Maliciously Suspended - What Are My Rights ?

Hoenir

Did you lose your cool when you rang and spoke to the service agents ? 

RSV2212

GadgetGuru said:

Could you contact the ICO considering the data you received from the SAR was incomplete?

Yes I already have, they were very helpful. I have also taken legal advice. I didn’t believe they had taken the decision to suspend me without there being any discussion notes or emails etc. but aside from one call log note which admits to them failing to follow correct procedure, it’s as if my account never existed. There is also the issue that EBay promote their own “on site” Authentication Team to reassure buyers they are in the safe hands of experts when in fact they’re only administrators who rely on third party authentication. One of the team let this slip when he was scrambling to find a reason why the cleaning kit had been rejected.

”Ebay’s Authenticity Guarantee service employs a team of expert authenticators who physically inspect eligible items before they are shipped to buyers, ensuring authenticity and protecting both buyers and sellers”.

RSV2212

Hoenir said:

Did you lose your cool when you rang and spoke to the service agents ? 

As in shout & swear ? Absolutely not. I did insist on speaking with a manager & they blocked me from doing so. One particular agent was extremely apologetic on behalf of those who “spectacularly messed up”, he said he was going to speak with his own manager when they returned from holiday without involving certain others & call me back. This didn’t happen of course, he obviously didn’t have the guts to take on the decision maker. I have our call recording tho.

Again, I note your disinterest in the fact that such an important part of EBay is being run in such an unprofessional manner. 

DullGreyGuy

I too wonder why you didnt just send it to the buyer independently after it was returned given presumably eBay had already authenticated the main item. 

At the end of the day you have no statutory right to be any company's customer. They are free to pick and choose who they want to do business with or have as customers as long as it isnt based on protected characteristics (sex, race etc). Some companies have very low thresholds as to what it takes for them to decide they dont want you as a customer and there is no legal requirement for them to record as to why they came to that decision. In fact most record keep they are legally required to have tends to be around taxation and nothing to do with this sort of matter. 

From the experience of others they tend to back their staff so trying to escalate the complaint is highly unlikely to result in a change of decision. 

PS. Fairly certain the Mrs' watch didnt come with a cleaning kit. Cartier have however replaced its movement under warranty and serviced it without issue. Yes it has a metal bracelet too. 

Hoenir

RSV2212 said:

Hoenir said:

Did you lose your cool when you rang and spoke to the service agents ? 

As in shout & swear ? Absolutely not. I did insist on speaking with a manager & they blocked me from doing so. One particular agent was extremely apologetic on behalf of those who “spectacularly messed up”, he said he was going to speak with his own manager when they returned from holiday without involving certain others & call me back. This didn’t happen of course, he obviously didn’t have the guts to take on the decision maker. I have our call recording tho.

Didn't suggest that you did shout or swear. Just that something happened to trigger Ebay's reaction.  Did you tell the service agents that you were recording the conversations? 

RSV2212

Hoenir said:

Didn't suggest that you did shout or swear. Just that something happened to trigger Ebay's reaction.  Did you tell the service agents that you were recording the conversations? 

Why on earth would I have said that ?? You do know that EBay record the calls ?

Perhaps me wanting to speak with the AT Manager regarding his staff’s lack of knowledge, inability to follow correct procedure & aptness to constantly lie was the trigger.

TripleH

Complaining to the ICO may get a response but will probably get you permanently excluded from the EBay platform.

What outcome are you after?

It might be, even if you have done nothing wrong that you are simply barred from using eBay as that is the easiest solution for them (as suggested above), even if it isn't fair.

RSV2212

TripleH said:

Complaining to the ICO may get a response but will probably get you permanently excluded from the EBay platform.

What outcome are you after?

It might be, even if you have done nothing wrong that you are simply barred from using eBay as that is the easiest solution for them (as suggested above), even if it isn't fair.

Two separate things, obviously. The ICO are dealing with EBay’s failure to comply w/ SAR Regulations. 

My complaint to EBay’s head office deals with the malicious suspension of my account.

I am already permanently suspended.

Clearly no one here buys / sells luxury goods as there doesn’t seem to be the  slightest bit of concern about the way they promote their own AT Team (which doesn’t exist) or the conduct of their administrators. 

GabbaGabbaHey

RSV2212 said:

My complaint to EBay’s head office deals with the malicious suspension of my account.

I am already permanently suspended.

Clearly no one here buys / sells luxury goods as there doesn’t seem to be the  slightest bit of concern about the way they promote their own AT Team (which doesn’t exist) or the conduct of their administrators. 

I have no idea why you keep using the word "malicious". eBay obviously don't want your business and have chosen - as they have every right - not to retain you as a customer. That doesn't imply any malice on their part.

I have never seen anything to suggest that the Authentication team is in-house. For example, it's well known in horological circles that Stoll & Co in Ruislip do many of the wristwatch authentications. I'm not sure that it makes any difference - it's entirely up to eBay as to whether they perform this function themselves or outsource it.

(FWIW, Cartier wristwatches do come with a cleaning kit. There are also lots of fake "Cartier" cleaning kits out there.)

sonearandyetsofa

Hands up any business seller on eBay of high value goods who thinks any part of eBay (bar the part that takes fee payments) is run in a professional manner. Don't all shout at once!

In all seriousness, over the years of dealing with eBay I have found the absolute best way to get the best service from them is to have as little as humanly possible to do with their upper levels. Your best bet for getting your account reinstated would be to try a different avenue of contacting their customer services - perhaps their eBay.com facebook account would be worth a try. Leave out any mention of them being malicious, or their mistakes. Leave out any mention of raising complaints with the ICO or anyone else. Tell them you're always compliant with policies, have had a selling account for x number of years, only sell authentic products and recently had your account suspended after what appears to be a minor hiccup with authentication. Play down their mistakes, play up the pathos.

They can legally refuse to deal with you, you don't have a legal avenue to force them and even if you did, you would need incredibly deep pockets and a lot of patience to make it happen.