Seller used wrong address - how to get help

[turnbuckle62]

I ordered an item from a seller in Italy. They used the wrong delivery address for this order. It was deliverd to this wrong address (not to my address), so I did not recieive the order.

I contacted ebay and the seller, but as the tracking shows the item as delivered neither will do anything more to help. I have tried and tried to contact ebay and the seller about this, and got nowhere. 

Ebay only seem to be able to deal with standard issues, and don't seem to have any way to contact them about anything else. Is there any way I can contact them about this?

It is so wrong that I have paid good money for goods that I have not received because of a mistake by the seller. The seller is provided with a platform by ebay, so surely ebay has repsonsiblity here to support and help the customer. They have closed the case (because tracking has shown the item delivered) and I cannot contact them for a solution.

Can anyone suggest what I could do next?

[mudshark61369]

@turnbuckle62,

It sounds like you have been the victim of a fake tracking scam. The seller sends something, an envelope or small box with tracking to a different address, and uses the Delivered scan to win an Item Not Received (INR) dispute.  eBay's automated INR system is not allowed access to anything but the scan information, due to shipping company's privacy policies. 

"I contacted ebay and the seller, but as the tracking shows the item as delivered neither will do anything more to help".

  When you file a dispute it will be closed in favor of the seller.  In the message you receive telling you that, there should  be an appeal button.  You have 30 days from losing the dispute to appeal, but in order to win you have to do some leg work. The info below is what you have do do when this happens with any shipping agency.

  You will have to go to your P.O. or  a local UPS or FedEx store, depending on the domestic delivery service that was used.  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, and also to check the Package type/size weight info to see if was is appropriate for what you should have received.  If the info does not match up, you ask the clerk to write a note on Company stationary saying in general that the shipping label's address was not yours, and if applicable that the package type/size/weight was not right for what you should have received. Do not ask for specific address or package info, they cannot give it out.  Have the clerk print their name then sign and date the note.

  Once you have the note, you can appeal the dispute ruling, or contact ebay through their Facebook or Instagram social media pages. (links below) You can write out what happened and what you found out, and add a CLEAR photo or a scan of the note to an Appeal or message.  If you go the social media route which is recommended, but not always necessary, because the reps know about the fake tracking scams you will need to have the seller's username and the ebay item number. At the end of your message give them your real and ebay username. 

https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness

https://www.instagram.com/ebayforsellers/

   In the future I strongly suggest that you check the feedback profile pages of each seller you intend to buy from, before bidding on or buying their items.  You can access a seller's feedback profile page from near the bottom of listing pages. Use the See All Feedback  button below where their name is in a large font.  On the profile page if the seller has received neutral or negative feedback, click on the numbers of them to read only those comments. Never go by a feedback percentage alone. Some people who have been scammed but did not file a dispute may have left feedback saying they never received their items.

I am going to guess that you bought from the Italian seller because they had a good or too good to be true price for the item, including the international shipping cost.  If that is the case the price should have been a warning. Most of the fake tracking number scams are perpetrated by foreign sellers.  

[turnbuckle62]

Thanks for all this, but it wasn't a scam by the seller (who have very good feedback by the way). I know the address they sent it to, they used that address by mistake. Where I live  there are several addresses in same post code, if you type in the post code you get a list of those addresses, and the first one on the list is a business - according to UPS that is the address that was used.

Also, the delivery conformation was signed by someone using my name, but not me (I guess the driver or an employee at the business, took my name off the package - I've reported this to UPS seperatley). 

I contacted the seller who sent me a message showing that wrong address on the tracking. It is not my address, my address is clearly there on the ebay account, but they didn't use it. It is without doubt a mistake by the seller, but they won't admit it or respond to my messages telling them that. Neither will ebay - this is my problem. 

I know excatly what happened. The item is not at the address they sent it to, either missing or stolen, but it never came to my address. 

My problem is how to get ebay to do anything about it - I can't find a way to contact them beyond the standard repsonses......

[ittybitnot]

I can't find a way to contact them beyond the standard repsonses......

@turnbuckle62 

The poster in message #2 @mudshark61369  provided you with two links to contact eBay.  They are portals to US based customer service that are familiar with this issue, and often do have the authority to help.  

