Ebay - How to sue / get compensation

willd123

So Ebay

Basically the amount of hassle they have caused me I now want some compensation from them – Thinking small claims court, they wont bother turning up and judgment will be found in my favor

In a nutshell I sold a phone and the buyer turns around and says “not as described” to which ebay allowed him to send it back and refunded him out of my paypal account. They didn’t ask how it was not as described and the buyer didn’t tell me. I had to wait for the phone to be returned, then use my credit card to clear the outstanding debt to ebay for refunding the buyer before I could appeal their decision. I appealed and surprisingly I won so Ebay will now credit it me back. This was suppose to have been done within 48hrs…Nothing so I chased them and they had system problems so said check again in 48hrs…Nothing so I contacted them again and they said it had to be done manually so I now have to wait a further 7 days.

So the amount of emails, hassle and incompetence I have suffered by their decisions / actions I think they need to pay.

Is this realistic? Was thinking along the lines of about £200 (Phone was sold for £100)

Yes in theory when it is all said and done I am not out of pocket in fact I am up as I get the original value of the phone sold back to me from ebay plus I get to sell my phone again but all of this could have been avoided if they actually installed some common sense and asked a few questions when the buyer wanted to return the phone. Then delaying my payment and not telling me (I had to email them to find out) is just really unacceptable.

Flyonthewall

willd123 wrote: »

So Ebay

Basically the amount of hassle they have caused me I now want some compensation from them – Thinking small claims court, they wont bother turning up and judgment will be found in my favor

In a nutshell I sold a phone and the buyer turns around and says “not as described” to which ebay allowed him to send it back and refunded him out of my paypal account. They didn’t ask how it was not as described and the buyer didn’t tell me. I had to wait for the phone to be returned, then use my credit card to clear the outstanding debt to ebay for refunding the buyer before I could appeal their decision. I appealed and surprisingly I won so Ebay will now credit it me back. This was suppose to have been done within 48hrs…Nothing so I chased them and they had system problems so said check again in 48hrs…Nothing so I contacted them again and they said it had to be done manually so I now have to wait a further 7 days.

So the amount of emails, hassle and incompetence I have suffered by their decisions / actions I think they need to pay.

Is this realistic? Was thinking along the lines of about £200 (Phone was sold for £100)

Yes in theory when it is all said and done I am not out of pocket in fact I am up as I get the original value of the phone sold back to me from ebay plus I get to sell my phone again but all of this could have been avoided if they actually installed some common sense and asked a few questions when the buyer wanted to return the phone. Then delaying my payment and not telling me (I had to email them to find out) is just really unacceptable.

You went through the process and it was all done correctly, you're not out of pocket and sometimes there are delays (no doubt they've got themselves covered there in the T&Cs). It would cost you money to take them to court and you're not going to win just because it was a bit of a hassle.

Sometimes it takes a little bit of time and communication to resolve issues. Things don't magically resolve themselves.

You are the seller, ebay is just a selling platform. It's up to you to talk to the buyer and ask questions, not them.

RFW

willd123 wrote: »

Yes in theory when it is all said and done I am not out of pocket in fact I am up as I get the original value of the phone sold back to me from ebay plus I get to sell my phone again but all of this could have been avoided if they actually installed some common sense and asked a few questions when the buyer wanted to return the phone. Then delaying my payment and not telling me (I had to email them to find out) is just really unacceptable.

Yes, in theory, in reality and in law.
You can sue anyone you like for any amount you like and any reason you like, it doesn't mean you'll get any money out of it.
I could sue Ebay for a million pounds for not helping me earn enough money when I used them. Even if they didn't turn up at court I wouldn't win the case. Judges still look at cases even if the defendants don't appear.

willd123

As stated I asked the buyer what was wrong and he didnt provide details
How can Ebay make a decision without knowing all the facts - I had photographic evidence to back up everything was as described in my auction

The delay in payment - They can take money straight away but for some reason its now going to take 10 days to refund me from the originally quoted 1-2 days

This is complete incompetence at best

Flyonthewall

willd123 wrote: »

As stated I asked the buyer what was wrong and he didnt provide details
How can Ebay make a decision without knowing all the facts - I had photographic evidence to back up everything was as described in my auction

The delay in payment - They can take money straight away but for some reason its now going to take 10 days to refund me from the originally quoted 1-2 days

This is complete incompetence at best

Ebay can't force people to reply.

They have a process that is the same for everyone. Not happy, send it back for a refund. Buyer sent it back, ebay can see that (tracking number) so they refund, which is only fair as both you and the buyer should end up with only one or the other (the phone or the money), not both.

Again, delays happened. You're lucky they're giving you the money at all when you've got the item back!

You have the phone back and your money too. Count that as your compensation considering you should have been back where you started (i.e. you with the phone, buyer with the money).

You're far better off than a lot of people who go through the same process.

Flyonthewall

willd123 wrote: »

As stated I asked the buyer what was wrong and he didnt provide details

willd123 wrote: »

They didn’t ask how it was not as described and the buyer didn’t tell me.

Btw, I didn't read that as you asking at all. You certainly didn't clearly state that. You stated they (ebay) didn't ask and the buyer didn't tell you. You never said you asked why, just that the buyer didn't tell you (when they opened the case).

tykesi

Flyonthewall wrote: »

Ebay can't force people to reply.

They have a process that is the same for everyone. Not happy, send it back for a refund. Buyer sent it back, ebay can see that (tracking number) so they refund, which is only fair as both you and the buyer should end up with only one or the other (the phone or the money), not both.

Again, delays happened. You're lucky they're giving you the money at all when you've got the item back!

You have the phone back and your money too. Count that as your compensation considering you should have been back where you started (i.e. you with the phone, buyer with the money).

You're far better off than a lot of people who go through the same process.

Yes but it's not faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaair and I DEMAND COMPENSATION!!!

Is increasingly typical thinking nowadays :mad:

RFW

Flyonthewall wrote: »

You have the phone back and your money too. Count that as your compensation considering you should have been back where you started (i.e. you with the phone, buyer with the money).

You're far better off than a lot of people who go through the same process.

Thread summed up in a nutshell. Let's close and move on;)

campdave

If you want advice on how to sue, go to a solicitor. You're cross that eBay took your time, yet you want people to give up their time walking you through theprocess for your own gain. Not really fair is it?

ballisticbrian

This thread is a joke isn't it?

ballisticbrian

I used to think to myself why do stupid companies give us pages and pages of terms and conditions and stupid health and safety warnings until I started my own business... and slowly it sunk in, I have to put stupid warnings like "don't climb further than the last ladder rung" because basically people are idiots!