Posted by John Seidts [96.234.134.166] on Monday, December 30, 2013 at 18:23:08 :
In Reply to: Is there anything that can be done? posted by Glen of Idaho [72.173.64.59] on Monday, December 30, 2013 at 15:39:03 :
Ebay has a lot of issues, but they were very good about handling my issue about a year ago after I got on the phone with them. Here's how it went.
I sold an item on ebay ($5.00 item) to a guy in Holland. I thought it was strange when he gave me positive feedback for the item BEFORE I shipped it. I sent it out, and got an email saying it was significantly not as described. The complaint was that the customs fees were excessive and that wasn't in the auction description. He waited until the first day past ebay's resolution time period. So it had to be resolved by paypal. Remember that paypal, although owned by ebay, is a separate entity. Paypal sucked the money back out of my account.
I called them, spoke with a lovely woman in the Philippines, and described what happened. She took notes, put me on hold for a while, and then gave my money back in the account.
So here is what I have gathered on what actually occurred. Most people who do this are either first time buyers on ebay or people who are professional at doing it. What he said in his complaint was that the (customs) fees were excessive. Paypal saw only fees in their automated system, and took my money back. If I had not complained about it, and let the refund go back, he basically would have gotten a free item and I would be out the costs including ebay auction fees- basically I paid to give him something. What they are basically doing is scamming the automated system. The positive feedback guaranteed that my rep on ebay wasn't harmed, and had I not pursued it, would have gone un-recognized. Paypal communicates with ebay due to the nature of the transaction, so ebay has this guy on the radar.
Basically, if you are still in the time frame where you can deal with it on ebay, do it that way. I would not start a claim on it- I would just call the customer service number on ebay and deal with it that way. That way, it doesn't go into their "automated" resolution system, which is not always looked at by a human, and you have a chance to resolve it.
The other thing to do is to contact the seller and explain to them about mail fraud. If a person uses the post office to commit fraud, they have committed mail fraud. Even if the money has not changed hands through the mail, they have used the USPS to commit fraud. This means investigation by law enforcement, possible charges, and jail time if they are prosecuted. Most people who hear this are usually quick to comply, unless they are real hard core. If they have done this to you, they probably have done this to somebody else.
Good luck, and if you have any questions, contact me through via email.
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