Shafted ?

[Crosland]

Its over £800.....

 

And just tried to remove the bank account, I cant do it on their systems, will probably have to get bank to block them.

My (fairly recent) experience is that PayPal will not remove a funding source (bank, credit card) if there are any pending transactions on it. It can take a long time (month +) to clear everything even thought they look like they are closed.

[Crosland]

I have been an EBay member for nearly 10 years and no longer sell anything there.

Nearer 15 years in my case and I've never had a problem that wasn't easily, quickly and amicably resolved. I do avoid the more dodgy areas and stick mainly to model railways

 

Andrew

[Silver Sidelines]

Sorry not EBay but....Two years ago I had a very interesting experience with Scottish Power.  The day we moved out we telephoned the final meter readings.  A week or so later I looked at a bank statement to see that they had removed a humongous amount of money using Direct Debit that bore no relation to the final readings (which were very low - the house having been unoccupied for six months).  The lady at the call centre was most apologetic and admitted that my 'final' bill was an estimate.  She told me to go to the bank and tell them that the payment had been incorrect and to reverse the Direct Debit.  Scottish Power would rebill me using the telephone readings (which she could see).  The bank accepted my request and my account was credited with the payment that had been made to Scottish Power. It took Scottish Power eighteen months to make contact and then it was a  'threatening' type letter from Scottish Power telling me that they were unable to take payment because the Direct Debit had been closed (you bet it had)..  Again the figures did not make sense and it took several telephone calls and emails to establish the correct payment.  

 

Direct Debits are governed by strict legal conditions but these do not negate any contractual arrangements that are also in place.

 

Organisations using the Direct Debit Scheme go through a careful vetting process before they're authorised, and are closely monitored by the banking industry. The efficiency and security of Direct Debit is monitored and protected by your own bank or building society.

The Direct Debit Guarantee applies to all Direct Debits. It protects you in the rare event that there is an error in the payment of your Direct Debit*.

Direct Debit Guarantee

• The Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits

• If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit the organisation will notify you (normally 10 working days) in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request the organisation to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request

• If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society

  • If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when the organisation asks you to

• You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify the organisation.

* The Guarantee covers Direct Debit payments. It cannot be used to address contractual disputes between you and the billing organisation.​

 

Hope this helps

 

Regards

 

Ray

[John M Upton]

Had a buyer who contacted me minutes after an auction of mine ended the other day pleading with me to cancel the sale as apparently he had forgotten to delete the item off his auto bidder software.  I agreed but still smelt a rat.

 

I am NEVER selling any electronic equipment on Ebay ever again, too many idiots who do not read the descriptions!!!

[modelpara]

Surprise surprise eBay have decided in buyers favour DESPITE him agreeing I did not open the box, who do I issue small claims proceedings against, eBay and seller or just seller?

 

Oh and best bit is they want ME to organise a courier to collect!

[chris p bacon]

Surprise surprise eBay have decided in buyers favour DESPITE him agreeing I did not open the box, who do I issue small claims proceedings against, eBay and seller or just seller?

 

Oh and best bit is they want ME to organise a courier to collect!

As much as it will grind you, I'd get the item back how you want as left to the buyer it will be the cheapest/easiest.

 

As for small claims you could only take the buyer, it's a straightforward process but you still have to have a watertight case against him. 

[modelpara]

As much as it will grind you, I'd get the item back how you want as left to the buyer it will be the cheapest/easiest.

 

As for small claims you could only take the buyer, it's a straightforward process but you still have to have a watertight case against him.

 

Nope have grounds for taking eBay to court too as they did not follow due process and in the process facilitated a fraud causing a loss to me.

[Jenny Emily]

My partner had issues with Ebay's policy of shafting sellers, and took both a buyer and Ebay to the small claims as joint defendants. It was promptly settled out of court, as it seemed the summons focussed Ebay's attention on the matter and they then stomped on the unscrupulous buyer. 

 

Just because Ebay doesn't seem to care about UK law and natural rules of justice, doesn't mean that the UK courts will feel the same way. 

[Trains4U]

Its surprising how many "Not Received" claims go quiet when you produce a delivery signature from Royal Mail

(probably one in every 100 when it comes to locos)

 

It might add a few pence to the deliveries, but I'd have lost a lot more by not using recorded delivery.

[Horsetan]

My partner had issues with Ebay's policy of shafting sellers, and took both a buyer and Ebay to the small claims as joint defendants. It was promptly settled out of court, as it seemed the summons focussed Ebay's attention on the matter and they then stomped on the unscrupulous buyer. 

 

Just because Ebay doesn't seem to care about UK law and natural rules of justice, doesn't mean that the UK courts will feel the same way. 

 

^^

This.

 

Having said that, the more centralised nature of the County Court / Small Claims administration system may create delays of its own, but that's not to say you shouldn't go down this route.

