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NEED HELP. EBAY SIDED WITH SCAMMER
Summary: jda-73 is experiencing a problem with a package they purchased on eBay, stating it never arrived at their address. They believe they are a victim of a scam involving false tracking information and are frustrated with eBay's unwillingness to issue a refund. eburtonlab suggests contacting UPS for documentation and using social media to escalate the issue with eBay, while also recommending filing a "not as described" return if needed. gosimus agrees with this approach but is reluctant to deal with the hassle of obtaining documentation or using social media, and instead offers a justification for pursuing the "not as described" route.
MY PACKAGE NEVER ARRIVED TO MY ADDRESS. scammer used a UPS tracking number with wrong address and wrong name. The package was left in UPS dock with no way for me to find it and it was marked delivered. EBAY WILL NOT HONOR MY REQUEST FOR MY ITEM NOT BEING DELIVERED. I NEED MY REFUND FROM THIS MAIL FRUAD, EBAY IS NOT HELPING ME. I already opened a case and it was closed because EBAY SIDED WITH THE SCAMMER and not me who is completely honest and have just been scammed. The case was closed because the scammer had a tracking number only that claims item was delivered. Pure ignorance of this whole system.
eburtonlab
Mentor1 week ago@jda-73
If you have contacted the shipping service directly to determine that the tracking number does not correspond to a delivery to your address you are likely looking at a case of "false tracking".
If you can, I would suggest obtaining documentation that shows that the package was not addressed to you, then contacting eBay via social media direct message using Instagram and mentioning that you have a case of "false tracking" to be given an opportunity to share your documentation:
https://www.instagram.com/ebay/
If you cannot get documentation, or if that does not work:
Since false tracking allows a scam seller to win an "item not received" case, the next step would be to file a "not as described" return on eBay and be prepared to return exactly what you received if the seller provides for return shipping, or ask eBay to step in after three business days if the seller does not refund you or provide return shipping.
You may have recourse through your payment method if you are unable to get satisfaction through eBay, though once you involve a payment method, eBay can no longer help with that transaction. Be sure you mention "false tracking" specifically, otherwise your provider may assume a simple missing or stolen package and defer to eBay's ruling based on the tracking showing delivery.
In the future, stick to experienced sellers with a long and demonstrated history and avoid new or unproven sellers, or sellers that show warning signs of being drop-shippers or potential scammers: drastic changes in selling behavior or offering deals that are "too good to be true", or shipping heavy items that are unlikely to be profitably shipped via retail shipping.
gosimus
Mentor1 week ago · Edited@jda-73
< the next step would be to file a "not as described" return on eBay and be prepared to return exactly what you received if the seller provides for return shipping >
Exactly. I'm not going to jump through those hoops to get the letter that says the address wasn't mine. I did that once. It was the second-most frustrating event of my life. I wasted an entire morning and a half tank of gas. I'll never do it again. And I'm not going to create an instagram account – I don't have one, I don't want one, and I won't be crowded into creating one.
My justification for the Not As Described goes something like this:
In the false tracking scam, the "seller" – that is, the thief – sends a worthless trifle to an address in the same area as the buyer. The only purpose of this is to obtain the delivery confirmation so the buyer would lose the Item Not Received case that they instinctively thought would be applicable.
Since the seller – thief – sent a trifle, the item obviously would not be the actual item that the buyer purchased. If it were the actual item, the seller might as well have really sent it to the buyer. Thus, the item that was sent (the trifle) can reasonably be presumed to be not the described item. In eBay parlance we call this Not As Described.
If the seller tries to get smart and sends a return label, slap it on a box containing what you received – in this case, nothing – and send it back.