mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
@mam98031 wrote:
I think this is a GREAT discussion. In a nutshell the buyer was blocked from buying from you, so they then circumvent that block by using another account to purchase from you. Now this gave them the opportunity to retaliate against you for blocking them and leave a negative FB on your account for having the gall to block them in the first place.
Ebay at this point is allowing the retaliatory fb to stand from a buyer that circumvented the block policy. To me that doesn't make any sense because the buyer circumvented policy for the purpose of damaging the seller's account.
Sometimes CS doesn't always get things right, so lets see if we can get more clarity on this important question / matter.
Hey @mam98031 thanks for checking in. As many of you may have noticed, the process for feedback removal has recently become a lot more strict. At this time, once a feedback removal has been formally denied, there is still an option to escalate the feedback for an offline review if the denial was in error.
There is also still the possibility of the buyer's second account be suspended due to their actions, which in turn would remove feedbacks they have left as well.
Kyle,
Thank you very much for the response. However it still leaves the original question unanswered.
We have a buyer that circumvented the seller having them on their BBL and then posted a retaliatory negative FB on the sellers account, likely in an effort to damage the seller as the buyer was upset with them.
So we have a buyer that is acting in bad faith, damage a seller's FB, as CSR confirmed for the OP that the buyer's account is related to the account they blocked and the buyer is allowed to have the feedback stand???? The buyer broke the rules.
I'm very aware that FB removal has gotten stricter in recent months, but does that also now mean that buyers that break the rules get a free pass on some of the FB they leave? Which rules are being enforced and which ones aren't? Or do we know?
The OP did as the CSR told them to do by cancelling the transaction because the buyer was circumventing the BBL. The CSR gave the OP BAD info by saying the buyer could not leave negative FB on their account. So now the OP is in a real pickle. They did as directed by an Ebay CSR and now Ebay won't help them.
I realize that it is possible that Ebay has sanctioned the buyer, but really why would the OP care since Ebay won't take care of the FB that was wrongfully posted. FYI, the FB is still on the OPs account, so it does not appear the buyer was sanctioned with a suspension.
Hey @mam98031 and @hkgcwobu when it comes to a feedback or defect removal request, the decision is based on all the information available at that time. So we can infer that there simply wasn't enough information to allow a removal at the time of the request.
It is important to remember that although a second appeal may be allowed under certain circumstances, it does not guarantee that the appeal will be granted, and feedback removed.
To answer your question directly, BBL circumvention is not allowed, but from a feedback removal standpoint, that can be difficult or even impossible to prove. However, when an account is reported for this type of behavior, a thorough investigation takes place. Depending on the findings of this report, all feedback from the reported account may be removed.
Kyle,
Just me again as I'm puzzled by your response. The OP was very clear that they contacted Ebay about this issue, it was the Ebay CSR that agreed it was the same buyer circumventing the block on their original account. So how exactly is that not enough info to determine that the buyer made a conscience decision to blow off the block, purchase with another account of theirs, then leave a negative FB because the seller had the nerve to try and stop them from circumventing the rule.
Talk about rewarding a buyer for bad behavior.
Clearly circumventing the BBL is allowed as this buyer was able to pull it off.
Sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult here. It appears the OP did EVERYTHING they should have done and even under the guidance of an Ebay CSR and still they leave this seller with no resolution.
Hopefully you will look this conversation up and have the CSR updated on the policy of Cancellations and when a buyer can leave negative FB, as they certainly messed that up which in turn caused the end result that Ebay is just making the OP live with.
This process regarding this specific type of problem is woefully inadequate for sellers. Very Sad!
I was going to suggest that in the future the OP always start with reporting the buyer, because once that's established, then any subsequent malicious behavior will reflect what is already on record. But it's unfortunate that this particular behavior is not among the reason menu choices for reporting, especially because it IS described as a violation, in fact twice:
So let me ask you this, when you report a buyer by phone, do you get any kind of written acknowledgement of it, or at least a reference number? I haven't reported a buyer for anything in a while but if I recall correctly, after doing it on the web page, you get an email acknowledgement, right?
Calling them is such a pain. But I would do it if I felt certain it was as "real" as the web route.
@vintagecraze50 wrote:I think Kyle said that the buyer has to be reported first, then they can go into the situation better than if that has not happened. Thing is, ebay must get 1 million reported buyers a year, how do they keep up with that? And how does a seller know for certain what to do. Like call several times or reopen cases on this how many times before getting resolution. Personally I might not go down that complicated road AND JUST REPLY to that feedback and though it must be a positive it is going to tell my buyers then REALITY of what happened and that is not going to be positive at all.
Are you of the opinion that when the OP talked with a CSR from Ebay about this purchase that it wasn't enough to reporting the buyer? The CSR confirmed for the OP that the current buyer's account was linked with the blocked buyer's account.
This has been a problem for years. Ebay has very relaxed rules on this that mostly aren't even applied from what I've seen. This isn't the first thread on this type of a situation I've seen. Just the first one in a while.
The OP tried to do everything right. They did EXACTLY as the Ebay CSR instructed them to do and with the incorrect recommendation of the CSR the OP ended up with a negative FB that Ebay is not stepping up and handling.
@vintagecraze50 wrote:Gurl Cat, you remember my buyer who made false claim and tried the selling of this item on another site while they had an open return case for that item. This buyer was reported/blocked. They returned the merch but did not return the certificate of authenticity or the original box when they did return this high value item. They ended up leaving positive feedback because I caught them in the process of an attempted scam. I replied to that positive feedback letting other sellers know what this person did to us. In my case I was lucky this person left this feedback instead of going trying to hurt my account as well as try to steal our merchandise. There are sometimes very very bad situations we sellers encounter on here.
That is a completely different situation than the OP finds themselves in. You blocked the buyer AFTER the purchase.
