FUNDS HELD NEW EBAY POLICY! CLOSING ACCOUNT AFTER 19 YEARS!

[tricia-o]

Im absolutely furious! Ebay have changed their policy and are now refusing to pay monies (which belong to the buyer) until the item has been posted and received!!

I have been selling on Ebay for 19 years and this is how we are being treated?

I will NOT pack and post my valuable antiques until I have been paid! I have never heard anything so ridiculous! Can we not be trusted? Shame on you Ebay! You are the loser here! I have now cancelled all sales and 67 listings and I will find another platform to sell my antiques with someone that values me!!

[porte2425]

It’s all about more money for less work / overheads. And marketing BS to make any changes seem like they benefit the end-user as much or more than the business.

Someone posted on this forum a while back claiming that eBay stood to make billions in interest as a result of the changes of creating an eBay balance, where payments are held until requested. I can’t imagine their figures are correct at the billions mark, but even a thousandth of that is enough reason alone.

[tricia-o]

Hi
No sarcasm intended. I really appreciate you taking the time to write.
Kind regards
Sent from my iPhone

[tricia-o]

They are keeping our money under the guise of BPF (buyers protection fund) but actually as a UK citizen we already have this in place !! Therefore it’s fraudulent or misrepresentation! I’m contacting Martin Lewis tomorrow!
Thank you for your message.
Sent from my iPhone

[papso22]

Buyers from private sellers have little by way of statutory rights under consumer law.  Consumer law is all about B2C trading.  So ebay are not making these buyers pay for something they get in law anyway.

They are charging them for the same protection they would get by law for purchases from business sellers, which is something they (ebay), used to provide for free.

Just because it was free once, doesn't mean it has to stay that way.

[andha-21]

"I have yet to have a satisfactory explanation from anyone as to why the BPF is needed . The MBG covers everything and tracked/insured post also covers you up to the value of the item."

You just said something there that flagged for me. You compared it with MBG. Also eBay. You aren't wrong but again their Money Back Guarantee was irrelevant as we were already covered by law. 

They're selling something that isn't theirs to sell, because unless anyone questions it, it makes them look good.

[andha-21]

Okay, but if I have any purchase issues from an online order, not as described etc, etc I don't need to go to eBay to make a claim anyway. I can just use PayPal or Curve etc etc.

Isn't that why there's the 30 day period? At the moment the exact name of it slips my mind.

See it mentioned in the threads all the time. 

So again, why am I paying for something I already have for free?

[papso22]

As a buyer from a private seller you were not already covered by the main consumer law as that only covers B2C supplies.  Buyers had limited cover from the Sale of Goods Act, but that's all.

The MBG extends B2C rights to buyers from private sellers, but that is what might be referred to as an 'extra statutory concession' by ebay.

Things that other entities provide you with for free are unconnected with what ebay does.

[porte2425]

I think @papso22  is correct. Because it is private sellers, I don’t think there’s really laws or regulations that cover it that would therefore make it illegal for eBay to withhold payment. I would guess they can do it. And they’re just doing the typical business marketing thing of trying to put a different spin on it.

Even if it were illegal, do you not think eBay wouldn’t know it already? With billions at stake, they will be on top of it all. Big business do things all the time that are illegal, because they make the decision that any potential fines will still be less than they make from doing the thing. Privacy / data protection cases filed against the top tech and retail companies in recent years should be proof of that. It all amounted to the equivalent of a slap on the wrist for them. They’re still in business. They’re still making huge profits. And I’m sure they’re currently doing things that are illegal too, just plodding along until they get caught and then pay next inadequate fine.

[tricia-o]

A cooling off period.
Sent from my iPhone

[sid.123]

Being that only 5-15% of buyers leave feedback, your still going to be waiting the full 14 days for anything untracked

[Anonymous]

Just because it was free once, doesn't mean it has to stay that way.

No but it also doesn't give them licence to rip people off either.

[tricia-o]

I’m going to investigate further. Thank you for your message.
Sent from my iPhone

[ett1954]

Just to put the record straight as there seems to be a lot of misconceptions on some of these recent posts:

if you buy from a private seller, you don't get the same rights as you would from a business.  Under the Consumer Rights Act, a private seller is only obliged to provide goods “as described”. 

So, unless the description was misleading, you don’t have the right to ask for your money back if you are unhappy with what you have bought, or if there is a problem with the item.

If you buy used goods online from a trader, rather than a private seller, you benefit from a greater level of protection.  Traders that sell online must also provide clear details about payment and delivery costs and offer at least a 14-day cooling-off period (returns policy).  This means you can cancel a purchase and return the goods within that timeframe for any reason. However, you may be required to pay postage for sending back any items, unless they’re faulty or misdescribed.  If you buy a second-hand item from a business, you can insist it is returned and ask for a repair, replacement or refund if it’s faulty, or if it doesn't work as described.

If you have been dealing with a private seller, you can ask for a refund if the item is not as described, but the private seller is not compelled to submit to such a demand.  This is where eBay's MBG comes in which private sellers have agreed to in the user agreement - this gives the buyer enhanced protection over that which is legally required.

Your rights will depend on which one you are dealing with and, under the Unfair Trading Regulations, the seller must make it clear if they are a business. 

One area where a buyer will get protection greater than that legally provided by a business seller is if someone is deliberately covering up being a trader, by representing themselves a private seller, which then gives the buyer up to 12 months to return an item for any reason whatsoever. 

[andha-21]

"The SGA 1979 and the SGASA 1982 have not been repealed and still apply to contracts for the sale of goods and the supply of services outside a consumer context (e.g. private sales and business-to-business transactions)."

To your knowledge is that accurate?

[tricia-o]

Exactly!
Sent from my iPhone

[Anonymous]

So why do they need the BPF as well?

I' ve asked this numerous times on different threads for a week now, and no one seems to know. Hence its called a stealth tax like the BBC charging a licence fee if you watch any live broadcast on any channel then taking all the money.

[tricia-o]

You say that the seller is not compelled to comply but we all know that sometimes the buyer lies and says ‘it’s not as described’ and I’ve been forced to refund, yet when the item is returned there is nothing wrong with it! This has happened several times to me and eBay always sides with the buyer!
Sent from my iPhone

[porte2425]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

So why do they need the BPF as well?

I' ve asked this numerous times on different threads for a week now, and no one seems to know. Hence its called a stealth tax like the BBC charging a licence fee if you watch any live broadcast on any channel then taking all the money.

---

What answer are you expecting @Anonymous? I think it’s clear, and been pointed out, it’s just a marketing gimmick to cover the switch from seller fees to buyer fees.

BBC charge a licence fee if you watch any live broadcast on any channel because it goes towards covering the costs of regulating those channels. They can’t just broadcast what they like on British airwaves. Like with anything to do with a big business, yes it’s probably more expensive than it should be. But that’s a different discussion anyway.

[ett1954]

This is one of the hazards of selling online.  Other than reporting the buyer to eBay there is little you can do.  Business sellers who don't have free remorse returns also suffer from this.  If a buyer is reported multiple times eBay will eventually place sanctions on that buyer.

[lucy_farmer]

'you say that the seller is not compelled to comply but we all know that sometimes the buyer lies and says ‘it’s not as described’ and I’ve been forced to refund,'

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That's because you're selling on ebay, with ebay's MBG stretched out to cover private sellers as well.

It's *ebay" causing you to have to refund, not consumer law .

 If you were selling on your own or a.n.other website (as long as it wasn't a business site) you could legally tell the buyer to suck it up, if they'd just changed their mind...