 

More information here

[adb968008]

Nearer 15 years in my case and I've never had a problem that wasn't easily, quickly and amicably resolved. I do avoid the more dodgy areas and stick mainly to model railways

 

Andrew

I have to get mine out and wave it here.. Apr 1998 I signed up, so that would be 19 years 1 month.

 

Age /longevity means nothing though on ebay though.

 

Back then there was nothing relating to trains on ebay, no PayPal either.

[Jenny Emily]

I have to get mine out and wave it here.. Apr 1998 I signed up, so that would be 19 years 1 month.

 

Age /longevity means nothing though on ebay though.

 

Back then there was nothing relating to trains on ebay, no PayPal either.

I thought I was an early arrival on Ebay back in late 1999.

 

Back then there really were bargains-a-plenty. It was more like a carboot sale with people getting shot of stuff they had found in their attics rather than being treated as a business. I used it then to buy Goth clothing and old 7" singles. My roomate used it to complete a full set of every My Little Pony ever produced. No gougers then or chancers as far as I remember.

[Jub45565]

It is unfortunate that the few ruin it for the many. I sold a loco chassis and was surprised when it went for more than the price a a full loco of the class, so did smell a bit of a rat...

 

Lo and behild it was damaged in the post... but returned it to me in the same packaging I had used, conpletely undamaged. Definitely a swap had been done, & I lost out all round.

 

I do occasionally still sell - it is a useful place to get rid of things clogging the place up - but generally only on fee discount weekends.

[Colin_McLeod]

Its surprising how many "Not Received" claims go quiet when you produce a delivery signature from Royal Mail

(probably one in every 100 when it comes to locos)

 

It might add a few pence to the deliveries, but I'd have lost a lot more by not using recorded delivery.

 

Like I did when I could not prove that my buyer received a Jouef class 40. I agree that its worth the extra to get proof of delivery and recommend that to all sellers.

[modelpara]

So Evilbay have as expected issued a refund to the buyer DESPITE no return of the item sold and no evidence / investigation etc that it was "not as described"

 

To pour salt into the wounds they are still charging their 10% fees!

 

To the small claims court!

[pheaton]

Its surprising how many "Not Received" claims go quiet when you produce a delivery signature from Royal Mail

(probably one in every 100 when it comes to locos)

 

It might add a few pence to the deliveries, but I'd have lost a lot more by not using recorded delivery.

I Had almost the exact opposite to this issue....

 

I bought a 31 chassis from someone who failed to mention it suffered from Mazak rot, they got snotty when I complained to them and offered to send it back to them, as ebay suggested...once they acknowledged delivery ebay said they would refund me....

 

guess what...they purposely withheld from collecting the royal mail signed for package, knowing full well royal mail wouldn't list the status of the delivery of the website....essentially making it look like royal mail had lost it, absolving them of the need to make a refund under eBay's rules....I knew exactly what they were up to an tried to explain this to ebay, but because the customer service rep wasn't uk based they didn't understand how royal mail worked and basically said I now had to pursue with royal mail, I appealed and they found in my favour......25 days after the package was sent the seller collected it from the post office!

 

unfortunately quite a lot of sellers are cottoning on to this knowing that royal mail only lists when a package is delivered on there website when sent recorded delivery. You have to send special delivery to get more information, but this costs more and makes it ineffective avenue for items of low value.

 

 

[Colin_McLeod]

If ever there was a case for naming and shaming to protect other buyers then this must be it.

[45156]

I too got shafted when I sold a Royal Doulton figure on Ebay, and the buyer claimed that it was not as described, as it had, in his opinion, been repaired.  It had not.  I asked him to return it, and when I got it back, I am certain that it was a switch, as I knew the piece well, having rejected about three at the retailer when I bought it, and the colouring was different.  Also the backstamps did not look familiar to me as the backstamps were almost unique in Doulton pieces, with different artist signatures etc.

 

Evilbay of course came down in favour of the seller, and I was left with HIS damaged piece, and out of pocket for the postage, return postage, and fees. 

 

Used to be good, but this sort of thing is why I have more or less given up now.

[Culmhead]

I have bought many items (400+) from e-Bay and sold a fair few and fully sympathise with many of the experience's shared on this thread.

 

As as a seller, in all that time, I have had a couple of non payers and a number of slow ones. However, on the purchases front I can honestly say that 99.9% have been as described, very well packed and posted promptly. This in my humble opinion is that most sellers and buyers are very honest.

 

In all this time, I have only once had to engage the help of the e-Bay resolution centre - and that was this week! The matter has yet to be resolved, but the essence of it was that an item was damaged in transit due to poor packaging. I contacted the seller within an hour of receipt supplying photos and asking how they wished to resolve the matter, they did not respond after several days - so I referred it to e-Bay - still no response.

 

I know that I have rambled on a bit (probably a lot), but the point is that I think there are a few chancer's who spoil it for the vast majority of others.

 

Cheers,

 

Aidan.

