Advice for ebay "not delivered" claim

rmcsherry

I've recently had an ebay chargeback over an item that wasn't delivered. The buyer had the case settled in his favour despite me showing proof of delivery to his address. The buyer is also being investigated for fraud by paypal after making chargebacks against a number of people - strangely, he has 2 closed ebay accounts, 3 active ones and 6 paypal accounts. Ebay are aware of this but won't comment.

As the item was expensive (£1870!!), I apparently need to provide proof of signature. The item was posted abroad, and this may take up to 3 months to arrive - and ebay have closed my appeal despite the proof I have of delivery, and despite knowing that it will take some time to get proof of signature from an overseas postal service.

I have requested a point of contact that can help (ebay US are useless over the phone) and have been refused. I now have a £1870 invoice that I cannot afford to repay - and have not been given the option of further appeal / providing further proof / awaiting the outcome of the investigation by Paypal's fraud squad against the buyer.


So... any advice on where to go from here? I can't ignore the invoice, but can't afford to repay it. Presumably they'll send it to a debt collector before long, and I have been given no further options despite the fact that a) receiving confirmation of delivery to the recipient's address, and b) the fact that he is being investigated for unfair dealings and provided misleading and inaccurate information about the purchase in his initial claim.

Thanks for reading, and suggestions greatly appreciated (I'm trying to avoid taking ebay to the courts as this sounds expensive!).

soolin

Firstly I admit i am terrible with couriers, but which did you use that can't show an online signature for 3 months :eek:

You mention the US but I am assuming you are actually in the UK as that is all we can help you with here. Unfortunately for paypal seller protection the criteria is very strict, items over £150 must have a signature viewable online, no sig means no seller protection.

In this instance and in view of the money involved I would be seeking legal advice about persuing the buyer through whatever courts you can abroad to reclaim your loss. To do that though you will need absolutely perfect tracking, does your online tracking show beyond doubt that item was delivered to and accepted at the address that paypal told you was OK to send to?

I am also surprised that you managed to get info suggesting that this buyer is already under investigation, do you have written proof of that that you can use against the buyer if it goes to court? Have you also got proof of all the closed accounts? I have never known ebay or paypal to actually give specific details of any action taken against another member, the most they usually do is make comments about how they take it seriously and sometimes (to get you off the phone) will make unsubstantiated claims that they are aware of a buyer being an issue.

rmcsherry

Soolin,
Thanks for the reply. The service was Royal Mail international signed for to Romania, with online tracking showing delivery and verbal confirmation with Romanian post that it was delivered to his address.

The fact the buyer being investigated was discovered by fluke - searching his name bought up a forum with many annoyed members that have been conned by him over the past few months.

Without proof of signature in my hand, it's difficult to know what to do next, and very troubling that I have an invoice from ebay to somehow repay!

soolin

rmcsherry wrote: »

Soolin,
Thanks for the reply. The service was Royal Mail international signed for to Romania, with online tracking showing delivery and verbal confirmation with Romanian post that it was delivered to his address.

The fact the buyer being investigated was discovered by fluke - searching his name bought up a forum with many annoyed members that have been conned by him over the past few months.

Without proof of signature in my hand, it's difficult to know what to do next, and very troubling that I have an invoice from ebay to somehow repay!

Ah, I suspect you won't ever get a signature as one of my cut and paste quotes every time someone asks about expensive items going overseas states:

Are all International Signed For™ items electronically tracked when they are delivered?
We track all International Signed For™ items until they leave the UK and then the item is handed over to the destination country's postal service as a priority item. However, we can’t track your International Signed For™ item all the way to delivery in every instance.

http://www2.royalmail.com/delivery/delivery-options-international/international-signed/faqs#13300242

Too late for you I realsie but Royal Mail is not a suitable service, that's why I automatically assumed that like most businesses you used a courier for high end International goods.

I can't suggest any more then than to pay for some real legal advice to see if it is possible to persue someone in Romania.

martindow

Romania is in the EC so i think you could try the European small claims procedure

http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/judicialatlascivil/html/sc_information_en.htm

However as with claims in the UK 'winning' the case does not guarantee seeing any money. I'm not sure how the system works and it is possible the case could be transferred to Romania with a hearing in Romanian.

Crowqueen

martindow wrote: »

Romania is in the EC so i think you could try the European small claims procedure

http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/judicialatlascivil/html/sc_information_en.htm

However as with claims in the UK 'winning' the case does not guarantee seeing any money. I'm not sure how the system works and it is possible the case could be transferred to Romania with a hearing in Romanian.

Was going to post something similar last night but wasn't sure enough of the detail to get round Soo's very good suggestion on getting paid-for legal advice. The only EU country that someone can't do this with is Denmark.

I am trying to imagine why that is, but never mind.

Good luck, OP, hope you get some sort of resolution.

swimsink

I had someone rip me off over an iPhone on eBay despite sending special delivery - long story - it got sent to a debt collector and i had to pay it back so was £180 + iphone down, once its settled they reckon thats that and nothing can be done its very unfair. Hope yours turns out better! Good luck

rmcsherry

Thanks for the replies, everybody! I'm not holding out too much hope - still disappointed with how one-sided ebay seems to be. The funny thing is, before the case was decided I spoke with a member of ebay US support over the phone who gave me an absolute "100%" guarantee that I was covered by seller protection and needn't worry. She even wrote this on my case notes, so it's even more concerning that promises made by ebay are not kept.

I'll keep you posted with any progress!

soolin

rmcsherry wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, everybody! I'm not holding out too much hope - still disappointed with how one-sided ebay seems to be. The funny thing is, before the case was decided I spoke with a member of ebay US support over the phone who gave me an absolute "100%" guarantee that I was covered by seller protection and needn't worry. She even wrote this on my case notes, so it's even more concerning that promises made by ebay are not kept.

I'll keep you posted with any progress!

Ebay and paypal are well known for telling users anything at all to get them off the phone. Unfortunately they will not bend the rules at all and th epaypal requirements for seller protection are quite clear.

Go get yourself some proper legal advice but spend money persuing the buyer, not paypal, good luck

rmcsherry

I just received a proof of signature from the overseas postal service, confirming delivery to the recipients address, signed by him. I'm not sure if ebay will accept it as the original case and appeal have now been turned down (despite asking for an email address to send proof to, which was declined).

Has anybody had any luck contacting the UK office, or is it mainly admin?

theonlywayisup

Is it online proof or hard copy? If its online, then try and ring Paypal and see if you get anywhere. If not, then you may have to resort to civil process with the hard copy.