ebay just suspended my account due to alleged fraud-advice needed

rgvkid

morning all,
woke up this morning to find 2 emails from ebay,totally out of the blue
first saying i have been unregistered due to a fraud complaint for an item
which nothing comes up for when you do a search on it
2nd email from ebay states that all my current auctions have been pulled
because of this
!!!!!! ?? first i've heard of this,and am understandably unhappy,esp. since i
had current auctions with bids on them.
to make it worse aswell,there were 2 worried emails from customers who won
goods through the week,basically asking if they were still going to received
their goods due to my status.
when i look at my ebay,the first email is repeated in the messages,but there
is no option to reply to the allegation.i have replied to both emails,and
have emailled them through their web form,basically saying what is this
about.
any help/advice appreciated,
cheers,
col

first ebay email :

Dear doublezerocol EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED BY BG

We regret to inform you that your eBay account has been suspended because
our Fraud Protection Team has notified us that a Fraud Protection Claim has
been paid against your account for Item 7114498183.

While this suspension is active, please be advised that you are prohibited
from using our site in any way, which includes registering a new account
name. It is important to note that if an attempt is made to re-register and
use the system, it may result in the permanent suspension of your eBay
account(s), which will not allow for a future reinstatement.

Please note that any seller fees due to eBay will immediately become due and
payable. eBay will charge any amounts you have not previously disputed to
the billing method currently on file.

In order for your account to be reinstated, you will need to make
restitution to eBay Claims Administration for the amount of the Protection
Claim pay out, and to the buyer for the additional amount that is not
covered under the Fraud Protection Program. You will also be required to
resolve all other outstanding complaints of Seller Non-Performance that have
been made against your account.

Payment must be in the form of a check or money order and must be made out
to eBay, Inc. Send your payment to:

Fraud Protection Program Reimbursement
Claim 318190
P.O. Box 188
Draper, UT 84020
USA

After we have received restitution for the amount of the claim pay out, we
will contact you with instructions on how to reimburse your buyer.

When we receive word from all parties that these complaints have been
resolved, we will review your account for reinstatement.

Regards,

SafeHarbor Department
eBay Inc.

second ebay email :

Dear Colin Bell (xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.com),

Your listing(s):


6526041475 WOLVERINE comics lot - inc #1+#100 and Specials-Lot #1
6526042198 WOLVERINE comics lot (20) inc #100,#16 onwards-Lot #2
6526042713 4 MANGA genuine Japanese books,Jpop and Manga-ADULT
6526043238 X-Force Collection (19 comics) inc.#1 and Specials
6526043743 SABRETOOTH #1-4 and Special Event Wraparound FOIL cover
6526044438 X-FACTOR comics lot (38 in total)-#2 onwards - LOT #1
6526046685 X-FACTOR comics lot (40 in total)-#73 onwards - LOT #2
6526047180 Marvel Comics Presents WOLVERINE-25 issues,#2 onwards
6526048424 Marvel Comics Presents(WOLVERINE)-35 issues,#68 onwards
6526049121 The New Mutants-27 issues,1983 onwards
6526050282 VENOM - 13 issues inc. miniseries complete-spiderman
6526051090 X-FILES comics inc. signed ASHCAN,great condition-(24)



have been ended early and all fees credited to your account. Your listings
were removed for the following reason:

* Account Suspension

You will be sent a separate notification regarding your account suspension.

We thank you for your cooperation.

Respectfully,

Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
eBay Inc

rogue_element

Well as a suggestion first off, I would NOT post your email on any public forum, so change it to a few xxxs now otherwise you will get lots and lots of spam...

Secondly, check out item 7114498183
What have you heard from the buyer/seller?
He obviously thinks something is wrong. You should email him for more information and contact ebay asking for more information too. They have proper customer service now, not just default replies, so you might have a chance of getting to the bottom of it...

dragonfly02

the buyer definatly had a HUGE problem with the item you sold them looking at your feedback and it sounds like they were really stroppy.
can you check back on your old emails for info on which item it is they had a problem with?
it sounds like you sold them something and they believe it to be a fake

"sold plastic for ivory" there feedback in relation to the item.
you also should still be able to see what the item was in "my ebay"

soolin

Firstly the e mail does look genuine and the fact that your account shows as suspended when other users (your current buyers) log in would lead me to believe it is not a spoof. The only way to deal with the suspension is to clear the fraud debt. Your account is definitely showing as suspended BTW.

Looking at the emails it appears that the buyer on item 7114498183 (which is no longer in the database but can be found on a search) has filed a fraud complaint against you and ebay have found in their favour. That means they require you to pay back all charges associated with that auction. The buyer on that auction refers to the fact that ebay have accepted a fraud complaint against you on an item as can be seen on the negative he left for you.

A fraud claim is a very serious matter so somewhere in the past you must have received some information about it, ebay would have contacted you several times about it giving you time frames to respond and if you didn't respond then the claim would automatically be found in the buyers favour. Are you sure you didn't get strange emails form ebay that you thought were spoofs and junked rather than deal with?

Your only hope is to try and find the missing emails from ebay or get copies from them, and pay up what you owe.

This is quite a complicated matter so I would strongly suggest that you ask the same question on the alt.ebay.uk group but don't post your hotmail address there. There are some very experienced users on there who might be able to help you further.

