3 undeserved UPI strikes and now causing restricted bidding nightmare
So I recently tried the new auto-pay that says shop more, ship together. After entering my card and shipping info before being allowed to bid it said by placing bid I was authorizing ebay to charge my card. It said I had 7 days to shop more before payment would automatically process.
So I won first item on monday morning and messaged seller to let them know I wanted to bid more items on friday afternoon. So on friday when I checked before bidding more I saw my first item was cancelled for non-payment at exactly the 96 hour point.
I even shared this video on how it's supposed to work with the seller and we were both on the same page that with auto-pay and the guaranteed pre-payment, it allows the buyer up to 7 days or they can checkout sooner manually which I planned to do after receiving my combined shipping invoice after bidding friday.
According to this video the 96 hours rule only applies if the auto-payment fails
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNoAR4KuT-w
That's where the new nightmare began. I realized I would be receiving a UPI strike so I reached out to facebook and was told they didn't see any strike for the item yet , but to check back and the would take care of it when it showed up.
So last night when I tried to bid a laptop I got the message blocking me mentioning 2 unpaid item strikes. Besides the recent one I mentioned above I couldn't think of any other time an item was unpaid.
So I asked for the item numbers and they gave me the following item numbers:
The top item number in their message is for the item discussed earler from 2 days ago caused by auto-pay. The other 2 items were from around august last year which were both paid. One was for defective ram the seller said was also new and they didn't work . After messaging seller they refunded me without opening case or returning item.
The other item was for a lot of ram the seller tried to cheat USPS and shipped it media mail and was returned to sender because of postage due. The seller messaged me they didn't want to resend the item because it sold cheaper than they wanted and they would be losing money. I said fine and took the refund.
So please tell me how I fix this.
Below are the 2 cancellation detail links that show both ram orders were paid and refunded
airsheep
·1 year agoThank you for this. I bought several pieces of fabric from one seller who offered combined shipping. I requested their discounted shipping, but they had to manually process it, and all the while, ebay was nagging me to pay the full undiscounted shipping. Luckily they fixed it so I could pay before the 4 days was up, but if it had taken them longer, I might have had my ebay buying seriously curtailed.
roccotacodad54
·1 year agoI didn't read all of the replies but thanks for bringing this up. I now won't be using the 7 day option and will just bite the bullet and not expect combined shipping if that might happen. I rarely buy more than 1 item from any one seller especially on an auction but...................
I have seen other complaints of the 96 hour time limit kicking in before the 7 days are up.
Good luck to you in this....................
wastingtime101
·1 year agoGot any links @roccotacodad54 ?
campanaelia
OP1 year agoI completely agree , I'll never trust the 7 days for auto-pay again. The seller this happened with had the 4 day unpaid item assistant setting, so it seems that takes precedent. I communicated with the seller since it was my first time doing this, and even gave him the link to the video and we both were on the same page about the 7 days with auto-pay. They were just as surprised as I was when it got cancelled. They understood it wasn't my fault and shortly after the mishap I bought a different lot of batteries from them and will be a repeat buyer.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/146346277901
I also saw this statement below on google, so there seems to be conflicting info on how ebay says it's supposed to work. I wish I knew sooner.
The kicker is ebay refusing to to help me fix their mess
janet9988
·1 year agoeBay is okay with that option because they make more in fees when purchases can not be combined.
wastingtime101
·1 year agoHi @kyle@ebay - can you take a look at the original post please? This is a weird one and doesn't look right at all.
1. Buyer preauthorized payment method, they were shown the 7 day shop more ship together message, but they received an unpaid item strike after 4 days. Something went wrong there.
2. Buyer has 2 unpaid item strikes for items they paid for. One was shipped, returned to sender for postage due (seller abused media mail), and seller refunded buyer using a buyer requested cancellation reason. The other was a refund for a defective item, and seller used buyer requested cancellation instead of making the buyer go through the returns process. Why are these recorded as unpaid item strikes?
Now the buyer is blocked from bidding on items because they have 3 unpaid item strikes, none of which should have ever counted against them based on the original post.
