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Fraud Committed by a Seller & I Have Proof
I bought an item on eBay using Buy It Now. They are located in China. 2 weeks later when I went in to check on its status the Seiler had delisted themself from eBay. I then asked eBay to refund my money but they insisted that the Seller would still ship and deliver it. When a month went by with NO proof of shipment I then put a hold on the CC. Now days after the hold was placed the Seller provided shipping information "from the USPS" to eBay stating that the package had been delivered to me a week earlier....after a month of no notifications nor any response as to updates requested from the Seller. I went to my postal carrier and she confirmed that the tracking number did come to my city but it was a different package delivered to a neighbor blocks over. I contacted that neighbor and they confirmed that they received a different package from a US company out of Texas on that same day. So...I went to the Post Office and they gave me a printout PROVING that the Seller had committed fraud as the tracking number did NOT have my name or address on it, and never was from overseas. How do I get eBay to respond in any way since the Seller delisted themselves. THIS IS FRAUD.
azjowett
OP10 months agoBeen an eBay participant since 1998. 500+ great transactions.
eBay will tell my CC that the shipment was delivered since they accepted the fraud shipping documents from the unregistered Seller.
If a Seller becomes unregistered, then ALL of its current transactions on eBay should be terminated by eBay and CCs refunded. But no...eBay will keep the transaction fees I guess.....
eburtonlab
Mentor10 months agoeBay will tell my CC that the shipment was delivered since they accepted the fraud shipping documents from the unregistered Seller.
And that is why you do not file an ordinary "item not received" claim; eBay will use the tracking provided by the seller, and your credit card will ask eBay about that.
You must make a specific "false tracking" claim in order to provide your own evidence, since it is a case of fraud rather than an ordinary lost shipment.
If a Seller becomes unregistered, then ALL of its current transactions on eBay should be terminated by eBay and CCs refunded.
That would simply motivate eBay to wait until all transactions have been settled before actually removing a fraudulent seller, which is probably not what you intend. Sellers can be removed for a variety of reasons, not all of them involving items not being delivered, so blanket refunds are not always appropriate.
Removing sellers from eBay as soon as possible is a good thing, and it does not prevent buyers from filing claims; those transactions still appear in each buyer's Purchase History even if listings have been removed.
azjowett
OP10 months agoSo, my original response got yanked because I actually named the Scam Seller that unregistered themselves so they could commit fraud on eBay.
eBay received FRAUDULENT shipping verification from the Seller. I have proof from the USPS that this shipping information had nothing to do with me. Item never delivered so nothing to return...nor can leave any feedback because the Seller unregistered themselves BEFORE completing the sale.
All in all, this is the right method to commit fraud on eBay and have eBay allow them to do so.
eburtonlab
Mentor10 months agoYour response was edited to remove the seller username.
Sellers cannot close an account while there are pending or recent transactions, so eBay likely closed the account for policy violations.
There is no point in leaving feedback for a seller that has already been removed from eBay; no one else will be buying from that seller's account; it is gone. Naming the seller here is also pointless, and against policy.
If you have gone to your credit card issuer and disputed the transaction, there is nothing else for eBay to do. Pursue your refund from your card issuer and take steps to minimize the chances of purchasing from a fraudulent seller in the future.
azjowett
OP10 months agoUnfortunately, a Seller can become "No longer a registered user" BEFORE a sale is completed and the shipment reaches the actual Buyer. I tried to cancel the Sale once I found out the Buyer became unregistered, but eBay denied canceling the Sale. So, I waited patiently...then after a month of Zero responses from the Seller and Zero tracking information being provided I put a stop on the CC (which was required as the CC has a time period to dispute). ONLY then did the Seller provide a SCAM USPS shipment proof to eBay.
You can't protest an unregistered Seller, you can't upload the proof that this is a 100% cheat on a Buyer, you can't report it as an item not received. Since they never delivered it to my address there is no way to return the item.
Here is the Order number:02-13572-89088. The Seller is ****. No ability to leave feedback either...I never knew eBay made it so easy to accommodate cheating Sellers.
Member since 1998....never expected eBay to get to this point.
eburtonlab
Mentor10 months agoIf you receive something, you can file a return within thirty days even if the seller is no longer registered. eBay explains about that on the "Removed Listings" page:
https://www.ebay.ca/help/selling/listings/creating-managing-listings/removed-hidden-listings?id=4656
If you have waited too long for help from eBay, many credit cards offer protection for up to six months from the date of purchase; contact your card issuer for details.
azjowett
OP10 months agoI think you missed the 1 critical detail. The Seller (who did have positive reviews) has delisted themselves from eBay. Now nothing works towards reconciling this issue.
I believe eBay does not care that this is a Scam and I will be out the monies. I had already informed eBay but they sided with the Seller who has falsified shipping records per the USPS.
I cannot upload the proof from the USPS because of the delisting issue noted above. There are zero live Customer Support people at eBay.
DEAD Sellers are exempt from accountability, I guess.
eburtonlab
Mentor10 months agoSellers cannot close an account if there are ongoing transactions; likely eBay has removed the seller for policy violations.
That does not affect your money back guarantee -- it may even help you, provided you have not waited too long to act.
Contact eBay via social media direct message, report it as "false tracking" (not an "item not received").
If you have waited too long to get help from eBay, you may have recourse through your payment method using a similar technique, but you must report it as a case of "false tracking" to be given a chance to provide your documentation.
eburtonlab
Mentor11 months ago@azjowett
If the buyer actually receives something, the buyer can file a "not as described" return within thirty days for a full refund. In fact, any buyer on eBay can file a "not as described" return, provided the buyer is willing and able to return exactly what was received.
If tracking shows delivery but nothing arrives and the buyer can obtain some hard copy documentation (email is not good enough) that says that the package was not delivered to the buyer's address or documentation that shows the weight or size of the package cannot possibly correspond to the ordered item, or the shipping date precedes the order, then the buyer may be able to contact eBay via social media direct message, provide that documentation to eBay and get help with "false tracking".
https://x.com/askebay
https://www.facebook.com/ebay
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/
With "false tracking" if you go through a standard automated "item not received" case, on the other hand, you will lose the case because the seller can provide tracking that appears to show delivery. If you then appeal, you may have some additional options at that point. It appears that eBay has added a new appeal option regarding "delivery to another address", but I do not know how effective that is compared to contacting eBay via social media with documentation and explicitly mentioning "false tracking", which seems to work provided you can obtain the necessary documentation.
If you are unable to get help through eBay, you may have recourse through your payment method, though you should probably exhaust all your eBay options first since once you go through your payment method, eBay will no longer help with that transaction.
In general, you can avoid a lot of headaches by choosing to purchase only from established sellers that have recent and past positive feedback as a seller for selling items in the same category that you intend to buy. If someone is selling a dozen apple watches, but has no feedback, or only has feedback as a buyer, or only has feedback for selling dress patterns or fishing lures (actual examples I have seen), perhaps wait until they have a track record of positive feedback for selling electronics before you buy from them.