25-06-2025 12:10 PM
Hi!
l was wandering if anyone was in similar position or has any advice.
I bought £400 iphone through a reputable business seller on ebay, with 1 year warranty. After 5mths it started glitching, seller sent a label and l sent it off for repair. It came back with the same fault, seller sent a label again and l sent it back. Very polite communication, confirmed last on 3.6. that the phone works and all is ok, blocked me and never sent the phone back to me. I complained 3 times to ebay, they said they will suspend the account but didn’t. Sent a direct email to the seller, never answered. Ebay said report it to the police, contacted citizen advice already and have the form. What do l do??? They have my phone, it’s a theft, £400 worth or device to refurbish and resale and l have nothing. Card l paid with won’t do anything either 😫
please, any advice or experience would be very much welcome 🙏
25-06-2025 12:38 PM
Unfortunately, eBay's Guarantee is only for the 30 days past the item's last estimated date for delivery and no longer.
Looks like you ran out of time too, with your payment provider.
You correctly turned to citizens advice you say they have ' the form' ? What form is this. What was their advice in moving forward with this?
26-06-2025 3:55 PM
26-06-2025 4:25 PM - edited 26-06-2025 4:26 PM
But how is it ok and possible that the seller can just keep it and block me without consequences?
Because eBay's interest in the transaction ended 30 days after you received it. What happens afer this, includung warranty issues and repair/return arrangements are not their concern. Your seller has the same right as any other seller to block any bidder for any reason.
Do please remember that eBay warned you in the user agreement that "they do not guarantee the existence, quality, safety or legality of items advertised, or the truth or accuracy of descriptions". You have to accept these risks when buying here - buying from unknown sellers on eBay is not like buying from the shops.
I doubt whether eBay's advice to contact the police will serve any purpose. They will probably tell you that your seller didn't "steal" the phone, you gave it into their possession voluntarily as part of an agreement to repair and return it. This is a matter for the civil law a breach of contract. (I discovered this the hard way many years ago, when like you I returned a car I had bought to the seller to correct some faults - and he used it to do a midnight flit to escape his creditors! The police would not get involved and it was two years before I finally found it, abandoned in a shed.)
If your seller is a UK registered business seller, as well as a possible breach of contract case you should also still have some statutory consumer rights. However, exercising your rights against un-cooperative distant sellers can be a very uncertain business. I would suggest that you take legal advice first.
Good luck anyway - I'm afraid you may need it!