Taking Ebay to court 3 October 2022 at 6:04PM in Ebay, auctions, car boot sales, post & parcels 26 replies 1.4K views

Lisaa21

Hi all

I recently posted a thread on this forum about Nationwide and Ebay losing my money  and I'm now looking to take the next step and take Ebay to court to recover my money. 

To recap:

1. I accidentally changed my registration address from the UK to Italy, as I was selling an item that was located in Italy and couldn't work out how to change that for an item. This is a permanent change under Ebay's Managed Payments (I wasn't told) and now I cannot get over £1000 of sales proceeds out of Ebay. 

2. My money is stuck in a loop of hell, being bounced around between Ebay and Nationwide. Essentially Ebay sent it to Nationwide, they reject it, then Ebay 'can't locate the funds', I have to spend hours on the phone, they locate the funds and then send them back to Nationwide. This has happened 3 times now - each cycle takes a month. There doesn't seem to be a solution to any of this. 

3. If my money ever comes out of the loop I then need to get Ebay to do something called a CMT to extract my money from my account into a new Ebay account or Paypal. This solution appears to be the correct one, but Ebay reps have no idea what they are doing and I have even been advised to change the name on my account and be paid out to a friend's Italian bank (it didn't work) 

Today I emailed EU headquarters with a full explanation of the ordeal but I fear they may not be particularly sympathetic. 

Does anyone have any experience of taking Ebay or someone like them to Small Claims Court and any tips of how I should approach this? 

Thanks all! 

Lisa

subjecttocontract

I've used the small claims court numerous times to recover money but never from Ebay. My advice would be to make sure you have a rock solid case in your favour. Your situation sounds like the problem was caused, at least in part, by your changing the address. If you haven't got a solid case in your favour you run the risk of loosing your upfront court fees......which on a claim for a few thousand pounds will be quite large. You might be better getting legal advice before proceeding.

Lisaa21

Thank you for the advice. I fear you may be right, although I do think that a huge corporation being unable to locate and return significant funds to a single individual based on an honest mistake (without warning or any indication of this being a big deal) on a very confusing platform, is somewhat unfair. 

Voyager2002

Have you explored whether you can make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service?

Whether or not the claim is successful, that would bring the issue to the attention of mid-level managers who might be able to find a solution.

Do you believe that Nationwide acted correctly in refusing your funds? If not, their complaints team is fairly responsive.

Buster_Danog

Voyager2002 said:

Have you explored whether you can make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service?

The huge problem with ebay is that they supposedly work to the financial rules of a foreign country, namely Luxembourg. The OP might consider making an enquiry to the relevant financial services organisation in that country. From my experience I would be surprised if anything other than a solicitor's letter would yield so much as some answers as to very basic questions, never mind the return of the money.

I have had some contact with them and it was like dealing with some shady characters in a boiler room operation.

sourcrates

Ebay is based in Luxembourg, you are based in the UK.

If you want to take legal action against them, you must do so in their country of origin, you can`t do it from the UK.

English courts have no jurisdiction abroad, even if a reciprocal agreement exists, it will cost you a whole lot of money to do this, most likely many 1000`s of pounds.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

sourcrates said:

Ebay is based in Luxembourg, you are based in the UK.

If you want to take legal action against them, you must do so in their country of origin, you can`t do it from the UK.

English courts have no jurisdiction abroad, even if a reciprocal agreement exists, it will cost you a whole lot of money to do this, most likely many 1000`s of pounds.

16. Legal Disputes

If a dispute arises between you and eBay, we strongly encourage you to first contact us directly to seek a resolution by contacting Customer Support. eBay Customer Service is available free of charge for every user to submit complaints and other inquiries. We will consider reasonable requests to resolve the dispute through alternative dispute resolution procedures, such as mediation or arbitration, as alternatives to litigation. Any claim, dispute or matter arising under or in connection with this User Agreement shall be governed and construed in all respects by the laws of England and Wales. You and eBay both agree to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

In simple terms, "non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts" means that if you were able to bring a claim arising from or in connection with this User Agreement against us in court, an acceptable court would be a court located in England, but you may also elect to bring a claim in the court of another country instead. English law will apply in all cases.

subjecttocontract

I think in your shoes I'd be inclined to spend a little money on legal fees for advice on wether your case is worth persuing. 

Buster_Danog

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

In simple terms, "non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts" means that if you were able to bring a claim arising from or in connection with this User Agreement against us in court, an acceptable court would be a court located in England, but you may also elect to bring a claim in the court of another country instead. English law will apply in all cases.

The T&Cs are interesting, but in practice what English court will rule on a company registered in and supposedly following financial rules of a foreign country?

I have seen reports on internet forums of ebay keeping thousands and refusing to give it back. That is in addition to my own run in with them over a trivial amount of money. I would hope you are right but I suspect ebay are having a laugh. You need to experience their behaviour to believe it.

martindow

Assuming an English court did go in the OP's favour and Ebay disregarded the judgment, you would have a problem trying to enforce the claim with a company based in another country.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

martindow said:

Assuming an English court did go in the OP's favour and Ebay disregarded the judgment, you would have a problem trying to enforce the claim with a company based in another country.

• If you reside in the United Kingdom, you are entering into a contract with eBay (UK) Limited, 1 More London Place, London, SE1 2AF, United Kingdom, VAT number GB 365 6085 76.

Company filings suggest they have a fair amount of fixed assets although their registered address may be a plaque on a wall type of place (not sure on that point).