Buyer Circumvented Block - was still allowed to leave negative feedback?

[hkgcwobu]

Hi All,

A buyer who circumvented a block I had on their main account used a secondary account to purchase the cheapest item on my store very clearly with the intent to leave negative feedback. I talked with an ebay representative on the phone and they confirmed it was the same user (same address and last name on their account), and told me it would be okay to cancel the sale and that the buyer would not be able to leave a negative review.

However, the "buyer" ended up leaving a negative review and when I requested feedback removal, I was denied even though the buyer very clearly broke Ebay ToS by circumventing the block on their main account. In fact, even after providing more details to ebay I lost my appeal to have this feedback removed again, with them claiming the buyers experience is legitimate...

It is very wrong to me that ebay will just let any person looking for revenge to leave negative feedback even if they go out of their way to break ToS to do so. I am also bothered that they won't even consider the fact that a customer service rep advised me that it's okay to simply cancel the order, and that there is this previous solved community post stating it's okay to cancel an order with "issue with buyer's address" when you're certain they are circumventing a block.

Has anyone ever had any luck getting negative feedback in this situation removed? I am really shocked that ebay is siding with the "buyer" in my situation... would appreciate any advice if possible and especially if an ebay employee could explain my situation is different from the one linked above : /

[sin-n-dex]

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@hkgcwobu wrote:

Yes, the ebay customer service rep confirmed that the address on file for both the blocked account and the "buyers" account was identical. Whether or not they should have told me that is definitely questionable, but I appreciated it at the time. And they did legitimately tell me I can cancel the order without worry, which i clearly understand now was a lie and I agree with the first commenter that they probably just told me that to get me to hang up quicker.

But I can assure you that this was not a legitimate order. It was a seller that I left a neutral review for looking for revenge. 

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Don't leave negs or neutrals with a selling account you use to make purchases. I do block any seller that I'm not happy with to make sure they don't buy from me later. If I'm not happy with them as a seller, I don't want them as a buyer either. But i don't leave bad feedback if I buy with t his account.

C.

[monster-deals]

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@ebooksdiva wrote:

The feedback wasn't removed because it doesn't violate eBay's feedback policy.

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Yes it does.

They purchased the item with the intent to leave negative feedback.

[hkgcwobu]

As i mentioned in another comment, this "buyer" is actually a seller I had a negative experience with previously. After a very poor experience with them I ended up leaving neutral feedback, not even negative, and returned the item at my own cost where they proceeded to defraud ebay and took a 50% deduction from my return claiming i sent the item back missing pieces. But they literally reposted the identical item for sale on their account again (you can tell by the damage to the item) and what do you know, the missingparts of the item they claim i didn't return were seen in the listing photos. I reported this buy it's clear to me ebay doesn't care. 

So, yes, this wasn't literally a brand new account, it was an existing second account from a seller i dealt with recently. So I am very certain it wasn't a legitimate purchase.

[hkgcwobu]

Thanks for giving me a glimmer of hope in an otherwise negative thread 😅 I already went back and forth with 2 different CSR's about this recently to no avail, so probably going to give up on that for now. But i'll revisit it and mention the same talking points you provided in your reply. Thank you!

[ebooksdiva]

Oh, well that certainly sheds a whole new light on things. You didn't mention that in your original post.

I still wouldn't call CS, they gave you misleading information the first time I would send them a message through their facebook page eBay for Business  see if they can help you. Those CS reps are more experienced than the ones you spoke with on the phone. 
Good luck.

[tree*fern]

@hkgcwobu  CS gave the advice to cancel for issue with buyer's address because if the buyer's other ID is blocked, then the seller doesn't ship to that address.

I've had a similar experience recently with a blocked buyer circumventing my BBL, and CS gave the same advice to cancel for issue with address. They also pointed out that buyer could still leave negative feedback, but if that happened, eBay would remove it since I had reported the buyer for circumventing my BBL. (Circumventing the BBL is not on the list of automated options for reporting a buyer, but you can report via phone.) When the buyer left me negative feedback, eBay removed it.

The eBay for Business on Facebook group has posted that they will no longer be helping with feedback removal requests.

[conservitvs]

@hkgcwobu

I have been through the exact situation.

I called (US support at the time), and just as in the OP’s case, the CS agent confirmed the same individual owned both the blocked account as well as the account used to circumvent my BBL list. 

The CSR only confirmed the accounts owner was the same. They shared no additional information. 

The feedback was removed because circumventing a seller’s BBL was (and still is) a policy violation. 

OP, keep at it. You are correct. Be sure to mention to the next CSR that it is a policy violation to circumvent the BBL.

[sin-n-dex]

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@hkgcwobu wrote:

Thanks for giving me a glimmer of hope in an otherwise negative thread 😅 I already went back and forth with 2 different CSR's about this recently to no avail, so probably going to give up on that for now. But i'll revisit it and mention the same talking points you provided in your reply. Thank you!

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Please don't give up... my record is 6 hours with phone calls, FB and emails to get a libellous neg removed from someone who shouldn't be leaving feedback... I'm stubborn and will stay up late fighting something like this. Sometimes I've had to make several calls over a few days.

Go through the argument in your head several times... about them being on the BBL, how they shouldn't have been able to buy, circumvented the block to buy, and then left a neg. People on the BBL aren't supposed to be able to buy and your buyer broke the rules to make that purchase. One shouldn't be able to leave a neg breaking the rules.

Also what might help is to talk to some non-eBay people about your situation. In the forum we know rules, read lots of posts and know how CSRs work. Getting a perspective from a non-seller friend about what happened might give you a new perspective on your argument with eBay to get it removed.

