eBay refunded buyer and kept fees

[duseko]

Hi,

I sold an item, it was delivered to wrong address (Amazon warehouse) by UPS. Buyer opened a case on eBay. Me and buyer tried to recover the package, I asked buyer twice whether he wants refund, but he still wanted to receive the item. Meanwhile I contacted eBay customer support and asked them whether they had similar case in past and if they can help with some advice. This is the reaction of the guy on the chat:

"In order to resolve this in the best possible manner, I would require to transfer your chat to our dedicated team. Rest assured, the team I am transferring to is specialized to address your concern, and will get back via email within 24-48 hours. Shall I go ahead?"

I replied "Yes".

From that day the case the buyer opened had this line "Aug 22 You opened a case". But I never opened a case, it was that idiot on chat who totally misunderstood what I needed and probably opened the case. Then eBay started to demand a proof of delivery with signature which I obviously don't have and they later decided to refund the buyer. I can see I refunded whole amount including fees, so eBay kept the fees.

I feel eBay cheated twice - they escalated the case without my consent and later they refunded buyer and kept the fees.

What is your opinion and what can I do about it?

[duseko]

It is really hard to contact eBay customer support with this issue. I contacted them 3 times during the period the case was put on hold after I supposedly asked eBay to step in, they kept repeating the same non-sense describing how I should handle the case. Till now no reaction to that controversial moment when they stepped in. The problem is I use English to contact them, they use Italian to reply. I really hope they understand my English and I understand their Italian (using Google translator).

My last message to eBay customer support was this: "Please reply to this simple question: Can you please show me the action I did that caused you stepped in, including date and time when I did it?" I hope we will get to the point sooner or later, but it is really hard to direct them so they send you the info you need. Now I'm waiting for their answer for 24 hours, previously I got a reply within several hours.

[dbfolks166mt]

I got approx 150 USD refund + shipping costs 30 USD refund. It is more than expected as normally they insure for 100 USD and exactly this amount was displayed when I ordered the shipping.

Yes I already asked UPS not to deliver to buyer and to return to me if they find the package.

     Glad to hear you got at least part of your money back. If it went to an Amazon warehouse it would be like finding the needle in the proverbial haystack. 

[duseko]

To be honest, that 150 USD compared to 3800 EUR worth item lost is nothing.

[dbfolks166mt]

To be honest, that 150 USD compared to 3800 EUR worth item lost is nothing.

     Understand but at least it is better than nothing. At this point UPS is probably not doing a lot more. You know the location of the Amazon warehouse you may want to try contacting Amazon directly to see if there is anything they can help you with, like finding the package. 

[duseko]

So guys, it's developing quite interestingly. As I already wrote, yesterday I contacted eBay customer support with this question: "Please reply to this simple question: Can you please show me the action I did that caused you stepped in, including date and time when I did it?". I got this reply:

"From the checks carried out, it appears that on August 25th you contacted this SR by telephone - 1-484316462735, spoke to one of our colleagues who informed you that he was forwarding the case to the competent department."

Original in Italian:

"Dalle verifiche effettuate me risulta che in data 25 agosto hai contattato telefonicamente in questo SR - 1-484316462735, parlato con un nostro collega il quale ti ha informato che inoltrava il caso al dipartimento competente."

The problem is I have never in my whole life contacted eBay by phone. Another problem is, there is this status in my case "Aug 22 You opened a case" (different date).

I'm speechless. Am I communicating with some incompetent employees of eBay, do we talk about the same case (it is the only case of mine, never had any before or after), someone impersonating me really contacted eBay by phone (there should be some checks if it is really me) or is eBay cheating?

[duseko]

I tried to find employees profiles on linkedin, facebook etc. I found some but never got reply from them. There is also a group on Facebook for employees of that warehouse (Amazon FCO2), I had no luck in joining that group. It is impossible to get any contact directly to that warehouse, I only know its address so I send a letter via post to them. I don't think it will help, but who knows...

I'm also opening criminal case with local police as obviously somebody stole my package or just keeps it and doesn't want to return it to me.

