ebay not sticking by own policies

KevinM2k_2

Hi,

I recently sold a mobile phone on ebay for £200, I listed in the article twice that the phone had a defect and I had numerous emails from buyers asking about it which I gave full information on, some of them bidded.

It was then sold and the money paid - i sent the item out, a few days later the buyer puts in a dispute saying that the item doesnt match description as it has a defect (yes the same one i listed in the article).

After a few back and forward emails ebay stepped in and yesterday I got an email saying they have decided in buyers favour - immediately i contacted ebay who informed me this wasn't the case and it was an automated email but they have asked buyer to send item back and i should check it when it comes back for any faults.

Now if they would of read his complaint to me they would of realised it was the same thing i mentioned in the article and looking at ebays OWN terms and conditions it does state that they will not decide the buyer is right if the defect is mentioned fully in the article... but obviously it seems they have ignored this and are trying to push for a refund anyways... as far i'm concerned they are now in breach of there own contractual agreements with me and anyone else who has a similar issue.

I am pushing the complaints every day and seeing if I can get anywhere but keep getting conflicting emails off different members of ebay staff all the time. Some saying when I get item then I should appeal and say it does match description, others saying it will auto refund when it is returned.

I have closed my paypal account (can they still push a refund?) and will be closing my ebay account after this, I am totally unwilling to give a refund based on what the buyer has said (he has simply changed his mind). Does anyone know where I stand on this as I am totally willing to push a small claim against ebay for breaching the contract and going against there own buyers/sellers protection guidelines.

As you can imagine, this locked my paypal account for like 2 weeks and caused loads of issues with shops I use paypal to pay - and it looks like this is going to continue for a while yet.

Thanks for any help

Kevin

sequence

Have you actually let the dispute run it's course ? It's not clear in your post, did ebay decide in the buyers favor ? If the buyer returns via tracked means, you will have to refund.

reborndoll

You sold and item the seller wants to return it in order for them not to get a refund you closed your Paypal account or it was suspended.

If potential ebay buyers still had to email and ask what the fault was , that makes it obvious you did not describe the fault ,I would advise you call the buyer to talk to them on the phone or ebay as emails can be confusing. Rather than jump in all defensive and don't think closing a paypal account means they won't get a refund, your Paypal cc back up method will be debited -and you will still owe Paypal.

And to save any hassle, you will have to take the thing back and refund the buyer, and you will not be able to use ebay again to sell anyway, cos you have closed your paypal account. That was a bit premature of you, Paypal is good for using on many websites .

KevinM2k_2

Sorry. No the eBay account is still open and the dispute has been seem in buyers favour and it is in process of being sent back to me.

soolin

Just as a point to note, you cannot close your paypal account while there is any time frame that allows a chargeback. Your account is still open and as soon as buyer shows the phone has come back to you, or an attempted delivery has been made paypal will refund him.

If your account has no money then paypal will overdraw you and chase you for years for the balance.

If you allow it to get that far then you need to be prepared for some real harrassment, and it might pay you to go to the debt boards and find out exactly how far debt collection can go before it is deemed harrassment. You may well be in for a bumpy ride.

KevinM2k_2

I know exactly what the defect is as it was described in my auction. The emails i got where to do with asking what id done to try repair rather than what it was. What I don't get is how eBay can rule in buyers favour on a snad when it clearly is. Surely that is beach of there own conditions. I closed PayPal as I will not have them auto refunding from my account. I know what will put my account in negative but I disagree that they have resolved this correctly and want to dispute the whole case that is the reason I'm here to try and fond out where i stand

soolin

I listed in the article twice that the phone had a defect and I had numerous
emails from buyers asking about it which I gave full information on, some of
them bidded.

As stated above, this bit from your post also suggests that your original ad was unclear which is probably why ebay found for the buyer.

reborndoll

Bite the bullet and refund , re advertise the item with a full description and remember to use the FOR PARTS or NOT WORKING ebay drop down of the description if you said "used" you have technically mis -described it, when you get it back, send the buyer a refund , and move on. You can apologise to them and also sent a cancellation of sale notice so you get FVF back . If it is on it's way back you are obliged to repay their money including post .

KevinM2k_2

The information they wanted is what I'd attempted for the fix rather than what it was. The problem was simple... Phone gets no service.

KevinM2k_2

So end of day what your saying I'd eBay can do what they like, ignore there own guidelines and there is nothing a buyer can do... I won't be dealing on eBay again if that is the case

ballisticbrian

Lots of buyers panic and just click buy in the last few seconds and haven't even read the auction. eBay will side on the buyers most of the time.