Negative feedback.

[kevtom1]

Has anyone else had difficulty getting eBay to remove unfair negative feedback?

I sold an item which was new in the box but the box was less than perfect so I sold it as a used item. However, I thoroughly checked the item before listing it.  The buyer raised a refund request stating that the item had loose parts and did not work. I contacted the buyer to find out more information, who was extremely rude and uncooperative.  I kept in constant touch with eBay in regard to this.  I had the item back and surprise, surprise there was absolutely nothing wrong with it.  I raised a complaint against the buyer for misuse of eBay rules.  This buyer added negative feedback on me stating the item did not work and eBay will not remove it.  I have removed all of the items I had for sale and will neither use eBay to sell or buy on again.

[plpmr]

adding to john1297576 advice -

Although the neg is too old the false positive you left the buyer can still cause you serious problems.

[*knight-rider*]

with respect, you can`t complain about a buyer breaking rules when you have yourself by leaving a negative comment under a positive review, that`s against the rules, which they`ll get removed anyway, so you`ve acheived nothing.

i have to say i agree with you, because ebay seem very keen all the time to remove justified negs, but won`t remove unjustified one`s. i actually stopped leaving feedback altogether months ago because they kept removing negs i`d left, but i think removing all your listings is just chopping off your nose to spite your face and besides, nobody reads the feedback half the time anyway, so it would have soon disappeared 🙂

[rusticrye]

There's nothing in the buyer's feedback that makes it removeable.  You can read the feedback rules for yourself in the Help pages with their integral search.

Buyers can only receive positive feedback or none at all. So quite why you thought it would be a good idea to increase this buyer's positive feedback score by one, is a mystery.  Your words won't save any other seller from this buyer, so what was the point...? All you've done is put your account at risk, as leaving false-positive feedback (negative comments on a positive green dot) is a serious breach of feedback rules. if the buyer reports it, it will be removed, and you'll receive a damaging defect on your account for breaching those rules.

So that you understand why Ebay has to work as it does, read on:

Ebay have no idea what you actually sent or received back, or what condition it was actually in when sent or received back, as they were not present when sent or received, so have no choice but to accept a buyer's word for it when they claim Not As Described, as per their Money Back Guarantee.  They cannot get into disputes between you and a buyer.  Only a judge can decide if a buyer is a liar or scammer.

You agreed to comply with the MBG when you registered your account. If you dig your heels in and refuse to offer refund on return, Ebay will either force you to pay for a returns label, or they will force the refund without the need for return. You will also have a damaging defect slapped on your account for failing to comply.

This may sound unfair, but it's the fairest it can possibly be.  The MBG is a very good thing (although you may not think that at present) as it gives buyers the confidence to shop with you and every other Ebay seller.  Without it, you'd be lucky to sell anything at all. In fact, without it, Ebay would no longer exist.

You have to refund on receipt, and then report the buyer to Ebay for abusing the MBG by fraudulently claiming Not As Described (via the 'report' button on your ‘leave feedback’ page). A few of those from different sellers, and their account will soon be toast. And add their Ebay ID and PayPal email address to your Blocked Bidders List so they can’t darken your doorway again.

You can then deal with the fraudster outside of Ebay as follows if you wish:

Send them a PayPal invoice to cover your losses, giving them 7 days to send cleared payment or you will be taking legal action and reporting them to Action Fraud (the police's online fraud unit).

If payment is not received within that timeframe, send them a 'before action' letter by Signed For post, giving them 7 days from receipt to make full and cleared payment, or you will report them to Action Fraud, and take them to Small Claims court to recover your money and all court and other costs.

If payment is still not received (unlikely, as this is generally enough to put the fear of god into small-time fraudsters), take them to Small Claims court if you wish.  Very easy to do, and the process can be started online.

@kevtom1 

[john1297576]

Feedback is over a month old so is too late to be removed.

Just because you have come up against a bad buyer why punish yourself, Ebay doesn't care whether you use ebay or not, so you are the only loser.

Ebay never sees what is sent or returned, so if the buyer changes their mind they invent an excuse to return,and ebay will allow it. It is best to accept and not question the return. 

Much better is to have a sensible returns policy, "Returns accepted within 14 days, BUYER pays return postage", then buyers do not have to invent reasons and it clearly sets out who pays for return postage.