UK seller urgently needs advice – failed Time Away and repeated refunds
Summary: marsdens_of_sheffield is facing issues with their eBay account after a failed attempt to activate 'Time Away' during a family crisis, resulting in automatic sales and refunds. Despite multiple complaints and requests for assistance, eBay has not reviewed the account or resolved the issues. marsdens_of_sheffield seeks advice on appealing cases, getting their account manually reviewed, and escalating their complaint. Responses suggest checking the Time Away setup and considering the platform's liability clauses, while recommending contacting eBay directly for assistance.
I’m looking for advice from experienced UK sellers or an eBay representative.
When my mother became critically ill in late April, I attempted to put my account into Time Away because I could not manage orders. Unfortunately, sales continued. My mother subsequently died, less than a year after my father, while I was also managing serious health problems, PTSD and dyslexia.
I repeatedly asked eBay for accessible, specialist assistance:
26 June: service request SR# 1-506549055238
14 July: additional-access-needs request SR# 1-507000516314
1 August: formal complaint submitted
21 August: executive complaint sent to eBay UK management
22 August: further urgent update sent
Despite this, nobody has taken responsibility for reviewing the account as a whole.
The consequences now include:
Case 5385092824: closed on 21 August, with £14.76 being recovered from me
Case 5384647766: closed on 22 August, with another £14.76 being recovered
Request 5385209605: deadline passed, but its outcome remains unclear
Other charges, possible seller defects and reputational damage
Substantial stock that I cannot safely relist while the account remains unresolved
I’m not asking eBay to disregard genuine buyer concerns. I’m asking it to investigate why the account protection failed and why automated refunds and adverse consequences continued after I repeatedly requested help.
I have now prepared a consolidated recorded-delivery complaint covering the individual case appeals, payment deductions, Time Away failure, accessibility problems and seller-performance consequences.
Has anyone successfully obtained an account-wide manual review or reached a named UK executive complaint handler?
I would particularly appreciate advice on:
Appealing the cases while the wider complaint is being investigated
Getting Time Away audit records reviewed
Suspending deductions pending appeal
Removing connected seller defects
Escalating the payment-services complaint to eBay Commerce UK Ltd
Please keep replies constructive. This has been an exceptionally difficult period, and I have made repeated efforts to prevent further harm to buyers and my business.
gjalp
·2 weeks agoEven if you had set your time away with items hidden, there are no guarantees. If a buyer has purchased and not paid, you will have to dispatch within your set time frame. I believe a similar scenario can and does occur from watch lists plus anything that was sold in the window before the away setting went live (there is often a delay from activation). Ive currently got my time away on although I allow purchases as Im 'here but not here' and I had to pick up an order at the end of the week that hadnt got the delayed dispatch date on it.
The only fool proof way to prevent this situation is to end all listings. Even when Im properly away, I access emails and can grab anything that needs attention. I even did this following an operation while in hospital where I asked the buyer if they wanted to cancel or wait until such time I could mail out.
tommystrezures
·2 weeks agoYour website https://www.marsdensofsheffield.net/ shows the items you have listed on ebay on your website too, so you have a couple of issues to deal with here.
Some of your queries would be and are answered such as substantial stock - this is on your website already etc so your reliance on the issues with eBay wouldn't be so drastic.
In part with some of the other issues you could request the data eBay hold on you via your account summary to see if there are any flags there.
Setting up time away should always mean that there is a little banner across the top of your listings and account. if its not set up properly I am not sure eBay will remove the defects, but you will need to speak to them. On the help pages keep typing contact agent and eventually youll get the box with options of a call back etc.
the_book_seekers
·2 weeks agoIn the User agreement, which we all have to sign up to in order to access ebay, there is a section on liability. ebay basically has us agree that they are not liable for anything that goes wrong on ebay, even when the company is at fault as below. Trying to get ebay to deal with a complaint of this nature can be a never ending circle of silence, no replies or customers services talking nonsense. There may have been an ebay glitch which has caused you reputational and financial damage, but this clause covers ebay. You need to consider if it is worth chasing this or, given your personal situation, moving on however difficult this may feel.
17. Liability
We try to keep eBay and its Services safe, secure, and functioning properly, but we cannot guarantee the continuous operation of or access to our Services. Bid update and other notification functionality in eBay's Services may not occur in real time. Such functionality is subject to delays beyond eBay's control.
We (including our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, agents and employees) shall not be liable to you in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for any business losses, such as loss of data, profits, revenue, business, opportunity, goodwill, reputation or business interruption or for any losses which are not reasonably foreseeable by us arising, directly or indirectly from:
your use of or your inability to use our Services;
pricing, postage or other guidance provided by eBay;
delays or disruptions in our Services;
viruses or other malicious software obtained by accessing, or linking to, our Services;
glitches, bugs, errors, or inaccuracies of any kind in our Services;
damage to your hardware device from the use of any eBay Service;
the content, actions, or inactions of third parties, including items listed using our Services or the destruction of allegedly fake items;
a suspension or other action taken with respect to your account or breach of the Abusing eBay section;
the duration or manner in which your listings appear in search results as set out in the Listing conditions section; or
your need to modify practices, content, or behaviour or your loss of or inability to do business, as a result of changes to this User Agreement or our policies.
*vyolla*
·2 weeks ago · EditedSorry to hear of your loss.
Can you post from the business account in question please?
To be honest, if Time Away wasn't set up correctly and you incurred defects then eBay are unlikely to remove them. When you checked your Time Away settings, what did your listings look like (they'd either have been hidden or would have the seller away notice on them, depending what option you selected)?
Automated refunds will have been made if buyers opened cases for items not received or not as described and eBay found in their favour.
roger_roger_over_and_nowt
·2 weeks ago" I have made repeated efforts to prevent further harm to buyers and my business."
But you are registered as a private seller ?.