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Seller scammed me out of almost $200 and EBay is refusing to correct it
This is a long one.
so, I purchased an item on EBay and about 4 days after purchase hadn’t seen any tracking info. I reached out to the seller and requested an update. I received a response telling me I would get tracking info once the item had shipped. That same night, just a couple hours later, I received an email with tracking. I clicked on the link and saw it showed that it had supposedly delivered 3 days prior.
I found it odd that it said “delivered in or at mailbox†when this item was very large and weighed roughly 12-15 lbs. I live in a small town and know all the postal employees well.
I checked with neighbors, reviewed my camera footage, walked around and asked everyone. It was nowhere to be found.
I contacted the seller and made them aware of the situation. They told me “rest assured the item was delivered to your correct addressâ€. I then reached out to my postal inspector and provided the tracking number to him. He immediately identified it as a known scam. A NEW scam but a well known one. He said on his side, he can see In Depth tracking info including origin address, item weight and the address the item was sent to.
The item weight for that tracking number/ shipment was listed as 1.6oz (My item should have been 12-15lbs)
The address associated with that tracking number listed was about 3 miles from my home, but still in my zip code.
It was NOT addressed to me or my home.
I asked if i could have a copy of that information for eBay.
he sent me a copy from his USPS.Gov email with his name and contact information, showing everything he told me. It was very clear that this was a scam.
I reached out to the seller and was told repeatedly that “the item showed delivered to my correct addressâ€.
i then reached out to eBay to report them and get a refund. They asked me to furnish this proof to them via an emailed link they provided. They looked it over and agreed with me and assured me I was due a refund and would get one. Said it was “clearly a scamâ€.
Days later, an email arrived saying that they contacted the seller and the seller told them the package was indeed delivered to my address and even provided a tracking number. It literally said “the seller received the package to the correct address, here’s the tracking number for proof, please close this dispute ASAPâ€â€¦ and that’s exactly what EBay did.
they closed it and denied the price I provided.
I called back many times and spoke to many people. All of them reviewed the communications and my documentation and confirmed that it was clearly a scam and said I was due a refund. Again, receive an email days later saying “no refund will be givenâ€.
I contacted them a few days ago, spending an hour and a half on the phone with customer service and finally got a “manager†on the phone. She went through every single communication and document with me from start to finish. She apologized for the way this was handled repeatedly and confirmed it was easy to tell it was a scam and she “wasn’t happy with how this had been going for meâ€. She assured me she would try to get me a refund but at the very least she would make sure I got the money back via a coupon. I told her idle be fine with either.
she promised she, herself would call me back in an couple days (by last Friday) but the call never came once again. I revived an email yesterday (Monday) again saying “no refund would be givenâ€. The only difference this time was that I recorded this entire conversation from start to finish.
I am so beyond frustrated at this point. Nobody cares, nobody can help. It’s just going to keep happening to people. eBay has done nothing. Absolutely nothing. I have provided every single thing they’ve asked for l, very clearly and it’s gotten me nowhere.
im attaching the document from my postal inspector. The address shown is NOT MY ADDRESS….. Not even close to what’s listed on my eBay account.
I’ve never had an issue with or reported anyone on there in 15 years……
*** edit, it won’t let me upload this picture for some reason, I could send it to anyone who is curious though.****
eburtonlab
Mentor1 year ago@8tobedoit
If you can obtain some hard copy documentation (email is not good enough) that says that the package was not delivered to your address or something that shows the weight or size of the package cannot possibly correspond to your item, or the shipping date precedes your order, then you may be able to contact eBay via social media, provide that documentation to eBay and get help 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.
house*of*paws
Mentor1 year agoHi @8tobedoit
I'm so sorry you were the victim of the 'fake tracking number scam'. It happened to me several times a few years ago.
eBay has been very slow in getting a grasp of this scam. Since you have a statement from USPS indicating that your personal information was NOT associated with the tracking number you received ... I recommend you contact the Fraud Department of the credit card company you used to pay for the item.
Explain what happened, and offer to send them the proof USPS gave you. Request a chargeback for the full amount. This will stop the claim with eBay ... but that doesn't seem to be going anywhere. You should get refunded easily by your CC company.
Happy Holidays! 😊