C.

[ebooksdiva]

Yes,  but they also told the OP the buyer wouldn't be able to leave feedback.

That was the misinformation they gave the OP.

I also had a buyer circumvent my block, I blocked the buyer because he kept sending unreasonable lowball offers. I ended the listing and relisted it increased the cost slightly and removed offers from my listings.
I never had a transaction with him. Until he created a new account bought a totally different audiobook from what he lowballed me on. I didn't know it was the same buyer until 2 days after I shipped I get a PayPal payment dispute didn't recognize the transaction.

I after I added tracking I noticed the buyer had left a note in the dispute. 

"Yes. I ordered this Audiobook CD (Anthony Trollope, "The Way We Live Now") on Ebay from a seller:  I paid the seller $39.16 on 7/6 from my PayPal account by selecting the PayPal option on the Ebay check-out page. Now, there is no record of the sale on Ebay in my Purchase History and nothing in "Canceled Orders" -- only the charge on PayPal. This seller was acting oddly before I made the order -- changing the price, and blocking me from other orders. I suspect foul play here."

The  buyer actually purchase Orley Farm audiobook by the same author. 
I won the dispute because the order was delivered. Since I won the buyer couldn't leave feedback. I blocked the buyers new ID as well. 
I reported the buyer and his shenanigans I don't know what the outcome was of that report they keep that a secret.

[sin-n-dex]

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@tree*fern wrote:

@hkgcwobu  CS gave the advice to cancel for issue with buyer's address because if the buyer's other ID is blocked, then the seller doesn't ship to that address.

I've had a similar experience with a blocked buyer circumventing my BBL, and CS gave the same advice to cancel for issue with address. They also pointed out that buyer could still leave negative feedback, but if that happened, eBay would remove it since I had reported the buyer for circumventing my BBL. (Circumventing the BBL is not on the list of automated options for reporting a buyer, but you can report via phone.) When the buyer left me negative feedback, eBay removed it.

The eBay for Business on Facebook group has posted that they will no longer be helping with feedback removal requests.

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Re, your last statement... that's a new one! I didn't know they announced this. (But I'd still try anyway).

One reason they might not be helping with FB removal requests is because they are now staffed by BOTS a lot of the time, and they need a human to review FB removal.

The best bet is to speak to someone on the phone. Not mentioned in my previous posts, always get the "call number" and "first name" of the person you're speaking with, an stay on the phone while they make notes. Once you get off the phone, they are on their next call, that's how an inquiry queue works. At my work the reps stay on the phone to do their notes on your file before they disconnect.

C.

[tree*fern]

@sin-n-dex   Yea, it's a recent change.  Your advice is good, and @hkgcwobu should keep trying and not give up. There's no question it's against policy for a buyer to circumvent a seller's blocked bidder list and leave negative feedback. 

Note that you should call CS to report the buyer before cancelling for issue with address. Some sellers are falsely cancelling for address when it should be for out of stock, to avoid the transaction defect. EBay does review cancellations, so it's best to make sure you report the buyer and get it on record before cancelling.

[sin-n-dex]

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@tree*fern wrote:

@sin-n-dex   Yea, it's a recent change.  Your advice is good, and @hkgcwobu should keep trying and not give up. There's no question it's against policy for a buyer to circumvent a seller's blocked bidder list and leave negative feedback. 

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For eBay for Business, I recommend drafting the entire message and making sure you have all the details in message #1, no back and forth. They're supposed to let you log in so they can see your account, review it and get back to you. If your question is answered by bots, you'll get a reply in seconds. Otherwise it could take 6-10 hours for a response.

I went to eBay for Business on FB and did not see the post you are referring to, but i scrolled through 2-3 weeks of posts and there's too much stuff going up every day (by ebay and other members) to find the reference. If you happen to have a link to this post please share. I'm going to pretend I don't know this info if I ever need to contact eBay on FB for this.

Fortunately many times if I do get a neutral or neg, it's just a case of working things out with a customer and they'll revise it. I've only ever had them removed when they're left by scammers or the comment is unreasonable (like telling me a Morgan dollar is bigger and heavier than they expected).

C.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@ebooksdiva wrote:

The feedback wasn't removed because it doesn't violate eBay's feedback policy.

Plus the other account was blocked not the current one. 
If the buyer opens an INAD issue the return receive the item back then refund. Perhaps then you can have the feedback removed because you took care of the buyer by refunding. 

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That doesn't matter @ebooksdiva . Even if the current account is a different one than the ID that's blocked, it's a violation to circumvent a block with a different ID. 

• Unwelcome and malicious buying: We consider bidding on or buying an item when you have no intention of completing the transaction, or circumventing a seller's buyer requirements, to be unwelcome and malicious buying.

• Members must not create additional accounts to circumvent selling restrictions, buying limits, suspension, or to manipulate any site feature. <---My note: "any site feature" includes circumventing a seller's block. 

This is the report buyer link and the way @hkgcwobu should have reported the buyer of the item, explaining that the buyer, (original ID) circumvented your block and used a second ID (fill in the blank) to purchase an item, presumably to leave negative feedback, which is what happened. 

https://spd.ebay.com/RBASellerHub

Unfortunately, cancelling the sale resulted in getting negged for a valid reason and wasn't not the way to handle the issue.

[ebooksdiva]

@albertabrightalberta 

I got that thanks.

[movieman630]

I don't know what's going on but people are becoming extremely abusive with Negative FB.  I've NEVER gotten this many negatives in all my years selling here.