Soo

rgvkid

yep,worked out now that its a dispute from ages ago.sold a guy in portugal billiard balls,he disputed that they were as described,ebay did an enquiry which i responded to,that was the last i heard about it (prob about 2 months ago).
bit miffed that they can just suddenly ban you,without giving you advance warning etc.

i rem. the guy being a stroppy git,one of the reasons i didnt refund straight away was he didnt have paypal,and he was also insisting on me paying extra money bcos h e'd had to get a cheque in GBP etc.
cheers,
col

soolin

rgvkid wrote:

bit miffed that they can just suddenly ban you,without giving you advance warning etc.

icol

They did give you warning, all the dispute letters would have told you how serious the complaint was and how not dealing with it could result in your account being suspended.

You need to find out now what monies are owing in total and repay those and then hopefully ebay will reinstate you.

Soo

rgvkid

i received emails from ebay about this ages ago,which i replied to stating that the goods were as described.
have heard nothing at all since that,until this morning.
feel its a bit harsh,since i say the goods are as described,buyer says theyre not,i hear nothing for ages and am then suddenly banned.
cheers

quoia

Since the item has been pulled and no information is available, can you fill in a few bits that will put the incident into context?

What exactly was the item? (Billiard balls - a set of 3? or snooker balls set of 22? or what?)
Why did you think they were ivory? (relatively old, rare and expensive if they were)
How much did they sell for?
What was P&P etc. ? (presumably quite a bit given the destination and my estimate of weight)
How did you receive payment? (Euros ?)
Did you get the balls back since you did a refund ?
How much did you refund and by what method ?

What was the timescale and sequence of each action in the sale? (eg Did you refund after getting the balls back or was it the otherway round? etc..?)

I have my own ideas as to how I would have handled this, asuming they were not ivory as advertised, but I'll leave any response until I have more of the actual facts.

rgvkid

the item was a set of 3 billiard balls in a wooden box witha rule book,very old and i was assured that they were ivory by my father (though i'm no expert).
they sold for almost £70,postage was under £10 (buyer didnt want recorded international,i got proof of posting).
he paid by sending a cheque in GBP.
the buyer emailled me saying they were not ivory,and was very stroppy about it saying he was going to send them back and expected me to pay his extra costs for getting a GBP cheque.i offered paypal for refund but he doesnt have paypal.things then went downhill for comminication,as he was not willing to compromise at all re: postage,costs incurred etc. and he filed a claim with ebay,which i responded to,saying the goods were as described.
timescale wise,everything was done within the initial few weeks ofd the deal.
the reason the communnications went downhill was that i didnt believe i should pay all of the costs(as i believe the goods are as described).if i didnt,i would of course have refunded (and not misdescibed them in the first place).he has feedback,but its private and didnt trust him to receive the same goods back,esp. after me refunding.
cheers

quoia

So you have got the balls back then ?
And you still believe them to be made of ivory ?

First thing I'd do is try to establish whether they genuinely are made of ivory and not the composite material that we use today (even if a very old and early version of it) by taking them to an antique dealers or similar.
I'm sure there is one fairly local that can advise accordingly and provide a valuation. (Are there any dates or manufacturers names on the the box or the rule book?)

It might be worth having a Google is you do find anything.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Did you know that the first plastic billiard balls were invented over 130 years ago ?
I found this :
JOHN WESLEY HYATT - Inventor of the composite billiard ball
The inventor of the world's first plastic. His discovery of celluloid, in 1869, revolutionized not only the billiard ball, but countless industries worldwide. Strangely, his discovery had more to do with billiards than any plastic-related vision or enterprise. His search began as a result of a $10,000 prize, being offered for a substitute for ivory, in the composition of billiard balls.

Though his discovery was not deemed worthy of the prize, later advances in plastics led to the balls of today, and forever changed the face of the world. It can thusly be stated that the world's first plastic was actually the result of a billiard-related quest: the search for a new material, for the perfect billiard ball.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Maybe yours are plastic afterall and so you should "take it on the chin" and bear all the costs involved so that the buyer (however annoying, stroppy and unpleasantly verbal the emails were) does not lose out a single penny (Euro?) on the failed transaction.

It may cost you £20 or £30 I suppose, since you'll have to refund P&P for BOTH shipping to him and his costs to return it to you, AND potentially the charges for handling/exchanging/obtaining/converting Euros into a sterling cheque and then back again.


HOWEVER !!!!!!!!!!!!

If an antique dealer can verify that they ARE IVORY and provide a certificate of authenticity (only needs to be something handwritten) and perhaps a valuation (I think these are "normal" for insurance purposes - might cost you a few ££££s ) then you are on much firmer ground to support your claim.

You could send a copy to eBay, you could send one to your Portugeuse "friend" and explain why he then has to bear all the costs except the amount of the winning bid.

Additionally when you come to sell them again and list them on eBay as IVORY, you will at least know FOR CERTAIN that they are, will have an idea of what reserve to put on them, and can add to the description that you have a certificate of authenticity/valuation to reassure all bidders that they are genuine.

If they are "plastic" BUT VERY OLD, then you will have to sell them as such !!!

Tojo_Ralph

The "Hot Pin Test" should answer a lot of questions.

The tried and true method to test ivory is the famous "hot pin test". This method is used by beginners and experts alike. Because true ivory is virtually impenetrable with heat, this is a good test and will not damage the item if it is "real".

http://www.asian-arts.net/oriental-treats/fake.htm