Ebay is violating their own posted policy on feedback`

[pinelakeparts]

An international buyer violated ebay feedback policy based on 3 specific points.  The posted policy stated feedback would be removed if the buyer did any of the following.......

I called ebay, referenced feedback and the automated system said they were not open for calls even though I was calling inside their open hours.  I got through when I kept saying representative.  

The ebay representative agreed that policy had been violated but contrary to the posted policy, they only removed the comment, not the feedback.

I pointed out that the posted ebay policy states it would remove the feedback and the representative said she would send a note through the system that the posted policies were not correct.  This statement confirmed that ebay was not following their posted policy.       

I guess ebay can do whatever they want regardless of the policies that they have posted.  Anybody know a way to hold ebay to their posted policies? 

[stainlessenginecovers]

You do NOT get feedback fixed/removed by calling (now).

You have to go through this system, but since the verbiage was removed, may now be too late. 

Click 'help & contact' top of ebay page

scroll down

blue on the right- "Request to Remove Feedback"

[pinelakeparts]

I went through the automated system and it said it did not qualify for removal.  It clearly violated policy but the system still said it was fine.

[luckythewinner]

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@pinelakeparts wrote:

I guess ebay can do whatever they want regardless of the policies that they have posted.  Anybody know a way to hold ebay to their posted policies? 

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eBay's user agreement says that they may not follow their posted policies:

"we reserve the right to refuse, modify, or terminate all or part of our Services to anyone for any reason at our discretion"

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/member-behaviour-policies/user-agreement?id=4259

[tobaccocardyahoo]

My reaction to your post is not what your reaction to the situation is.

I do not feel that you have provided enough information to determine whether the FB qualified for removal or not.

Ebay customer service reps are often wrong and with the limited information provided in your post, I can easily believe the rep was wrong by removing the text in the FB or doing anything to it.

If the rep actually had a reason to remove the FB, they would also be intelligent enough to remove the negative, not just the text.

If you care to share what the FB was, posters could opine on whether any action should have been taken.

[brightlightbookseller]

Is it this feedback?

It appears the comment was removed, but the rating stayed, if so.  I don't see any other negative feedback on your account, so unless the feedback in question was on a different account, we can't really say whether it was the right decision or not at this point.

[pinelakeparts]

1st the buyer sent this email, then followed with negative feedback.

Hi
What kind of fraud it this? Thifes.
Look at the picture of what you sold me on ebay. A lever with two arns for the waiers, and what do you send me?
A broken lever with one arm, and that it was broken and useless did you know before you put in bag and shipped it.
And on top of that i got 22 usd in import tax that i'v alredy paied when i paied for the item.
Guess what your feedback will be and don't you dare to give me negativ feedback in return. This has been a scam from the start and you gone get me a brand new and a part that is what it suposed to be, If not you will get my import tax, refund and a shipping cost.  "He purchased a used part."
So this is going to the resolution center in a few hours if i don't hear from you. This is not a treat, this is just info over what you have done and where this will go. And by thw way. I'v have screenshot of this and pictures

Then this feedback:  

Sold, pacaged and shipped a damaged lever they new was broken, useless and trash from the start. Just look at the picture from the listing picture you see the lever has two arms to hold the wire. On my 3 pictures you only see one arm for wire. Noting broken part in the package, therefor broken from the start and a fraud It also cost me dubble VAT, because labeling, a fraud again. Stay away Stay av

His picture showed the inner packaging ripped open with the part hanging out and looking like it was chewed in a machine.  I requested 3 times for pictures of the outer packaging but he refused to send.  We did refund the buyer in full.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

The buyers message and his feedback appear credible, whether he is telling the truth or not.

You have not refuted his claims and Ebay would usually allow the feedback to remain.

You got an incompetent rep who failed to follow policy and did it in a half***ed way,

[pinelakeparts]

I did reply but that was removed as well.  We do not use stock photo's on used parts so when we took the pictures, the part was not damaged.  In our 16 years of selling on ebay we have seen packaging get damaged and repackaged to go the rest of the way to the customer.  The inner package showed damage along with the part and I asked for photo's of the outer package several times, buyer would not supply.  I told him if somehow we shipped the part like he showed that there was no fraud, it was a mistake.  I pointed out that we have no control over VAT.  

Ebay states 

We remove all feedback that contains any:

•   A customs or tax issue outside the seller’s control that we could identify
• Personal attacks that could harm the reputation of the seller or their business and could not reasonably be viewed as constructive criticism-----stating fraud twice in email, states we intentionally packed a bad part and shipped to him.

I also found this statement.  

If a buyer claims fraud in eBay feedback, sellers can dispute the feedback through Seller Help. eBay's feedback policy also states that feedback can be removed if it is considered feedback extortion. For example, if a buyer threatens to leave negative feedback unless a seller provides something at no extra cost, the feedback can be removed.

Buyer also purchased a new part but in his 1st letter he sent he stated:  

This has been a scam from the start and you gone get me a brand new and a part that is what it suposed to be, If not you will get my import tax, refund and a shipping cost.  He purchased a used part but was demanding a new replacement.

In 16 years on ebay we have 6 negative feedbacks.  roughly 150,000 transactions.  We make mistakes but we take care of the buyer when we do.  

[pinelakeparts]

I had an error at the end of the last post, buyer purchased a used part but was demanding a brand new replacement.  

[bonanza125]

Nothing can be done here. You appealed the feedback. They removed the wording but left the feedback as it stands. I say just block the buyer and move on. I know it sucks to receive a negative that you feel you do not deserve or it may violate the policy and should have been removed completely however the Ebay agent who was in charge of making a decision on the feedback made the ruling of keeping the feedback and removing your response. 

[pinelakeparts]

Probably sound advice.  I guess "luckythewinner" summed it up with "eBay's user agreement says that they may not follow their posted policies:"   I feel we have ran our business with honesty and integrity.  We have defended ebay over and over through the years.  We have read and followed ebays rules to the best of our ability.  To see them state Here are the rules and then disregard them to the point that it is built into their system is very disheartening.   (The AI system said it did not qualify for removal even though the buyer clearly referenced a problem with the VAT which ebay lists as specific criteria for removal and then there automated system told me it was outside of their normal business hours when I stated it was a feedback issue) 

We purchased a 12000 sq/ft warehouse and filled it with ebay being the only channel we were selling through.  Today we have less than 1/2 of our eggs in that basket.  Ebay is still our best source for moving our product but the gap has narrowed year after year.  Eventually we will have more options.  Thank you all for your help! 

[celestw41]

Compare the difference between the good feedback and the negative. One bad feedback should not discourage potential customers from buying. Because it is an international exchange it is a trickier problem due to countries not having same or similar laws. Some people leave bad reviews just because they are not nice people. Don't let it stop you from doing business, when you know you have many good ratings.