Bad customer service experiences

[i0i0hthp]

Just wanting to leave some feedback and comments on my recent experiences on eBay. 

Recently I have a few bad experiences as a buyer on eBay and there wasn't anywhere that I could report the incidents for further improvements. It is important that eBay platform should be better regulated to ensure it is a safe and good market place for both seller and buyer. All policy options indicate that you should contact the seller for resolution first or start a return process  but refund is not my main priority. 

The sellers have breached several consumer rights and that is unacceptable:

1. Provide misleading descriptions ( it is false advertising)

2. When the item didn't arrive within the indicated time frame. It is the seller's responsibility for resolving any issues with Australia Post or the courier company used to deliver the product. But instead they ask the consumer/buyer to track it down by themselves with Australia Post or courier company without providing any tracking number (how can you track anything without tracking number?)

3. And when the item came damaged with dents, and scratches they didn't even offer any refund or replacement. This is already a breach of consumer rights as the items do not meet the ‘consumer guarantee’ of acceptable quality, appearance and finish  nor  free from defects.

4. the buyer is already entitled for a refund or replacement as per item 01 and 03 above. but the seller still request further testing of the damaged products , which I was happy to do. And even with further testing the product did not work ( in my case it's electronic devices). And even with proof of photos showing that it didn't work , the seller still asking further question if this was used correctly!

That just show a really bad customer service practice where the sellers try not to take any responsibilities. So when I left negative feedback to the seller, they then contact me again offering partial refund to change the feedback to positive one. Of course this is again unacceptable customer service and outcome. 

Of course I can go through the return policy or ebay money back guarantee options but that is not the point. How do you avoid unpleasant experience while shopping on eBay without anywhere to leave feedback to the ebay's management team? The listings are still there with misleading information and other customers might receive the same bad customer service because the seller is not regulated and is not accountable for their actions. 

I think this will be the last time I would shop on eBay. It is not worth it to go through all of the troubles. 

[papermoon.lady]

I check the seller's feedback and where they are registered before buying. While this does not guarantee a perfect buying experience, I think it helps. Usually if a seller has very good feedback and is registered in Australia, the chances that something will go wrong are minimal. When a seller is not registered in Australia but the item's location is Australia, quite often items first have to arrive from overseas (often without tracking). This seems to be a major problem these days.

[sandypebbles]

If you are not willing to open the appropriate disputes within the time limits, that is totally up to you

Buyers are given those tools

Use them

Simple

There is no need to go back and forth with an unhelpful seller

eBay do not vet listings

Nor do they read here

Nor is there a 'feedback to the management team' 

Have you reported the sellers for feedback extortion?

Have you opened item not as described disputes and followed through with them?

You the buyer have all the power, use it

The sellers you choose to buy from have horrid, horrid feedback, why support them by buying from them (helping them stay in business) then not using disputes  and then complain it's eBay's fault?

[papermoon.lady]

The two sellers you recently left negative fb for have bad feedback. I think for large-volume sellers positive fb should be much higher, possibly higher than 99.5%.

[repentatleisure1952]

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@i0i0hthp  other customers might receive the same bad customer service because the seller is not regulated and is not accountable for their actions. 

"other customers" might show some smarts & look at feedback prior to buying cheap junk. They might also understand that a seller is responsible for the listing... NOT eBAY.

I think this will be the last time I would shop on eBay. It is not worth it to go through all of the troubles. 

That's a good idea. It will leave you more time to continue with your writing career.

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[janeababe]

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@i0i0hthp wrote:

Just wanting to leave some feedback and comments on my recent experiences on eBay. 

Recently I have a few bad experiences as a buyer on eBay and there wasn't anywhere that I could report the incidents for further improvements.Well, yes there was, but you’ve stated you won’t do it.

It is important that eBay platform should be better regulated to ensure it is a safe and good market place for both seller and buyer. The platform works excellent for those who take a few moments to do a bit of due diligence 😉

All policy options indicate that you should contact the seller for resolution first or start a return process  but refund is not my main priority. Obviously, your main priority is to buy from already unreliable sellers, be completely disappointed, do nothing about it via eBay resolution platform, then leave Neg Feedback. Oh, and I am going to lay 10:1 odds, you’ll be offended by my harsh, blunt to the face, reply! 🤫

The sellers have breached several consumer rights and that is unacceptable: 

Well, that depends if the seller is registered in Australia and is legally bound by Australian consumer law. 🤫

1. Provide misleading descriptions ( it is false advertising)…. Or… you could research your seller before buying 😉

2. When the item didn't arrive within the indicated time frame. It is the seller's responsibility for resolving any issues with Australia Post or the courier company used to deliver the product. But instead they ask the consumer/buyer to track it down by themselves with Australia Post or courier company without providing any tracking number (how can you track anything without tracking number?).  This is why reading feedback and researching your seller BEFORE YOU PURCHASE is so important. But how can a seller in China, negotiate with the slow boat to Australia OR the airplane bringing it over the seas, the docking piers, the high volume of contract employees who just rock up for their shift on a day to day basis? GET TRACKING!! 

