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Recalled item, seller unresponsive, eBay won’t engage – how do I recover remaining eBay funds?
Hi all,
I’m looking for guidance because I’ve completely hit a wall with eBay Customer Service.
I purchased a telescopic ladder earlier this year. Months later, eBay emailed me directly to say the item had been recalled for safety reasons and advised me to stop using it, linking to the official GOV.UK recall notice.
Following eBay’s instructions, I contacted the seller to request a refund.
The seller has not responded at all.
I then contacted eBay multiple times. Unfortunately:
Customer Service repeatedly treated this as a normal “30-day return” issue (despite it being a safety recall)
eBay refused to contact the seller on my behalf
My complaint was eventually ignored and effectively closed
I escalated the matter through my bank and received a refund for the card-paid portion of the transaction.
However, £30 of the purchase was paid using my eBay balance, and this amount has not been refunded. Since these funds were processed by eBay (not my bank), only eBay can return them.
My question to the community is:
How do you get eBay to refund eBay funds used on an order when the item is subject to an official safety recall and the seller is unresponsive?
If anyone has successfully resolved something similar — or knows which team at eBay actually deals with recalled/unsafe items — I’d really appreciate the advice.
Thanks in advance.
*vyolla*
Mentor6 months agoIn a nutshell, you can't. The safety message is an advisory one, and this is now between you and your seller.
eBay's Money Back Guarantee lasts for 30 days, and paying with an eBay balance means that you can't issue a chargeback at a later date. I wouldn't use my eBay balance for payments.
red_magpie
Mentor6 months agoHow do you get eBay to refund eBay funds used on an order when the item is subject to an official safety recall
You don't, because eBay doesn't owe you any refund.
If you read section 2 of the user agreement you will see transactions on eBay are between the seller and the buyer. eBay's only liabiity is for problems covered by it's own 30 day money back gurantee. From day 31 eBay has no interet.
eBay passes on product recall notices, but any action required is up to the seller. If the seller don't want to know it may sometimes be possible to get help from the manufacturer, of from your payment provider. Otherwise buyers may just have to bin the item.
You accepted in the user agreement that eBay doesn't guarantee that item will be truthfully described, or even that they will be safe or legal. Buying from unknown sellers here isn't like buying from the shops. eBay is a jungle.