eBay - buyer falsely reported item not as described and has damaged box on return. help!

[disgruntledebayer]

hi everyone, this is only my 3rd sale on ebay, and i have been put right off. looks like i will be left out of pocket with an item damaged by an abusive buyer and a black mark against me.

My buyer has over 100 +ve feedback for selling and 3000 +ve for buying but she is a complete nightmare, rude and uncommunicative.

she insisted item wasn't as described but wouldn't properly explain the problem, claiming some clips were missing and reported me to eBay. i accepted the return on that basis, feeling pretty stupid for not checking the item properly - it hadn't occured to me that something might be missing as this is so rare these days, i was selling-on a lightfitting from a now bankrupt DIY store because it was too long to hang on my stairs. When i got the lightfitting back, there were spare clips in the box as you would expect.

 

She has damaged the box by sending it back without any packaging (selotape ripped picture off box, box is now v dented etc), which would affect resale value, but frankly i don't want to risk this kind of abuse again - i am selling a few unwanted items to buy secondhand maternity clothes and baby items!!!

i have suggested that she send me the postage and i will resend the item to her, given that she has damaged it.

as you would expect she has refused but i am gettign no where with ebay and i am going to be out of pocket. i have reported her but this looks like a fruitless tasks going by the ebay community forum.

 

eBay haven't ruled on this yet, but having looked around their community forum i can see that ebay usually find against the seller no matter what.

They have quarantined my money from the sale and won't block the buyers emails to me, so in my view are helping her to harrass me.

eBay defaults to 'no returns' and advertises Seller Protection, but it turns out they mean 'no quibble returns at sellers expense' i wouldn't have listed anything if i'd known they'd leave me in this position.

can anyone offer any advice (other than sticking with NCT sales!!!!)

Surely eBay at least have to ensure i am not out of pocket and offer some compensation for the damage?

also does anyone know what it really means to have a ruling against you on ebay - do they share information with other multinationals for example? just wondering if they can make my life difficult when i'm buying/ selling elsewhere?

Thanks

[wiseajak]

Hello.

 

I to well know how ebay can act, i myself was victim to a dishonest buyer.

 

The fact is that your findings are correct ebay in 99.9% of cases will alway side with the buyer.

In which case they wil refund the buyer on your behalf if you refund them yourself an then chase you for reinbursement.

 

They will either take money from your paypal account, or ig you have 0 in paypal they will take it from

Your bank account if you have a reinbursement payment method on file with them.

 

This is found in the account financial info section.

 

Getting a black mark only goes on your seller dashboard which in turn buyers can see but it woudlnt stop buying or selling. They wont share info as uv asked but ebay get away with far to much.

 

I hope this helps

[wiseajak]

If you refund the buyer yourself ul be safe from

Hassle From ebay.

 

You can try and explain the situation to

Ebay but emails and calls fall on deaf ears as they do not listen they are ignoring my emails so iv given up and they can kiss goodbye to any hope of reinbursement lol

[ashmk]

You need to inform ebay via the resolution center that the buyer has not returned the goods as you sent them. Tell them they have been used and damaged and even bits missing if this is the case. Generally these cases will see ebay refund the seller from ebay's funds and release your funds back to you.

 

As for the buyer leaving a negative. If they are a seller then I leave it a few months then when they sell something for around a fiver I buy it on another account I only buy on and trash their feedback. Sellers should know better than to leave a negative feedback. I have done this a fair few times. Pety, but then I would cut of my nose to spite my own face.

[disgruntledebayer]

thanks for the replies.

so ebay have found against me and i have appealed, which means the money is still quarantined. i told them i thought eBay was 'not as described' as their system defaults to no returns but what they really mean is 'no quibble returns at the seller's expense', also that they have exposed me to abuse from the buyer by not reviewing the case more quickly as requested or blocking replies from the buyer; left me out of pocket both in terms of postage and with an item in a now damaged box not to mention the wasted time and distress they've caused. i also mentioned the fact that they buyer has a lot of impecable feedback when they are abusive and dishonest which is misleading to other buyers and sellers.

i've had what seems to be an understanding email in response where they've noted that i have tried to resolve the matter amicably. they have asked a lot from me though:

to report the incident as an internet fraud to the police. i've called the number on the website they sent me and the man told me it was a consumer matter, not fraud, which tbh feels right to me.

eBay want me to also send proof of postage which includes the buyers address (why?!)

they want me to send photos showing the damage although they haven't mentioned the fact that the item is complete and so not entitled to a return at all and haven't asked for photos proving that.