The buyer already went to CS for help through facebook. Should they try that again?
campanaelia
OP1 year ago@wastingtime101
AMOF, right after the issue with the media mail fraud order , I had posted a thread here because I had paid for priority mail and then the seller sent it via media mail. USPS always inspect all media mail items around here, so when it was delivered to my mailbox store they refused it because of postage due.
USPS does not have an entry on their scanners for postage due, so many times the tracking shows "undeliverable" and in this case they put "Moved, left no address".
When tracking shows this type scan , ebay sides with the seller and buyers lose their protection. And since it was refused at my mailbox store I can't even get proof with a photo for the postage due.
I created the thread below because Ebay can clearly see on tracking what service was used and what service I paid for. And that it was the same address I've been using for years.
If the seller used media mail for unauthorized items, ebay should side with the buyers in these cases. Instead buyers are put in an uncomfortable position just to get a refund.
The date of my thread is the same as the refunded lot of ram, and one of the tracking numbers in the OP was from this order. Media mail fraud is another big headache for me.
And now I'm being punished for it instead of the sellers that do this.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/Ebay-needs-to-punish-sellers-for-shipping-unauthorized-items-via/td-p/34664135
wastingtime101
·1 year agoYou need to have a conversation with your mailbox store @campanaelia . In my experience most of them will have a process like either taking a photo for the customer or asking the carrier for the postage due paper slip as proof for the customer.
campanaelia
OP1 year ago@wastingtime101
Obviously I am very anxious to get these strikes removed but TBH I'm really starting to lose hope on anyone fixing this.
I reached out again to facebook today and I got the same response saying they wouldn't remove all 3 strikes again. They didn't even look at them on a case by case basis. Just a quick No response.
After never having an actual unpaid item ever in 20 years ebaying, it shocks me that I now have 3 within 12 months that aren't even justified.
The one caused by auto-pay recently, even if they did change the 4 day policy midstream, which we haven't received an answer on yet, should be removed because I was only doing what was shown to me in the video created by ebay's team.
And I don't even understand how I was given the other 2 UPI strikes when I paid for both items. As I said earlier one refund was for defective ram and the other was returned to sender for the postage due because of media mail fraud. Even if the sellers said "buyer asked to cancel" on the refund, since when does that result in the buyer receiving a UPI strike?
My fingers are crossed that the team member you tagged responds here soon. 🤞
carlmarxx
·1 year agoYou should have requested a call back for a ebay rep on the down graded shipping Media Mail abuse and ask for a supervisor to report that seller . you should have filed a Snad return claim on the other items you said where defective.
campanaelia
OP1 year ago@carlmarxx
I always thought it was a courtesy to message the sellers first before resorting to opening a case. In the case of the defective ram, the seller admitted the ram may not of been new and never tested it. They sent the refund immediately after receiving my first message.
In the media mail fraud issue, since it was sent to my mailbox store and I had no photo proof to provide ebay with, the only option I had was to talk directly with the seller. The seller was also acting kind of sketchy about receiving it because USPS never showed delivered to him, it just showed return to sender. It wasn't until a week later after I told him USPS told me he received it back already. I was just happy to get the full refund at the time because USPS does not have an entry on their scanners for ''postage due", so the carrier got creative and put "Moved, left no address". And even though it's the same address I've for years on ebay, we all know ebay only goes by what tracking shows and I would of lost if I opened a case.
Also I was never aware that by a seller saying "Buyer requested to cancel" on any cancellation could result in a UPI strike.
However going forward, I'll go straight to opening a dispute to document everything correctly
carlmarxx
·1 year agoFar as buyer asking for cancellation as long as there is a good reason , No UPI strike is handed out . yes it is courtesy to contact the seller ,but also to file dispute and get a call back from ebay, to make sure they also read the messages .
wastingtime101
·1 year agoHi @kyle@ebay - any chance you can offer some advice here?
kyle@ebay
Hey @wastingtime101 thanks for checking in. I'd definitely recommend contacting CS again for that recent strike. The other two are unfortunately too old to appeal, but if we can remove the newest one, OP should be in better shape.
wastingtime101
·1 year agoDid you follow Kyle's above advice @campanaelia and get one of those strikes removed?
campanaelia
OP1 year ago@wastingtime101
I did what Kyle said and used the chat option linked through the UPI appeals page on 2/1.
