be withdrawn — Withdraw return. Do that if you resolve it directly, so the record is not left open.
What if the seller never replies?
That is exactly what Ask Metzee to help is for, after the 48 hours.
Will I get my money back?
If the decision goes your way, yes. How refunds work.
More: how to raise an issue, how buyer protection works, how to return something.