Undelivered Order: Fake Tracking Number & Silence from eBay about complain
Item: Smart Ultra Short Throw 4K UHD Laser TV Home Theater Projector
Order Number: 01-11563-10366
Summary:
I am reporting a situation where I ordered a projector but did not receive it. eBay provided a tracking number that turned out to be invalid.
Details:
- Ordered a projector with an expected delivery date of June 17th, 2024.
- The projector did not arrive by the promised date.
- On June 18th, I contacted eBay to report the undelivered item.
- eBay advised that if the issue was not resolved by June 25th, they would take action.
- On June 25th, I received a message stating the order was delivered on June 2nd.
- The tracking number provided on June 25th differed from the original tracking number.
- I investigated the new tracking number and confirmed with DHL Oman that it was not for my order.
- The tracking number belonged to a shipment from India for a recipient named Santos. My order was supposed to deliver from China.
- The delivery address also did not match mine.
- I contacted eBay again to explain the discrepancy with the tracking information.
- Unfortunately, eBay's response remained the same.
Current Status:
- I have not received the projector I ordered.
- The original tracking information appears inaccurate.
- The provided replacement tracking number is confirmed to be unrelated to my purchase.
What are my next steps? Please advice
14 comments
worldcoinauctions
·2 years agoYou have been a victim of the "fake tracking number" scam where a seller uses a tracking number for something that was not sent to you to prove delivery. Someone gave good advice above on how to deal with it.
shoza-33
OP2 years agoThank you for your reply.
I received many useful pieces of advice above, but I still did not find a way to connect with eBay to complain about my issue. It seems eBay does not provide any option for users to report a problem. I think this is a violation of users' rights.
mudshark61369
·2 years ago@shoza-33,
You replied to my post stating;
"I ordered the item on May 11th and received the tracking number on May 14th. The tracking number was in the purchase history and not received via personal SMS... On June 25th, I received a response stating that the seller claimed the order was delivered on June 2nd and that eBay was reviewing the case. Subsequently, eBay replied that after review, they found the order was delivered on June 2nd.
Even when using ebay's app no messages are sent via SMS. They appear in the app, in your my ebay messages on your My ebay summary page. Unless you bought the item as a guest.
When you appealed did you post the DHL tracking information as a scan or a screen shot, showing that the item had been delivered on June 2, 9 days before you made the purchase? Had you done that you would have won the appeal.
Do Not use Face book messenger to try and appeal, the original appeal's decision. Use the Facebook link below.
https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness
In your message give the date of purchase, ebay item number and Order number. Tell them the date the DSL tracking showed delivered, and post either a screen shot or a scan of the full tracking information as proof you could not have received the Item on June, 2. You sign the message with your real and ebay usernames. The reps on facebook have more power than the ones who deal with the automated Item Not Received system.
There may have been several listings for that projector at the price you paid. However, chances are those are all fake or scam listings as well. If you open the link you posted originally for the item, you will see on it many listings on that page, for the same item for between $1,200 and $1,400 dollars.
In the future be very careful about buying items from China. the chinese sellers are responsible for most of the scams on ebay.
shoza-33
OP2 years agoThank you for your kind advice.
I ordered on May 11th, not June 11th. I will contact the Facebook link you shared. I understand now that the "money back guarantee" is not as reliable as I thought. I will obviously be more careful with any future purchases.
mudshark61369
·2 years ago@shoza-33,
Actually the Money Back Guarantee is one of the best for an online shopping site. Unfortunately, because of Shipping/Delivery agencies privacy policies, it does have a loophole. Most even national postal services will only give out shipping label, addresses or package information to the sender. Recipients often have to do some leg work to get the information they need when fake tracking numbers are used.
You need to learn to check the feedback profile of any seller you intend to buy from on this site. You do that by scrolling down a listing page to where you see the seller's username in a large font. Below that will be a few feedback comments, and below that an Oval with See All Feedback which is a button that takes you to the seller's profile page. On that page if a seller has received neutral or negative feedback, you can click on those numbers to read only those comments. As a rule of thumb, avoid high volume sellers with less than a 98.6% rating, or those with very low or (0) feedback.
shoza-33
OP2 years agoI understand all the advice you provided. On other platforms, I always stay very careful about fraud selling. However, as eBay guarantees the money back, I was more relaxed. But actually, with this so-called money-back guarantee, eBay opens a big loophole for fraud selling. I am surprised they just closed the case without any investigation. They didn't even care to ask for any information from me. I think someone should take legal action about this money-back guarantee. Either they should investigate the case properly or they should remove this so-called money-back guarantee.
shoza-33
OP2 years agoI tried to connect with eBay through https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness, but it seems that the page is not available. Is there any other way to contact eBay?
eburtonlab
·2 years ago@shoza-33
I tried to connect with eBay through https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness, but it seems that the page is not available. Is there any other way to contact eBay?
That link works for me, though it may not be accessible from your country.
Try this alternative instead:
https://x.com/askebay
shoza-33
OP2 years agoThank you for your help
I alredy contact with x.com/askebay and waiting for their reply.
campanaelia
·2 years agoFor ebay on facebook use the link below. They discontinued using the other link.
https://www.facebook.com/ebay/
mudshark61369
·2 years ago@shoza-33,
First you need to understand, ebay did not give you the tracking numbers, the individual seller provided them. eBay does not sell any items nor do that have warehouses or fulfillment centers.
"Ordered a projector with an expected delivery date of June 17th, 2024 ... On June 25th, I received a message stating the order was delivered on June 2nd. ... The tracking number provided on June 25th differed from the original tracking number".
What the was date you placed the order and when did you receive the first tracking number? Was the first tracking number posted to the listing in your purchase history, or sent as a message?
How was the second tracking number sent was it posted in the Item Not Received (INR) dispute you opened on the 18th?
Didn't you question the item price which was about half of what the other listings for those items are selling for?
shoza-33
OP2 years agoThank you for your reply.
I ordered the item on May 11th and received the tracking number on May 14th. The tracking number was in the purchase history and not received via personal SMS. I filed a complaint with eBay on June 18th. Until June 24th, I did not receive any response, and the purchase history showed that the order was not delivered. On June 25th, I received a response stating that the seller claimed the order was delivered on June 2nd and that eBay was reviewing the case. Subsequently, eBay replied that after review, they found the order was delivered on June 2nd.
I was puzzled by this decision, especially since the status in the purchase history changed suddenly to show that the item was delivered and the tracking number had changed. I tracked the new tracking number and found it was delivered by DHL. Upon contacting DHL, they confirmed that the tracking number was for someone else and not from eBay.
I appealed the decision, but eBay replied that after review, they would uphold their previous decision. I received an email from eBay customer service, to which I replied, but I have not received a response yet. I am concerned about how customer care could close the case without proper investigation. They could have easily verified the information with DHL. The tracking number provided was completely different from my order information, indicating that no proper investigation was conducted.
Additionally, regarding the item's price, it was not half of what other listings were selling for. I saw other sellers offering the item at a similar price, and my order was protected by eBay's money-back guarantee. Despite this, I did not receive anything, and eBay closed the case without a proper investigation, which is unacceptable.
klhmdg
·2 years agoeBay never "investigates" and will not call DHL.
I see you are in Oman.
Did you buy this from a US seller? This is the eBay.com US boards.
Since it appears the fake tracking scam was used you may have an easier time using messanger on FB - eBay for Business page. They may be able to help you.
shoza-33
OP2 years agoThanks for your reply.
I will try to reach them via Fb messenger.
The seller was from China. If eBay close a case without proper investigation then what is the use of "money back guarantee"? They can close all case without any refund.