how do u respond 2 bad transactions

pug_in_a_bed

Just wondered genreally how people, buyers and sellers, respond to bad transactions on ebay - eg items not sent, non payers?

this morning a cheque that cleared on monday ahs bounced, of course i'd already sent the item out in my good ebay spirit,as soon as it cleared. I'm spitting becasue had loads of good communication with the individual, but her feedback is suggesting that it wasnt a mere mistake :lots of good fb from sellers, awful frm buyers (items not sent).

its not just annoying that i have lost a heap of cash, but its more that now i'll be worried about otehr cheques, and be much more like a police state in my selling tactics!! Iam surprised at myself for feeling personally affronted!! i've been selling/buying for a good while now vrtually no problems either...BOO! :P

Clareo

How does that happen? I always wait for it to clear the 3 or 4 days or whatever and shows as available in my account and I thought that was enough! Can you not take it up with your bank? I mean surely that's what the 3 or 4 day period is for, to ensure it doesn't bounce?

I hope you manage to get the money back somehow.

pug_in_a_bed

i know!! i cant understand it either, unless the ebayers account emptied of cash whilst the cheque was intransit..anyway, will see if she gets back to me..doubtful >:(

VH

It's possible for the bank to claw back money cleared from a cheque long after it's cleared. For example, if the cheque is fraudulent.

Even after a cheque clears, most banks will give no guarantee on the funds. For this reason I no longer accept cheques for payment, they're too dodgy and they give non-payers a good delaying excuse.

What you should have done really is thoroughly checked the buyer's feedback and maybe asked them to pay by a different method. Or waited longer to make sure the funds were genuine.

You might find this useful.

Clareo

It's possible for the bank to claw back money cleared from a cheque long after it's cleared. For example, if the cheque is fraudulent.

Even after a cheque clears, most banks will give no guarantee on the funds. For this reason I no longer accept cheques for payment, they're too dodgy and they give non-payers a good delaying excuse.

You learn something every day! I always thought as long as it had cleared you were safe! Will certainly be more cautious when accepting cheques. Many thanks for the advice.

angelcake

It's possible for the bank to claw back money cleared from a cheque long after it's cleared. For example, if the cheque is fraudulent.

Even after a cheque clears, most banks will give no guarantee on the funds. For this reason I no longer accept cheques for payment, they're too dodgy and they give non-payers a good delaying excuse.

What you should have done really is thoroughly checked the buyer's feedback and maybe asked them to pay by a different method. Or waited longer to make sure the funds were genuine.

You might find this useful.

What do you accept? surely that would make people not bid as not everyone uses paypal etc!

I would wait until the cheque has cleared.......5 working days! unless it is under £10, If you have had a good run of ebay then it may just be the odd transaction like this! Perhaps only accept different methods ie recorded cash or postal order on items that will make a lot of money!

I would be really annoyed if this happened to me! You have lost money and the item! I would keep emailing perhaps with a little...if you can't manage to send it my brother lives about 10 miles away from your area so he could pick it up to save postage?

soolin

"I would wait until the cheque has cleared.......5 working days! unless it is under £10, "

As has already been said a cheque only clears for funds after 5 (or whatever) days, it doesn't clear against a reversal request.

You cannot be sure that a cheque will not be reversed after days weeks or even months, it is unusual but it does happen. See my post on another thread where I had a cheque reversed after 6 weeks.

Having said that, although I dislike cheques I do accept that only a very small percentage will give you problems. I still send virtually all my items out as soon as I receive a cheque rather than wait for cleared funds. I have been lucky in that I have never had a problem with paypal even though it accounts for about 98-99% of my business, I do however reckon on at least one problem cheque every few months.

If you are ooking for another method of payment then do consider direct bank transfers, they seem ideal and something I am really pushing at the moment. As soon as someone tells me they are going to send a cheque I immediately email then and suggest a bank transfer instead to save them the cost of the stamp.

Like the OP I do always feel a sense of regret and let down when I have a problem with ebay. It seems to stick in my mind and I spend ages thinking about ways to tackle the problem. That's why I find this group so useful, I have posted on here a few times when I have had a problem and just hearing what other people have to say, or hearing their stories can help.

Soo

VH

I only accept Paypal now Angelcake.

Only dealt with 2 cheques and both were trouble, so stopped accepting them. Don't accept Postal Orders either as it's too easy for them to go AWOL in the post.

I haven't noticed any significant drop in interest in my auctions since I did this.

Despite what people say about Paypal it's convenient and fast for me, I can post out next day and everyone is happy.

However like Soolin I am considering accepting other forms of payment as well. I like the idea of Bank Transfers but not sure how long they take.

Also Natwest are now doing a service called Fastpay I think, I have heard good things about it but have not looked further yet.

coupon_king_2

I also had a problem with a cheque that was returned to ME stating it had to be RE-PRESENTED!
The buyer had gone to their bank and cancelled it after they had received the goods. I went to my bank to do this and it has cleared the second time ( obviously from what I have read on here now waiting for this one to bounce also & I cant affored to lose nearly £70 ! )

While there I asked about cheques being cancelled after they show as cleared ..... bank clerk looked at me as if I had 2 heads ...... I also checked with the other bank I use regarding cheques and get this ... If I present a cheque to them that bounces I GET CHARGED £6 each time ( how am I supposed to know when a cheque is going to be a dud ! )

Its now getting to the stage where I am wondering if ebay is really worth the hassle as it appears the CON-MEN are moving in !