I Was Ripped Off by a BRAND NEW SELLER and eBay Closed the Case
A new seller with only 8 feedback "sent" my item to a different address on purpose and eBay sided with seller. The item was "supposedly" delivered to me on 12/23 (which BTW my mail was on hold during this time because I was out of town for Christmas). When I returned, ALL of my other items were delivered, except this item. When I messaged seller, they said delivered 12/23. After I had USPS GPS the location of the delivery it was a different address, not near me. At first I thought USPS screwed up but when I asked seller for help on my USPS claim they would give me no information. After I messaged them multiple times they messaged me a photo of "my" order info. The name of the buyer and phone number were not mine, the seller had pasted my address in between the other name and phone number. Also the order total was completely different than mine. After contacting eBay, they said I will NOT get a refund because my order was delivered. What to do next?
yo0339
·8 months agoThat's best: Because the seller/scammer pays, either
-- when they see the proof from USPS/FedEx/UPS
-- or lacking that, when the nothing is returned.
See the example at this page.
That's good: Now the seller/scammer pays, because eBay will not offer seller protection since
-- the fraud chargeback
-- is not the same reason as the INR that the seller already won
but my-angel-my-angina might disagree as eBay handles the fraud like an INR case, hence it's the same reason.
No, it's not: When the seller wins the INR, then the buyer wins the appeal
-- eBay itself pays the buyer,
-- and the seller/scammer gets away.
kibble-net
·8 months agoAs this scam gains popularity, you can protect yourself by checking the feedback of a seller before you buy from them.
Avoid new sellers, especially for high ticket items. Yes we all have to start somewhere. But if it smells like a rat, you know what they say.
albertabrightalberta
·8 months ago@iliketurtles112
Do as @mudshark61369 recommended.
Although it's a PITA to do, it's the only way to dispute a "fake/invalid" tracking scam.
I won a claim against a seller who used UPS and had "something" delivered to a different address in my zip code.
mudshark61369
·8 months ago@iliketurtles112 ,
When you file an Item Not Received (INR) dispute through ebay, a computer checks the tracking info for a delivered scan, if it sees one then it closes the dispute in the seller's favor. Even if you used the appeal button in the message saying the dispute was closed, the reps that handle the dispute cannot check the label's address or package type/size/weight information due to Federal postal privacy regulations. There is a 3rd option ebay has to get resolution through them and that is to contact them through one of their social media platforms, but it takes doing some leg work to get the info you need to get a refund. FYI, If you paid with a credit card and have filed an INR claim with them, your ebay options are no longer in effect, and you may need to get the proof of the fake tracking scam for them as well.
To get the info, You need to go to your P.O. and when you do,
You need to bring a copy of your order details page which shows your address and the tracking number with you. If you bought using a phone or tablet, you can bring that to show the clerk the order details. You want to ask the clerk to check the label address against yours on the order details page, and also to check the Package type/size/weight info to see if was is appropriate for what you should have received. If you can look up the Mfr.'s specifications for the item and bring that with you as well.
If the info does not match up, you ask the clerk or Postmaster to write a note on USPS stationary saying in general that the shipping label's address was not the same as the one on your ebay Order Details page, and if applicable that the package type/size/weight was not right for what you should have received. Do not ask them to write specific address or package info, they cannot give it out. Have the clerk or Postmaster print their name then sign and date the note. Because you had a delivery hold on your mail, ask the clerk if there is a record of the delivery hold still on file and if it is, to add that the package could not have been delivered on the 23rd because of that. Have the clerk/postmaster sign and date the note.
When you have the info you can use the Social media option or if you have already filed with your card provider add the note to your messages to them. If you can use the ebay S.M. option use the private message option on the page. You will need the item's ebay item number which is below the Item title in the order details page. It is 12 characters long without hyphens, and the seller's username. Write out what happened mentioning the mail hold if you can get proof of it. If you cannot get it, the note saying the delivery address doesn't match the one on your order details. Then attach a CLEAR photo or a scan of it to your message, and sign the message with your real and ebay username.
The reps who man the SM sites, are actual ebay employees who have the power to overturn the original decision and authorize a refund from the seller's account.
https://www.facebook.com/eBay/
https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/
https://x.com/askebay
You can also ask for the GPS location for the delivery and post that asking the rep to check it against your order address using www.gps-coordinates.net
iliketurtles112
OP8 months agoThank you for your suggestions. I guess the easiest recourse for me is to file a CC dispute. I don't use social media sites. I don't mind if it takes some time, just as long as I get my money back.
christworks
·8 months ago*** Removed ***
lady_madonna
·8 months ago@christworks
Encouraging members to falsify an Ebay dispute is against the Community guidelines.
christworks
·8 months agoFunny, because I've seen "Volunteer eBay Community Mentors" suggest just that in the past.
house*of*paws
·8 months agoYou're correct @christworks that some mentors do suggest doing that ... and have justified it by saying that the 'nothing' they received was NOT what they ordered, so the item could be considered NAD.
I personally prefer to tell buyers to contact the Fraud Department of their credit card company when they are certain that they've been the victim of the 'false tracking number scam'. That way there is no pretense at all in the claim.
I personally don't feel that eBay can insist that buyers go through the laborious process that @mudshark61369 described, which is otherwise totally correct.
bonanza125
·8 months agoYou need to then go through your payment source and see if they would reverse the charge. If that doesn't work then nothing else you can do.
tobaccocardyahoo
·8 months agoOpen a chargeback dispute with your credit card issuer. Ebay has not found a way to handle the fake tracking scam. You will win as long as you provide an understandable description of what has happened.