Ebay scam no help with credit card etc

southy007

I purchased a brand new meta quest 3 headset from a retail shop off ebay on 24 march 2026.

I purchased this as brand new and we were the first registered owners with meta.

In the past week then headset has been disabled as meta say it has been reported stolen. I've have had over 20 emails with meta since, but getting any information out of them is insanely difficult. All they will say is the original purchaser of the headset has reported it stolen and been refunded or a chargeback has been carried out. I have sent them proof of purchase etc but they will block a headset off the serial number, which is printed on the outside of the box. Crazy. Didn't even I form me or ask to verify anything.

I have contacted the seller on ebay..no replies.

I have contacted eBay....they say as it's over the 90 days they can't do anything. Buyer protection has run out etc

I have contacted my credit card company. They will not help. It is over the 120 days for chargeback. And section 75 won't cover eBay. No help.

I'm now stuck with a very expensive brick, and no one will help me against this scam. Is my only avenue to file small claims proceedings against the actual shop for goods not fit for purpose?

Any help appreciated

soolin

You still have a legal route via small claims. A business on eBay will have their business address registered on their listings, so you can do the LBA /small claims route using that.

Alderbank

…I purchased this as brand new and we were the first registered owners with meta…

…the original purchaser of the headset has reported it stolen… 

Can you clarify this for me please? I would have thought that the original purchaser was you!

MattMattMattUK

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82105430#Comment_82105430

What usually happens in this situation is the same as happens with phones. They are taken out on a contract, or bought with stolen credit card details, they then get blocked based on the serial numbers as they require online activation. Others will claim one is lost in transit, report it stolen, get a replacement/refund and then sell the original unit, which gets blocked a few weeks/months later.

There are no legitimate third party sellers of new units on eBay, Meta keeps the supply chain very locked down.

Aylesbury_Duck

How much did you pay versus the RRP at a "proper" shop?

southy007

Hi all thanks for the reply.

I paid £459 which was same as in shops. It was a small business in a centre in Northamptonshire, looked ok as it was a proper shop.

From what I can work out, the shop buys the headset from meta and then sells them. This they are deemed the original purchase. Unless they themselves have been scammed....but that's not my problem....

I'll have to go down the small claims court .

GrumpyDil

How do you purchase from a small business in a shop in Northamptonshire via eBay?

southy007

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82105642#Comment_82105642

Confused? There are shops on eBay that have physical shops?

flaneurs_lobster

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82105667#Comment_82105667

Like Currys & Tesco. Yes there are businesses with bricks'n'mortar shops and eBay outlets.

MattMattMattUK

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82105605#Comment_82105605

In the UK the only authorised resellers are Amazon, Argos, Currys, EE, John Lewis, O2, Smyths Toys GB and Very. Anyone else selling them will probably be selling grey imports, second hand units and/or stolen products, though they may be aware that they are not stolen, they will be aware they are not an authorised reseller.

https://www.meta.com/gb/retailers/

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82105436#Comment_82105436

Why do you think there cant be any legitimate sellers of new units on eBay?

Whilst Meta only sells to the big boys and the likes of TD Synnex are only allowed to sell B2B with buyers having to prove the ultimate customer is another business there is nothing to stop someone buying items at discounted retail and then reselling them at retail when the discounts end. You arent going to make your millions doing that but the margins are thin on the Quest in general.

According to a search, Meta has recently been picking up on flagging units that were sold as B2B only but then diverted to be sold as a consumer units as some were faking the paperwork with the likes of TD Synnex as to who the ultimate customer would be.