I am a longtime eBay user and have been buying and selling on the website for 17 years with a 100 percent rating.
In March, I decided to sell my son’s old laptop so he could upgrade to a newer one before starting college. I placed the ad and accepted an offer of £350.
The buyer was in Algeria and after he paid for the laptop, he offered to pay for and arrange the courier himself, which I found helpful.
He sent me mailing labels and import papers, so I sent it in and thought nothing of it.
Online ordeal: Our reader sold a laptop on eBay, but the money has now been taken back after the buyer claimed he never received it
But a few weeks later I got an automated email from eBay. It said the buyer asked for a refund and launched a dispute because the package was not delivered. I contacted the buyer, but he had gone quiet.
EBay asked me to upload shipping details so I could prove I had posted the package – e.g. a confirmation email – but of course I didn’t, because I hadn’t arranged the courier.
When I realized I had been scammed, I spent several hours chatting online with eBay. I was assured that this was not my fault and after three days the dispute would settle in my favour.
But the opposite happened – eBay automatically charged against me and took £350 from my account to refund the buyer for the ‘missing’ laptop.
When a subsequent appeal was unsuccessful, I told eBay I would pursue a refund through small claims court. Then my account was permanently suspended on the grounds that I was ‘putting the eBay community at risk’. DB, via email
Helen Crane from This is Money replies: You were trying to make some money for your son’s old laptop, but eBay’s refusal to listen when you told them you’d been scammed sounds like a case of “computer says no.”
Paying for something and then claiming it never arrived in order to get a refund or replacement has become a common scam.
It’s usually perpetrated against large retailers – they call it ‘friendly fraud’ – and costs them millions every year.
The scam works because it can be tricky to prove conclusively that a package has been delivered – unless the driver takes a photo of the handover, which some courier companies now do.
Your experience shows that it can happen just as easily to a humble eBay seller as the Amazon and Asos giants of this world.
If you’re selling things online, it’s important to keep proof of postage as it can help you get your money back if something goes wrong.
Sites like eBay will often compensate a buyer or seller if something is missing – as long as they have some evidence to prove it was posted – as this helps customers feel safe using their website.
But in your case, the buyer paid for the shipping himself and just sent you the label to stick on the package and send. Shipping an item abroad can be a hassle, so you were more than happy to have him arrange the shipping and fill out the required forms.
It meant there was no record that you had done anything – which is why he could claim the laptop never showed up.
Gone: The buyer of the laptop told eBay it never shipped, and he took it at his word
You turned to eBay hoping it would recognize that this buyer was a bad egg. At first it seemed like it would help you, but then you got a message that the buyer had ‘won’ the dispute and you would be out of money.
As a result, the buyer got his money back, and also, we assume, the laptop.
Meanwhile, you got a permanent eBay ban, despite previously having a spotless track record for nearly two decades.
You have since told me that despite your repeated attempts, it was impossible to get eBay to understand.
In your desperation, you told me that you had also contacted UPS, the parcel carrier, to see if it would help to send the laptop back to you.
Package issues: DB contacted UPS to see if it could help him get his laptop back – but it asked him to contact the buyer who asked for even MORE money
It said that the purchaser of the laptop should contact you to authorize the return of the laptop, so you contacted them again.
Unexpectedly, he did answer – but only to try to extort more money from you. He spun a yarn that he had to drive 700km to his nearest UPS office and paid £180 to release the package.
He requested that you pay half of this amount – and even asked you to send him your bank details, confirming your suspicions that you had been scammed.
I contacted eBay to ask it to reconsider the decision. I am pleased to say that this is the case and the £350 has now been refunded to you.
An eBay spokesperson said: ‘We are sorry to hear about DB’s experience on eBay.
“This case should not have been closed against him and we have refunded him the full amount.”
However, you mentioned that you still seem to be banned from selling on eBay, so I’ve asked for this to be rectified as well.
I also asked eBay why your long track record as a trusted seller was not taken into account when making the decision to close your account, but it didn’t answer.
I’m glad this online auction ordeal is over and I hope you can sell successfully again soon.
Blades of glory: Fiskars-owned knife maker Kitchen Devils impressed reader Gail when it offered to replace two old knives
The Kitchen Devils knife brand is a lot better
Reader Gail made time to email me with a great review of the knife maker, Kitchen Devils.
She said, “Kitchen Devils is our favorite knife brand for preparing fruits and vegetables and comes with a 15-year warranty.
“After years of use, we had to contact Fiskars, the owner of the brand, because a knife handle broke and it developed other rust spots on the knife.
Customer service asked us to email photos, and despite not having a receipt for the second blade, she immediately agreed to replace both and have them delivered by UPS. It’s great when a warranty really IS a warranty.
“I love it when I can thank you for the great service.”
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