[dbfolks166mt]

I tried to find employees profiles on linkedin, facebook etc. I found some but never got reply from them. There is also a group on Facebook for employees of that warehouse (Amazon FCO2), I had no luck in joining that group. It is impossible to get any contact directly to that warehouse, I only know its address so I send a letter via post to them. I don't think it will help, but who knows...

I'm also opening criminal case with local police as obviously somebody stole my package or just keeps it and doesn't want to return it to me.

     You may want to try going directly to the Amazon web site and use the help section to contact Amazon. I doubt anyone "stole" the item my guess is it is sitting in/at the Amazon warehouse and they have no idea what to do with it. 

https://www.amazon.com/hz/contact-us/foresight/hubgateway 

[duseko]

Good idea, thanks. I sent them an email.

EDIT: First trial unsucessfull - I just got reply from some poor Indian guy from their support demanding Amazon order number, although I clearly explained my situation.

[mam98031]

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@duseko wrote:

I tried to find employees profiles on linkedin, facebook etc. I found some but never got reply from them. There is also a group on Facebook for employees of that warehouse (Amazon FCO2), I had no luck in joining that group. It is impossible to get any contact directly to that warehouse, I only know its address so I send a letter via post to them. I don't think it will help, but who knows...

I'm also opening criminal case with local police as obviously somebody stole my package or just keeps it and doesn't want to return it to me.

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Here are your options for contacting Ebay Customer Service. Please be aware that for social media CS, you send them a Private Message and briefly explain what your problem or issue is. Feel free to leave your Name, address, phone number and/or your email address in this message. It is private and secure and it may help to speed up the response for you.

https://twitter.com/askebay

https://www.facebook.com/ebay

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

Your options will be on the left. If you use the link below you can only get to the Automated Assistant or Chat box type AGENT in the box and hit enter. You will then get more options. Not all options are available 24/7. It will depend on staffing available. So sometimes you can request a call back and sometimes you can't. Sometimes you have the Chat option available and other times it won't me. If it is important to you to use one of those options, just try back later.

If you use a cell phone or other mobile device, you may need to turn off your Spam filter so that Ebay can call you.

If you are a seller outside of the US or Canada, you will need to use the Chat Option.

https://www.ebay.com/help/eua?id=5275&mkevt=1&mkpid

https://www.ebay.com/help/home

[luckythewinner]

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@duseko wrote:

Just for fun, I asked eBay customer support whether they can step in automatically, without being asked either by buyer or seller. There is no such possibility, buyer or seller must ask.

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Yes they can, according to the Money Back Guarantee policy. It explicitly states a case where they may step in without being asked by the buyer: 

When the buyer doesn't receive an item:

"eBay may step in without the buyer asking if there is no valid tracking information available"

[mam98031]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@duseko wrote:

Just for fun, I asked eBay customer support whether they can step in automatically, without being asked either by buyer or seller. There is no such possibility, buyer or seller must ask.

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Yes they can, according to the Money Back Guarantee policy. It explicitly states a case where they may step in without being asked by the buyer: 

When the buyer doesn't receive an item:

"eBay may step in without the buyer asking if there is no valid tracking information available"

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Yes, usually around 7+ days without any activity on the tracking.  But in this case, the package was delivered to the wrong address which just adds to the complexity of the OP's issue.  Sadly on a very expensive item too.

[duseko]

OK, then obviously eBay customer support staff doesn't know eBay rules. Anyway, in my case, there was valid tracking information available from the very begining I shipped the item.

[duseko]

Second trial - great, I just received 10 EUR gift card from Amazon for the inconvenience caused 😄 It is really hard to explain your problem to customer support of a big corporation...

[mam98031]

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@duseko wrote:

OK, then obviously eBay customer support staff doesn't know eBay rules. Anyway, in my case, there was valid tracking information available from the very begining I shipped the item.

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True, but you need to understand that the tracking showed delivery to the wrong address.  That is a problem.  A buyer should not ever be made to pay due to this kind of problem UNLESS the buyer provided the wrong address.

[mam98031]

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@duseko wrote:

Second trial - great, I just received 10 EUR gift card from Amazon for the inconvenience caused 😄 It is really hard to explain your problem to customer support of a big corporation...

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OMG what an insult to the magnitude of your problem.  I am so sorry!