Stuck in an automated loop: Wrong item received, used a freight forwarder, need a human agent. Help!
Hi everyone,
I am hoping a community member or an official eBay moderator can help me because I am completely trapped in a loop with the automated customer service system.
I bought an item, but the seller sent me the completely wrong item (it is a clear "Item Not As Described" case). I opened a return, and the seller provided a US domestic UPS return label.
Here is my problem: I used a US freight forwarder to receive my items. The package was delayed at the forwarder's warehouse, and now the package is with me internationally. I obviously cannot use a US domestic UPS label from here, and I shouldn't have to pay expensive international return shipping out of pocket for a mistake the seller made.
I just need a human agent to step in and review the photos. However, the automated chat bot refuses to connect me to a live chat agent. The only option the website gives me is to "receive a phone call," which I cannot do because the system does not connect to my international phone number.
I am stuck. The clock is ticking on my return window (April 7th), and the bot is no help.
Does anyone know a workaround to reach a human agent in writing? Or is there an eBay Community Team member here who can escalate my case? I can provide my order number via Private Message.
Thank you in advance!
kalyoth
·6 months agoAs others have said - the seller's duty was to get it to the address listed in ebay. In your case, that was the freight forwarder's address. That constituted final delivery for ebay. Any shipping that occurs after that is between you & the freight forwarder only.
As a result, any return requests will also be connected to that sales address originally shipped to. You are 100% responsible to return from the address it was forwarded to.
grand-and-glorious-purpose
·6 months agoThat's the end of it there.
roccotacodad54
·6 months ago" I opened a return, and the seller provided a US domestic UPS return label."
I checked your location--->Member since: Mar-21-19 in United States.
So......................?
albertabrightalberta
·6 months agoGood catch @roccotacodad54
@manudo2
If you're located in another country and using a freight forwarder, does that mean you've misrepresented your location?
tobaccocardyahoo
·6 months agoYou have left neutral feedback for two orders this month which were not as described.
Either you are bad at picking Ebay sellers or bad at picking Freight Forwarders.
Consider only buying from sellers who use Ebay International Shipping. This is a freight forwarding service run by Ebay which does not have the problem you are having.
simba6
·6 months agoYou need to contact the forwarder as I suspect they mixed up the items.
ryry-jj
·6 months agoTry whatever you can with your bank, but usually when using a FF, they become the merchant along with you acting on your behalf & you are also the importer of record. In other words, you need to inspect and know what is being imported before it is sent to you. Two transactions took place, and your complaint is actually on the second one out of eBay and the sellers control...kinda a catch-22. But it is the same as if selling via eIS Hub, eBay becomes the merchant acting on your behalf.
This is viewed totally differently if the seller ships internationally directly to you.
an-36344
·6 months agoSome sellers do this deliberately @manudo2 when they see that you are using a reshipper, to send junk instead of your item because you will have little recourse for a refund when you discover the scam.
You have at least two methods to get your refund. One is to make the domestic return tracking show delivered, to get your refund. Another is to abandon the eBay return and file a not as described chargeback.
The Visa rules above for example say you can demand that the merchant retrieve the goods at their own expense, without any regard to where from.
If you paid with Visa at PayPal for example, you are asking PayPal to pay for return shipping to PayPal. Since it is unlikely that PayPal wants the junk in their offices, they will likely refund instead. Or if you paid eBay via Adyen, again they won't want the junk back.
However whichever route you choose, be sure to be brief or your audience will quickly lose interest to help you.
stainlessenginecovers
·6 months agoThe reason you have NO protection when you use a Freight Forwarder is because THAT Freight Forwarder could have EASILY shipped you the wrong item.
Therefore, there is no proof you can provide for anything so 'talking with' someone and/or 'proving/showing' something to someone would be 100% meaningless.
If you want to return for reason of 'not as described', the seller is FORCED to provide a return label ONLY from the place it was originally shipped to.
NOTHING will change any of that.
Want your $$ back you will have to pay to have it shipped back to the FF, then the FF would have to ship it back to the original seller.
kensgiftshop
·6 months ago@manudo2
Since you used a freight forwarder, you have to pay to have the item returned to the freight forwarder.
Then pay the freight forwarder to ship the package to the seller using the provided shipping label.