The rep said they would send a request for the appeal and would take 3-5 days if it was approved.
I just tried bidding a laptop tonight before bed and got the bid restriction window again so I guess it wasn't approved.
What else can I do at this point? Since these appeals are time sensitive I maybe running out of time soon.
ittybitnot
·1 year ago@campanaelia
Just a thought, but due to the previous two strikes you got for items that you paid for (in August) you may still be blocked by sellers who employ the 2 in 12 block for non-payers. @kyle@ebay said the strikes were "too old" to appeal, even though you did pay. Not to say that orders "cancelled" by the seller (when you did not request to cancel) in the fashion that happened to you should result in UPI strikes at all. Not that it will make you feel any better or solve your problem, it seems to be an issue with an automated system where humans are not able to intervene.
campanaelia
OP1 year ago@ittybitnot
Since aug/sept when the first 2 strikes were on my account I never had this bidding restriction on my account show up. 95% of what I buy on ebay is through auctions and the restriction first appeared about 2 days after the last cancellation in Jan. for the auto-pay error. If I knew about the first 2 sooner I would of appealed them immediately.
I also find it weird how I got 3 strikes wrongfully in such a short period of time, almost like I was targeted.
I was strongly opposed to auto-pay and haven't made an offer in at least 1.5 years or bid on any auctions that had it. AMOF my account was enrolled into auto-pay for auctions around the same time as the first 2 strikes were applied. I first tried auto-pay only after they started the "Shop more ship together" allowing combined shipping. Now I regret ever trying it or at least until they got all the bugs out.
Now with the bidding restriction, the only auctions I can bid on are auctions with auto-pay, almost like ebay is forcing me to use it.
campanaelia
OP1 year ago@wastingtime101
So is there any chance that anyone can help me with this appeal? As I mentioned before I did what Kyle said and tried contacting CS again which failed.
Once in the past, another ebay team member in the community put notes on my account to help solve a different issue and the next time I contacted CS they were much more helpful to resolve the problem.
Out of 3 weird UPI strikes I don't understand why just removing the latest one is becoming so difficult. I wasn't being restricted before this one, and I'm not worried about ever receiving another strike because I have always paid for all my items.
wastingtime101
·1 year agoAre you sure the latest one wasn't removed? Most likely it's the 2 that are too old to remove that are causing the problems. On the buyer requirements page sellers can block bidders with as little as 2 unpaid items in the past 12 months.
I choose more lenient settings on my accounts, and it's possible you never had a problem before because you were bidding on items from sellers that also had more lenient settings.
Going by your screenshots above, one of the old strikes will age off on Sept 20 and the other on Sept 24. I realize that's frustrating since it's 7 mos away. I don't think it's possible for eBay CS to review anything 5 mos old.
campanaelia
OP1 year agoI'm not sure if other users can open the links above for the cancellation details for the ram, so see the screenshots below. I'm very responsible with my account and buy thing for hundreds of dollars, do you really think I would jeopardize my account and reputation for 2 orders totalling $30.
The dates for both of these refunds were around the same time so possibly a glitch? I've never seen this happen before
campanaelia
OP1 year agoThis was ebays response on facebook about the 2 orders of ram
" The other two were orders where you requested the seller to cancel. Due to the history on your account, we have implemented this block while these strikes on your account in order to ensure smooth transactions moving forward. They will expire automatically after 12 months."
First of all I never asked to cancel either of those 2 orders. I messaged both sellers about the issues without opening a case and that's what they put on the refunds.
Ebay must be aware how sellers abuse the cancellation reason. Now they're making buyers pay the price for it .
The fact is I've actually only requested once to cancel an order in the past few years and it wasn't even cancelled. All these other one's they must be referring in my history, are the sellers using fake reasons for cancellations, which happens often, and I always report them to ebay like were supposed to
ittybitnot
·1 year agoFirst of all I never asked to cancel either of those 2 orders.
@campanaelia
Oh, what a mess! So you now have 3 UPI strikes. Two for items paid for and cancelled by the seller, and one from the auto UPI when you selected to pay in 7 days on an auction with the auto-pay requirement?
I certainly hope the eBay blue that @wastingtime101 tagged will show up and not direct you to the 'call back/chat CS.
Good luck!