eBay allowing theft to take place

scotsman1

I am a business seller on eBay

An eBay representative called sarah_uk@ebay.com has just confirmed the following . . .

If a seller does not go through the monotonous tedium of wasting hundreds of staff-hours a year uploading tracking numbers to the eBay site before the estimated delivery date, then the seller will automatically lose an item not received case. This is despite the fact that the seller could have 100% unequivocal proof that the item has been delivered and that the buyer is a thief.

When asked if the seller could add tracking later to an item not received case once the tracking has updated to confirm delivery sarah_uk@ebay.com announced "No, if you send via a tracked service you are required to add tracking within the estimated delivery date, otherwise you will not be covered if an item not received case is opened."

In short, eBay have just said that even if you can prove a crime they do not care - they will side with the thief.

Does anyone know how this works out legally?

If I, a seller, have absolute proof of delivery and eBay takes money out of my account to refund a thief what can I do to make sure I get my money back and that the thief is caught?

Thanks

Comms69

oh dear oh dear.


1: you're a business seller, you have no consumer protection
2: you're a business seller and you don't understand basic contracts
3: Ebay can side with whomever they want, you are free to pursue the person in civil court

GabbaGabbaHey

If you are a business seller, and you choose to use eBay as a platform on which to conduct business, then you will have to comply with their contractual terms. That now includes uploading tracking information (if you wish to defend INR claims), and you need to update your business plan by performing a risk assessment and - if you choose to defend INRs - allowing for the additional resourcing required to upload that information.

As a completely separate issue, if you feel that somebody has stolen from you, then you need to contact law enforcement (or go through the legal process, such as Small Claims Court, yourself).

scotsman1

Thanks for the reply.

Who is the thief in this case - the buyer or eBay?

ballisticbrian

Yes, it sucks, however it's a level playing field. Every seller will have the same laborious task to fulfil. Just like when eBay decided to add eBay fees to your postage, remember? Sellers can put their prices up to accommodate these.

GabbaGabbaHey

scotsman1 wrote: »

Who is the thief in this case - the buyer or eBay?

100% the buyer - they have received the item but have then fraudulently raised an INR dispute.

eBay have acted entirely in accord with the contractual agreement that they have with you. If you don't like it, then you can choose to transact your business elsewhere.

lindens

If you buy your postage through ebay or Parcel2go then tracking is updated automatically anyway. This is the easiest option

ballisticbrian

This may be highly speculative on my part but my theory is it's to do with the deliveries with "delivery confirmation". As we can see from questions on this forum, sellers have been slow to pick up on this and as they do gradually, I expect the number of items / sales eBay have had to fork out for has gone up.

MEM62

scotsman1 wrote: »

If a seller does not go through the monotonous tedium of wasting hundreds of staff-hours a year uploading tracking numbers to the eBay site before the estimated delivery date, then the seller will automatically lose an item not received case.

In my (very) recent experience this is not the case.

I purchased an item and did not receive it. Tracking details were not put up by the seller until after the delivery date. eBay rejected my claim under the buyers guarantee.

ballisticbrian

In my (very) recent experience this is not the case.

I purchased an item and did not receive it. Tracking details were not put up by the seller until after the delivery date. eBay rejected my claim under the buyers guarantee.

This doesn't start for 30 days after the announcement for existing sellers.

NaughtiusMaximus

If a seller chooses a tracked delivery method it's perfectly reasonable that they provide the tracking number to the buyer. This is just bringing ebay practice in line with the vast majority of online retailers. It's no more a 'waste of staff hours' than listing the items in the first place and posting them.