Fraud on eBay

[stubbs100]

I recently purchased from eBay  a Nest thermostat for £182 - Being stupid i didn't check the reviews and it turned out it was faulty W5 error and they had sold this to a number of users already. I tried to request a return, but they refused. I asked eBay to intervene, and they refused and told me to speak to Citizen Advise. As i was on holiday i was outside the 30 day eBay guarantee.

The site is full of fake reviews and negative comments, how does eBay allow these users to have access to their site, surely with AI they can shut these accounts down. How are they unable to force a user of their site to return the purchase or shut their account. 

Really is poor.

[jckl1957]

There are several issues here.

You were out of time to use the Money Back Guarantee and return the item through Ebay.  If you had opened a return in time, you would have got a full refund.

You can try your payment provider to see if you are in time to start a chargeback.

The seller's feedback score has dropped below 90% and they have nothing for sale currently so they may have moved away from Ebay anyway.

Ebay do restrict and permanently close accounts with a lot of bad feedback.  However, they can't force poor sellers to accept returns outside of the 30 days they allow - the terms in the User Agreement apply to Ebay as well as sellers.

The big 'red flag' for me with this seller would have been the fact that they are clearly trading and running a business while using a private account.

So, for the future:

Read the feedback

Only buy from established sellers who are trading legally.

[red_magpie]

Really is poor.

Perhaps, but it's what you accepted in the user agreement - if you read it? eBay specifically warns buyers that they don't guarantee that items sold here will be truthfully described, safe, legal or even exist. Would you have bought it from a shop that stated this?

eBay's own money back guarantee would have entitled you to a return and refund if this item was not as described, but it only lasts for 30 days. You took a further risk by ordering it when the MBG would expire while you were on holiday. It isn't true that eBay allows sellers to close their account while buyers may still be entitled to return an item. They don't.

I'm sorry, but it's important for buyers to realise that buying from strangers on eBay is NOT like buying from the shops. You need to understand the risks, and how you're protected. eBay is a jungle. 

Depending upon how you paid, your payment provider e.g. credit or debit card issuer may still be able to help.

[stubbs100]

I'm sorry but I just don't buy this. You have a user who has sold an item in poor faith not once but several times. Why hasn't his account been closed already.

If it's a big red flag then the account should have been closed so i wouldn't fall into the problems i've had.

As for the insurance I asked the user for a refund and then was aboard, so ran out of time. 30 days is nowhere near enough time; it should be at least 60 days.

I guess I'll just put the item back online and see if some other sucker buys it. At least they might be able to make the insurance claim in time.

[jckl1957]

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@stubbs100 wrote:

I'm sorry but I just don't buy this. You have a user who has sold an item in poor faith not once but several times. Why hasn't his account been closed already.

If it's a big red flag then the account should have been closed so i wouldn't fall into the problems i've had.

As for the insurance I asked the user for a refund and then was aboard, so ran out of time. 30 days is nowhere near enough time; it should be at least 60 days.

You should raise these concerns with Ebay.

I guess I'll just put the item back online and see if some other sucker buys it. At least they might be able to make the insurance claim in time.

If you sell the item and the buyer asks for a refund, you will be responsible for refunding them.  Claims are against the seller, not Ebay.

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