You are going to have to have documentation from UPS that the product was not delivered to your address. You are going to have to give up on the terminology of "item not received" and pursue a "fake tracking" issue.  

If UPS delivered the product to the address on the label, they have done their job. 

[turnbuckle62]

There is no question that UPS have done their job, I have checked with them and they delivered to the address on the package - the problem is that the wrong address was put on the package by the seller. I know this 100%, I have seen the invoice the seller sent me (and I have confirmation from UPS which says they delivered it there).

So to summarise:

1. The seller put the wrong address on my package - they made a mistake, that's all there is to it!

2. UPS delivered to the address on the package - their job done correctly (apart from signature)

3. eBay closed dispute & appeal

4. I have paid for something I didn't get because of the seller's mistake

5. Now not getting expected support / protection from eBay which is why I'm asking on here......

Following the suggested links next.....

[turnbuckle62]

So the response from Ebay links just takes me back round in circles.

Dispute closed - item was delivered

Appeal closed - item was delivered

Help link - no help, item was delivered

Instruction - contact UPS to find actual delivery address - this was done at the start, they delivered to the address they were supplied with - BY THE SELLER - INCORRECTLY!

Contact for help - loop back to dispute

Dispute closed - item delivered, cannot appeal or re-open dispute

So back to my original question: how can I get eBay to help when they won't listen.

THIS ITEM WAS DELIVERED,

UPS DID THEIR JOB,

THE SELLER MADE A MISTAKE WITH USING THE WRONG ADDRESS.

All I need is a way to contact actual help in eBay to explain the issue and not get sent round and round with links back to the start..!

[ittybitnot]

 Now not getting expected support / protection from eBay which is why I'm asking on here......

@turnbuckle62 

Any buyer that files an "item not received" case on eBay when there is tracking that says delivered is going to lose.  You will lose your appeal as well.  The problem is, ebay doesn't care that the "tracking showing delivery" was to an address that was not yours.   The regular customer service that you get in a call back or chat are basically only allowed to DENY "since tracking shows you received the item".   eBay protects eBay. 

If you paid with PayPal and insist on this "item not received" claim, they send the request to eBay who replies with the same "tracking shows delivered" and you will lose there, too.  

It doesn't matter if your seller sent it to the wrong address by mistake or on purpose.   You did not receive anything, and you have been given instructions on what to do.  The eBay Money Back Guarantee is a fail in this situation.   Everybody knows about this problem.  ebay knows, PayPal knows, credit card companies know, and the carriers know.   They are all banking on the fact that YOU DON'T KNOW and give up and go away. 

[mudshark61369]

@turnbuckle62,

"Thanks for all this, but it wasn't a scam by the seller (who have very good feedback by the way). I know the address they sent it to, they used that address by mistake. Where I live there are several addresses in same post code, if you type in the post code you get a list of those addresses, and the first one on the list is a business - according to UPS that is the address that was used...  The seller put the wrong address on my package - they made a mistake, that's all there is to it!"

So explain to me how or why a seller in Italy who only received YOUR address, managed to address the package to a business in your city.   Your reasoning does not make sense! 

Chances are, if and when you go to a UPS store, if you get the item specs from the Mfr.'s site before hand, you will find that the package info type/size/weight were NOT appropriate for what you should have been used.   If the business at the address is a large one it is possible a receptionist signed for it using your name, without thinking. 

Did you actually check the seller's feedback profile page, or did you just go by their percentage? Scammers have been known to hijack accounts, usually ones not used for awhile.  The profile can show previous sales from over a year ago, and they may have buying feedback from over a year ago as well, then 1 or 2 feedback for purchases made in the last year. By doing that it will show that they have a 100% feedback rating.  If they had sold before were the feedback for items like the one you bought, or just random items?

I did not look at your profile before responding previously. Now that I have done that I see you are registered in the U.K.. Did you realize that you posted your issue on the U.S. based ebay site's (ebay.com) community?  The info I gave you will work but you should double check it by posting this topic/discussion, on your home site's (ebay.co.uk) community. Some of the processes involved may be different, use the link below to be taken directly to it.  The Facebook and Instagram links I posted should work as well, but ask that on your home community's site.

https://community.ebay.co.uk/

[turnbuckle62]

Thanks for keeping going with this!

