Ebuyer - a pain to deal with

I always used to rate eBuyer: good range of products, efficient website, decent prices, reliable delivery.

But they're not so easy to deal with when things go wrong.

I bought a £7.99 pack of A4 paper as part of an order. The cellophane pack came (separately from other items) loose in a polythene bag - their error. The pack had split open and so the edges of some sheets of paper were damaged.

eBuyer require the following steps before they will refund or replace:

1. Fill out online form, explaining the problem in detail
2. Wait for response
3. Follow instructions in their response email, which insist that I need to call them during office hours
4. Wait several minutes for agent  - who tells me they need a photo (why couldn't they just have said that in their email?)
5. On receipt of photo, they send instructions on how to return the item. I need to provide proper packaging (ie better packaging than they used) - otherwise my return will be refused. And I have to guarantee to be available continuously from 0900 to 1900 on my chosen day for a pickup.

Are they trying to be difficult, or are they just lacking the nous to see that a regular customer doesn't deserve this sort of hassle for a low-value item?