I did a chargeback and eBay charged me again for the same amount.
TLDR: A buyer did a return, I never received a return. Ebay took money from account. I found evidence later that the buyer put the wrong address on the package on purpose. I contact Ebay support, chatbox and on Facebook several times, they deny my case and won't give me back my money. I talked to Sofi, my credit card company, I was able to get a chargeback and the credit reversal. But then the next day, ebay just charge me the same amount to my credit again. I'm at my wit's end, do I just close my ebay account and ask my credit card company to dispute the charge again? Will my card keep getting charged since Ebay still has my card on file? I'm literally dying over here, spent 3 months dealing this. Can anyone help please?
Long version:
So I got scammed as a seller. I sold an item, the buyer says it's defective. I try to help him. I get no response. Return process automatically gets started. I try to help him some more, with zero response. I see no tracking number. Then ebay pulls money from my account because the tracking number the buyer provided says the item was "delivered". However I never received the return. I spent several weeks talking with neighbors and USPS trying to find this package. First thing was that I put in a lost package claim for USPS, then USPS gave a letter to my neighbor which they believe that they delivered the package to the wrong address. However this neighbor never received the package.
After going to USPS several times again, trying to file a claim with USPS and that didn't work, one of the USPS staff finally pulled up a picture of the package with the tracking number provided by the buyer. And from this picture I can see that the address of the shipping label was not even my address. It was an address 4 houses away to another neighbor. Therefore I believe that the buyer did an elaborate scam in which he provided a tracking number that was delivered very close to my house but not actually at my house. So when the courier scans the package with the GPS it shows that it was delivered to my house but in reality it was not. And also the photograph of the package shows a small yellow bubble wrap package, whereas my package was in a cardboard box with a cell phone and other accessories so it's very unlikely that that was the package that included the phone. And I even talked to the neighbor where that package was supposed to be delivered to and that neighbor never saw the package and if they were to get that package they would have returned it back to USPS. Another strange thing looking at the buyer, the name on the return address is different from the name given on the eBay buyer's account. The buyer was from Florida but his area code on his phone number is for some reason in Nebraska. And the photo that the buyer showed did not look like my phone that I sent him, since the box had a crease on the corner. And when I shipped the phone, the box was fully protected so it was unlikely to be crushed in the corner. It’s likely that he stole a picture from somewhere else.
After getting this photographic evidence of the scam I tried contacting eBay by email however they did not respond. I was going back and forth with eBay prior to getting this evidence because I obviously did not get my return back. However eBay closed my case already so I have to elevate it to get someone to look at it. I've been showing the evidence by email however no one has responded. So the first time I called eBay support agent, a guy I talked to seemed to understand the situation and believed that I should get a return. And that he would or someone would get back to me 24 to 48 hours however no one got back to me. So after a week I called eBay support again and I explained the situation again to another agent that saw that I already put in a case with the previous agent. And this agent said they would get this problem resolved within 72 hours however I never got a response via email or eBay. So I think I have to contact them again via Facebook business and the support call again. If I don't get a response back I'm going to have to do a chargeback.
So I contacted Ebay on facebook and they seem to be more helpful and more responsive, however I waited a week for a response and they said they will get back to me again. After speaking with Ebay on facebook, they still rejected the manual appeal, for reasons unrelated to my issue of the wrong address on the shipping label. After that I called Sofi and showed the same case and they were able to get the charge back for me
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoPlease keep us updated and let us know that they kept their promise.
vasplar
OP2 years agoOMG I finally got a response from ebay. My hopes are up but not high.
"
WE FOUND A RESOLUTION FOR YOU. MANUAL REFUND REQUEST HAS BEEN SUBMITTED
Hello ,
Thanks for contacting eBay regarding the transaction for the. My name is from eBay Customer Service and I am happy to help you with your concern.
I reviewed the claim and the steps taken along with it. Basically, the case closed due to the reason of return tracking shows delivery. Upon further checking, I can see that indeed the item was shipped to a different address.
Please be advice, I've requested a Manual refund for the amount you have not been refunded for the transaction. This means that I am now coordinating with the back office team to get your issue rectified. I am asking for your patience as I will be waiting for their approval. Kindly allow us at least 7-10 days for this to be completed. Once approved you’ll receive a notification that the money was processed.
I know that you would like to get your refund as soon as possible but please understand that we have a process that we follow for each refund request. And I would like to thank you in advance for all the patience and understanding that you are extending to us.
We appreciate your patience working with us during this unprecedented time."
rocki702
·2 years agoI am so thankful that someone has a positive ending to this story; I have been going through the EXACT same thing - except the package was considered "delivered" even though USPS marked it as "Not a valid address" which obviously it is since I live here; and the package has been bouncing around FL for the last 2 months. I did a google search on the address and found a whole thread on it being a scam ring. Can you please let us know what all information you shared with them to get them to process the manual refund? And which contact method? I have tried everything and keep getting a "we can try to reach out to the buyer" and a "since we already closed the dispute there is nothing we can do". I am now getting charged again also after Amex approved the disputed charge and still have no phone back.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years ago@vasplar
You stated: "I found evidence later that the buyer put the wrong address on the package on purpose."
How did you find that evidence?
When the buyer claimed NAD, did you supply a return shipping label through the claim?
Was the tracking number showing delivery to you (but as you claim, "the wrong address" the same tracking number as was on the label you sent the buyer?
Did you appeal the decision with evidence that the buyer (supposedly) shipped to a different address?
There are a lot of unanswered questions.
If it's been 3 months, I'm not sure that you'd be able to appeal.
luckythewinner
·2 years agothey deny my case and won't give me back my money. I talked to Sofi, my credit card company, I was able to get a chargeback and the credit reversal
In the user agreement you acknowledged with eBay, you agreed to abide by whatever decision eBay renders in a dispute. By filing a chargeback against eBay, you are violating that user agreement.
My guess is that an account suspension will soon follow, and if they cannot recover the funds then your account will be sent to a collection agency.
vasplar
OP2 years agoWhy I am supposed to abide with Ebay siding with a scammer...?
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoIn the user agreement you acknowledged with eBay, you agreed to abide by whatever decision eBay renders in a dispute. By filing a chargeback against eBay, you are violating that user agreement.
Sorry but eBay has no authority over a chargeback and their policy can not override the federal laws that protect the credit card holders. OP was within his rights to file the chargeback.
My guess is that an account suspension will soon follow, and if they cannot recover the funds then your account will be sent to a collection agency.
I would tend to agree with you on this part which is what I referenced with regards to other methods. Fortunately consumer is also protected with regards to collection agencies but it often turns into a David vs. Goliath battle.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoI am never surprised when I see a scam involving a cell phone they are probably at the top of the scammers target list and your listing was posted with "no returns but backed by eBay money back guarantee". Short version at this point in time I would have Sofi cancel your credit card and issue you a new one while you have your money back. EBay may pursue other avenues but at least you won't have to possibly deal with another chargeback. I would also clear out any funds you have in the checking account that is tied to your eBay account, hopefully you have/had a separate one for that purpose.