eBay refuse to change my registered email address

mrochester

Hi all

For some reason I have a feeling I may have posted a thread along these lines already, but as I can't find anything, I'll try again!

My registered email address with eBay needs to be changed.

I cannot do this myself on the website as I get an error message stating that my username and email address cannot be the same (they aren't, as my email address has an @ sign in it, followed by a domain, which my username doesn't).

I have written to eBay asking them to change it. Basically, they are saying they won't change it for me, and that I have to use the website myself to do it. However, I can't, because of the above error.

Am I right in saying that under the Data Protection Act, eBay are legally obliged to change the personal information they hold about me at my request which is inaccurate or incorrect?

Many thanks!

Michael.

soolin

When they say the username and email address are the same they don't mean exactly. They just don't like for instance bobsbooksinHULL as a username where the email address or website is bobsbooksinHULL @ Hotmail.com .

Just get another email address that is different, it hardly makes a great deal of difference as users won't see it anyway and you cna link up to 8 in the same paypal account.

Hintza

Just start a new account?

neilmcl

Hintza wrote: »

Just start a new account?

What and lose all their feedback!

mrochester

soolin wrote: »

When they say the username and email address are the same they don't mean exactly. They just don't like for instance bobsbooksinHULL as a username where the email address or website is bobsbooksinHULL @ Hotmail.com .

Just get another email address that is different, it hardly makes a great deal of difference as users won't see it anyway and you cna link up to 8 in the same paypal account.

The problem is eBay won't be able to contact me via email anymore. My understanding is that regardless of what policy eBay have in relation to usernames/email addresses, they can't use that as an excuse to circumvent the law which states they must change inaccurate/incorrect information.

Bongedone

Change your eBay user ID to something not contained in your email address. It is to protect you from spam.

mrochester

Bongedone wrote: »

Change your eBay user ID to something not contained in your email address. It is to protect you from spam.

I tried that, but they couldn't do that either as the one I want is in use!

Bongedone

Choose a different one!

I will be hard coded not to accept mrochester as a username and [EMAIL="mrrochester@hotmail.com"]mrrochester@hotmail.com[/EMAIL] as an email address.

Not much else you can do.

wealdroam

mrochester wrote: »

I tried that, but they couldn't do that either as the one I want is in use!

Mrochester, don't be so pathetic!

Of course you can't have the same username as someone else.

mrochester

The main issue I have with this is that eBay are expecting me to change my personal details to match their systems. I couldn't change my email address last year because of the same reason, but when I wrote to them they changed it for me. However, this time, they are refusing to change it. I think I will take my business elsewhere and ask them to remove all of my personal details since I very rarely use it.

wealdroam

mrochester wrote: »

The main issue I have with this is that eBay are expecting me to change my personal details to match their systems. I couldn't change my email address last year because of the same reason, but when I wrote to them they changed it for me. However, this time, they are refusing to change it.

Is changing your email address an annual occurrence?
No wonder ebay want to avoid their manual intervention.

mrochester wrote: »

I think I will take my business elsewhere and ask them to remove all of my personal details since I very rarely use it.

Sounds like a solution.