 

i will call the consumer number that the fraud people gave me but i do feel like i'm being sent on the run around for the sake of between £8 and probably £20 for the postage + damage, if eBay feel like it.

 

i'll let you know how i get on, but i do feel that eBay needs some tweaking to its procedures - this is not right and i can see from the consumer forum on eBay that other people have been left in a worse situation than me.

i guess eBay are hoping i will run out of steam before they do! i'm thinking that if i don't get some compensation from them and the feedback system doesn't reflect what has happened i will see if i can find a group of people to complain together. Surely that will get some proper attention!!

[wiseajak]

Hi

 

Thats a typical ebay responce. Thy have sided wrongly with the buyer but thats nothing new.

 

I couldnt agree more id more then happily complain with you however itl take hundreds of us to make any difference.

 

Ebay are under the impression that because they are a huge company they can get away with anything and everything and yes we all need to make a stand and show them different.

 

Appealing the decision i dont think will hold much hope as mine didnt but good luck.

 

Their procedures are not fit for purpose at all and their templates emails are a joke.

 

Even tho iv been telling them about my situation and possible hacking if my account they refuse to listen and have passed it on to a dca anyway expecting money, jog on i say! Lol

[disgruntledebayer]

Hi

 

Thats a typical ebay responce. Thy have sided wrongly with the buyer but thats nothing new.

 

I couldnt agree more id more then happily complain with you however itl take hundreds of us to make any difference.

 

Ebay are under the impression that because they are a huge company they can get away with anything and everything and yes we all need to make a stand and show them different.

 

Appealing the decision i dont think will hold much hope as mine didnt but good luck.

 

Their procedures are not fit for purpose at all and their templates emails are a joke.

 

Even tho iv been telling them about my situation and possible hacking if my account they refuse to listen and have passed it on to a dca anyway expecting money, jog on i say! Lol

 

Gosh it's quite shocking how they get away with it. Have you contacted trading standards or watchdog?

I don't think I've had a response yet (found myself ignoring my email account already!)

[citizenB]

We are seeing an increasing number of complaints in respect of Ebay. These do get tweeted, so who knows it might stir up some interest and perhaps even some action by Ebay.

[wiseajak]

Iv considered watch dog however i dont think itl hold much water. May try anyway.

 

I dont think ebay will take any action or listen to anyone. Theres hope tho lol

[dnormbiker]

I'm just having the same problem. We sent out a Diving Drysuit which the buyer states was not as descirbed. He then keeps it for 4 weeks during which time we belive he continued to use it.

 

When he ventually retuns it its substantially damaged to incorect maintenance and packing. We try to resolve it with the buyer but he's not interested.

 

He then files a not as described case and demands a full refund. Even though we'd already spoken with eBay and asked their advice and were told to refund excluding damage costs, ebay process the case and find in favour of the buyer and issue a full refund.

 

No matter what you do ebay will always find in favour of the buyer and offer absolutly no buyer protection. I'm not out of pocket to the tune of £200.00 I can't even get teh paypal or eBay fees refunded as they found in favour of the buyer.

 

I'm now seriously considering pulling all my items off eBay as its just not worth the hassle and risk combined with the high fees. I would recommend anyone selling to be very carefull when using eBay and maybe its time we start looking to use other on-line sites such as ebid etc.

 

Ebay BAD BAD company to deal with. just a massive money making machine with no loyalty to its sellers!!!:-x:-x:-x:-x

[johnym]

I'm just having the same problem. We sent out a Diving Drysuit which the buyer states was not as descirbed. He then keeps it for 4 weeks during which time we belive he continued to use it.

 

When he ventually retuns it its substantially damaged to incorect maintenance and packing. We try to resolve it with the buyer but he's not interested.

 

He then files a not as described case and demands a full refund. Even though we'd already spoken with eBay and asked their advice and were told to refund excluding damage costs, ebay process the case and find in favour of the buyer and issue a full refund.

 

No matter what you do ebay will always find in favour of the buyer and offer absolutly no buyer protection. I'm not out of pocket to the tune of £200.00 I can't even get teh paypal or eBay fees refunded as they found in favour of the buyer.

 

I'm now seriously considering pulling all my items off eBay as its just not worth the hassle and risk combined with the high fees. I would recommend anyone selling to be very carefull when using eBay and maybe its time we start looking to use other on-line sites such as ebid etc.

 

Ebay BAD BAD company to deal with. just a massive money making machine with no loyalty to its sellers!!!:-x:-x:-x:-x

 

Ebay has been going down the pan for quite a while now, I used to make quite a good living from ebay doing it in my spare time, it helped pay for a house lol but now I would never touch it to sell anything valuable.