 

P.S. I forgot to mention that under contract law of England and Wales - any written description is considered to be part of the contract- this applies to both business and private sellers.

[Silver Sidelines]

As Aidan says we have sympathy with lots of the previous comments.  Being remote from large centres of population we have to rely on the web including eBay for lots of purchases. Generally we get good service but I do feel that we now have to be so much more careful.

 

We also sell the odd few items. Again within the last fortnight we had our first unhappy experience.  A buyer claimed that the 40 year old plastic was not as white as she had expected.  True some of my 'flash' images looked really bright, but there were other pictures included which showed the yellowing with age.  She suggested a partial refund which would cost the same as the return postage so we obliged.  We were just left with the thought, had it all been an elaborate exercise to reduce the price the buyer had to pay?

 

I have lots of admiration for businesses who make a success of dealing with the Public.

 

Ray

[rockershovel]

eBay is wholly biased in favour of the buyer. It does a huge amount of business through on-line box shifters of various descriptions and has long since lost interest in private sellers or small retailers, except as a revenue stream.

 

I know small retailers who DO use it, but a local business I know who use it, tell me that their plan is to sell a lot of relatively low value items at good markups and simply refund any complaints, then block the seller subsequently, along with any other ID which is thought to be the same buyer. It works for them.

 

I find it works well for disposing of odd items of limited value, finding or advertising unusual or rare items and establishing prices for items you really can't put a price to. It also provides a steady stream of items in common categories - when I bought a bike a coup,e if years ago, I watched 8 or 10 similar ones, picked one that looked likely, went and saw it and bought it cash on the day.

[Urthra]

Agree... Ebay is just for buying, for me. I have come undone with sales so often.

You have to charge an arm and a leg to cover ebay fees anyway. They take a cut of your postage costs! Thats just robbery....

 

Back to the original question..

 

I had a dispute over fees that ran eighteen months. Eventually ebay conceded defeat because i had saved an email from ebay helpdesk, which said the fees in question would be credited to me.

Eighteen months, and probably a good twelve hours of me writing emails, over about thirty bucks of fees.

And my account was frozen for 15 of those 18 months.

[Kenton]

 

it's a straightforward process but you still have to have a watertight case against him.

 

Not as straightforward as claimed.

 

Not only a watertight case but you have to pay for the pleasure.

You will eventually get your costs back (they are now very limited as what is an eligible cost) ONLY if you WIN the case.

 

You are up to vagaries of the system and to the person acting as judge. A single individual who can have some rather odd ideas of fairness. The system can take a ridiculous period of time to process and despite the "claims" that you do not need a solicitor it is very difficult to argue your case on points of law and even the court rules without one. (even then such cases are seen as fodder for novice solicitors.

 

I have had experience from both sides.

One case took over 18 months to be finalised (the litigant used every excuse under the sun including 3 holidays, sickness, death in family and even inability to attend hearing due to car in garage) She failed in just about every rule in the book (it is available online) even failed to pay the court fees. The case was struck off twice for failing to pay and failing to send requested documents. Each time she appealed the striking off (turning up at hearings and then sobbing to the (female) judge that she was stress/in poor health/being bullied. In each hearing her excuse was upheld with another demand for payment or presentation of documents. Eventually the case went in front of a more senior and experienced (male) judge and my defence of the original case was upheld. (The contract was inadequate, the services quoted in the contract were not performed. She didn't get her extra payment and had the pleasure of having to pay all her costs.

A second case went in my favour over £7K of accountancy and tax work unpaid plus all the cost and hassle of taking him to court all for no good outcome. I won, he declared bankruptcy.

 

Without a certainty of winning (and realism) the small claims court is a bit of a waste of space and not worth the stress and effort required to pursue one. What little advice I had from Citizen's Advice was inadequate with the exception of employ a solicitor but remember you will only get that cost back if you win and the defendant is able to pay it. Some judgements can be in the form of drip-drip payments because the defendant may claim they are only able to pay back at some silly amount (eg £1) per week.

 

And don't forget if you are taking on a big institution or company they have deeper pockets than you and can employ better legal represention.

[polybear]

 

And don't forget if you are taking on a big institution or company they have deeper pockets than you and can employ better legal represention.

 

However, the likes of Ebay are sensible enough (I suspect) to realise that unless the sum involved is large then such cases are just not worth defending, since even if they win they will still be worse off due to the staff costs involved etc. in sorting it all out.  The phrase "....as a gesture of goodwill, without admission of liability etc...." springs to mind in such cases.

[Kenton]

 

However, the likes of Ebay are sensible enough (I suspect) to realise that unless the sum involved is large then such cases are just not worth defending, since even if they win they will still be worse off due to the staff costs involved etc. in sorting it all out.  The phrase "....as a gesture of goodwill, without admission of liability etc...." springs to mind in such cases.

 

 

That is very true. Just like the banks and PPI.

 

and look where that left us, everyone claiming and the banks paying out regardless of the stupidity of those who did no read the small print.