The way a seller can use the wrong addres in the UK is that we have postcodes (zipp codes). In small communities we often have multiple properties on  the same post code. Anyone searching a post code online in the UK will see that list of addresses, and in this case (not the first time) picked the wrong one. I am not sure why they would do that instead of just using my address as on my ebay account, but there you go! 

The address the used is a pub who's name begins with B (top of the list) my address begins with W (bottom of the list) - so for some reason they picked the first on the list - even thogh they had my address from the account.

I know this is true, I checked with the seller, who sent me a tracking and invoice note showing the pub address, not mine, and UPS confirmed that's where they delivered. The seller refuse to accept repsonsibility, even though they are clearly at fault here, and I just can't get anywhere with help from ebay.

I have been to the pub and asked, and they say they don't know anything about it - although somebody (the signed for it using my surname (pressumably off the address label - there's no one here with my surname)

So that's how we got to this situation.....

[mudshark61369]

@turnbuckle62,

"Anyone searching a post code online in the UK will see that list of addresses, and in this case (not the first time) picked the wrong one. I am not sure why they would do that instead of just using my address as on my ebay account".

They do it because they are scammers who know that ebay and other 3rd party online shopping sites are not allowed access to shipping label information. They also know most will try the money back guarantee, get refused and give up. 

  You can still use the social media sites to contact ebay but you Need proof of the label having been addressed to a different location, in order to get the appeal overturned. 

The seller contacting you was a way to get you to think this was just a mistake, and you have swallowed the lie. Scammers are smart,  polite and charming, right up until the point of getting your money. Then they disappear. 

[turnbuckle62]

While I am sure you are right in many cases, not so in this case. The seller is a large online cycle company, well established (from 2005) and normally reliable - they are not scammers and on this occcasion have just made a mistake, that's all. The have 96.5% feedback rating on ebay based on 2.5k sales on ebay (and that's just the ones that have given feedback).

I think they picked the wrong address through a sales clerk's laziness, incompetance or just too busy in the run up to Christmas.

This "mistake" has happened to me, and others in our postcode, in the past - usually resolved easily as we are neighbours.

Having said that, I cannot get a further response from them with regard to this - hence my need to contact ebay by some other method.

[12345jamesstamps]

You mention seller has good feedback...does that include you giving seller good feedback?

Being honest and polite with a feedback might help to get a response from the seller.

A buyer can revise their feedback in 30 days as well. Just a thought.

[kitschy*loot]

96.5% feedback is not even close to good in my opinion... the only way I would do a transaction with anyone with that kind of feedback is if they don't have very much and someone gave them a negative that sounds unjustified. It seems like your seller must have a decent amount of negatives... 

[mudshark61369]

@turnbuckle62,

You responded to me yesterday saying the seller some how used the address for a Pub in the neighborhood. Have you tried going there to see if anyone signed for a package or envelope on the date and time, the delivered scan was posted? 

"The have 96.5% feedback rating on ebay based on 2.5k sales on ebay (and that's just the ones that have given feedback)".

By ebay standards, a high volume seller with a 96.5% rating is not a good seller. Most experienced buyer will not go near a high volume seller with less than a 98.6% rating. Did you go to their profile page and click on the numbers of negative and neutral feedback they have received, to read only those comments?  Maybe this has happened to others.

[turnbuckle62]

Thanks to all responders for trying, but there's not been any actual answer to my question/problem. Lots of suspicion and too much deep thinking. All I wanted to know how to to get eBay to respond to the fact that the item ordered was accidently wrongly addressed by the seller and delivered to the wrong place because of that mistake. The seller won't accept it's their fault, ups delivered correctly to the address on the package, but I don't have it. That's all. No scams, no no schemes, just can't get eBay or the seller to help. All I need is eBay to look at the evidence that shows my delivery address in my account, and look at the address the seller used by mistake, and tell them to correct this situation. That's all. The evidence is clear. The address on the package is not the address on the eBay order details. No one will listen.