 

It seems you were given very wrong information with regards to giving a refund minus damages. You have to accept returns, ebay will force you to accept them if the case goes against you and if the item comes back damaged you appeal the case. Its best to accept the return and appeal once you have your item back, at least you’ll have your final value fees refunded.

 

It’s true they almost always find in the buyers favour but a few times before I closed my selling account in 2011 I had cases go in my favour ONLY because the buyer had dropped themselves in it telling lies in messages and contradicting themselves, a couple even admitted replacing parts.

 

Its upto you whether you continue selling on ebay, it’s only going to get worse with ebay Tony grinning at the bottom of every page but here’s a tip, never sell anything on ebay you can’t afford to lose.

[dx100uk]

My husband and I have been happy ebay members for several years. Quite recently approx. 1 year ago we decided to sell a few things on ebay. We have sold only a few items on ebay and almost each time, we experienced issues with problematic and dishonest buyers , we have been cheated from dishonest buyers and ebay, so much that we decided to stop once and for all to sell on ebay. First to start with, we are always very accurate with our descriptions, selling only genuine items described fully, providing normally 10 or 12 clear photos of the piece by showing every part of the objet, together with an accurate written description. We also advice to email us in advance in case of any query or question from the buyer and it is clearly stated in the listing that we are only private sellers therefore we do NOT accept returns for any reason. The recent main problem with ebay is that so many buyers are abusing the ''returns policy'' by falsely claiming that an item is '' not as described '' or '' not genuine '' when it is well described and absolutely genuine. Here briefly what dishonest buyers do : 1- They buy your item 2 - they FALSELY claim that it is ''not as described'' once they get the item 3- initial blackmail emails from the buyer, then if the refund is refused they will force a return by opening a case with ebay 4- they will get their money back and also your item too for free !!!!!! This is what the recent ebay ' returns policy ' is all about. eBay is now a free rental agency or more like if you are a buyer '' buy what you want, get your money back and keep the goods for free, no worries ebay will take care of everything !! ''

So here the last terrifying story happened to us just a few weeks ago. We sold an antique mirror with embroidered frame from the 17th Century, purchased personally a year before from a reputable auction house with included documentation of authenticity. The buyer did not ask any question prior to buy the item, he purchased the item, took a week to pay for it and only after we emailed him. He received the item carefully and professionally packaged in two large new thick boxes with a full roll of new bubble wrap and tape, new boxes costs £10 each and at no extra cost for the buyer, the same day that the item was delivered, we receive an email from the buyer stating that '' the item is not genuine and I want to send it back '', all nonsense because the item is absolutely genuine and well documented. We refused to accept the return because the item was accurately described and genuine plus it was stated, no returns in our listing.. two days later the buyer opened a case in ebay, we then provided full written evidence of the authenticity of the mirror and frame from the reputable auction house where we purchased the item from to ebay, and they just did not care !!!! Ebay refunded the buyer the following day and told the buyer to destroy the item !!!!! then ebay billed us with £1,000 and we lost a rare valuable item too !!! the criminal buyer does not reply to our emails, he received the money back now from ebay, he will not send our item back anymore, ebay told him even to destroy the item !!!!!! .. by the way the buyer did not provide any evidence of this with any photo when he was supposed to provide evidence of the item being destroyed.

There is no doubt that the buyer ( a highly dishonest smooth criminal in this case ) knew very well that the item is authentic, he made up all this nonsense to get fully refunded by ebay and having the item for free. He knew what to do and how to get our item and money back. We have been completely cheated, we lost a rare valuable item and money but ebay will not see a penny from us . except for the listing and selling fee already paid.

We provided full evidence of the authenticity of the piece which it has been completely ignored by ebay plus the item has NOT been returned to us so we are more than happy to solve the matter with our sollicitors if needed. Meanwhile, never again. My advice to other ebay members is not to sell anything on ebay , more than ever now with this recent revised so called 'returns policy' !!!! .. but if you are really thinking to sell on ebay anyway, be aware of these criminal buyers and particularly that ebay always side with the buyers, no matter what and no matter if you have evidence to prove otherwise, they will ignore your emails, your evidence or proof, unless you show them a letter from the police or your sollicitor and even with this they might still ignore the whole thing. As mentioned, this is the last time we get betrayed from ebay.

 

 

this thread is over a year old you'll get missed

please start a new thread

 

 

of your own

 

 

thank you

 

 

dx

[citizenB]

new thread started for crystalsound -

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?440781-Re-eBay-buyer-falsely-reported-item-not-as-described-not-returned-item