3. And when the item came damaged with dents, and scratches they didn't even offer any refund or replacement. This is already a breach of consumer rights as the items do not meet the ‘consumer guarantee’ of acceptable quality, appearance and finish  nor  free from defects.     Oh, actually, it’s NOT a breach of consumer rights! It’s not a crime to sell dented goods. (Electrical goods in your case) A dent does not make the item defective or unfit for purpose. In the end… that’s just pure cosmetic looks.  But, please… let’s move on….

4. the buyer is already entitled for a refund or replacement as per item 01 and 03 above. but the seller still request further testing of the damaged products , which I was happy to do. And even with further testing the product did not work ( in my case it's electronic devices). And even with proof of photos showing that it didn't work , the seller still asking further question if this was used correctly!  How does a photo explicitly show an electric item isn’t working? I’d want a video, showing proof it’s plugged in, turned on, following manufactures instructions etc etc, you get the drift. But a photo? Hmmmm…. NOPE. 

That just show a really bad customer service practice where the sellers try not to take any responsibilities. So when I left negative feedback to the seller, they then contact me again offering partial refund to change the feedback to positive one. Of course this is again unacceptable customer service and outcome.  So you’re happy to leave neg  but not willing to go through the proper eBay resolution channels? 
Here’s one for all sellers BBL I reckon! 👍🏻

Of course I can go through the return policy or ebay money back guarantee options but that is not the point. 

Actually….. THATS EXACTLY THE POINT!! That’s the entire purpose of the return policy and/or  eBay MBG! 🤦🏻‍♀️

I think this will be the last time I would shop on eBay. It is not worth it to go through all of the troubles. 

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ok…. Cya 👋 

[davewil1964]

If they are not in Australia, or not an authorised reseller in Australia, they have breached NO consumer rights. The consumer has rights, which include due diligence, which includes checking out the seller - hardly an issue in the internet age.

[springyzone]

You are confusing the seller with ebay.

The seller has indeed given you the run around and that is unacceptable.

It is important to remember one thing. After your name there is a feedback score. Yours is 25. That isn't all that high, it indicates to sellers that you're not ultra experienced with using ebay. In other words, you may not know exactly how to get ebay to work for you.

I realise ebay often does ask buyers to communicate with sellers before making a claim and I am not sure that is always a great idea. With some sellers it works well. With a bad seller, it could be an invitation to delay you. Ebay doesn't know what private messages you are exchanging with a seller, that is why you are best to go through ebay itself when things go wrong, not with the seller.

Refund should be your first priority. The absolute best way to make a bad seller toe the line or to bring them to the attention of ebay is open a formal claim. Sellers then face consequences to their account if they don't respond to claims or have too many claims.

You've got to remember a lot of the system is automated. Ebay isn't interested in you contacting them for a long chat about what the seller did wrong. If you think a seller did something wrong, in their eyes you would logically open a claim.

So here's what you should have done.

1. Item arrives late, after ETA. Wait a few more days but if after a week you still don't have the item, open an ebay claim for item not received. Don't bother contacting seller, just open it.  Do not close it till you either have the item or a full refund, no matter what seller says. You don't have to go running here and there to the post office.

2. Item arrives but is damaged. Open an ebay claim for item not as described. Because it is a formal claim, the seller will have to pay for return or else let you keep it and you should get a full refund.

3. Leave feedback about your buying experience, making sure it doesn't break any ebay rules eg swearing, threats etc

If you leave negative feedback that might help other buyers to avoid buying from that seller, mightn't it. That was one of your concerns-other customers having bad experiences. However, it seems you didn't take any notice of feedback others have given. Big mistake. It's there for one reason only, to help customers decide if they are happy to deal with that seller. To avoid the bad experiences you talked about.

So they are your main options-formal ebay claim so you can get a full refund then leave appropriate feedback for others. Those are the steps that help regulate sellers.

[anwsmh]

Hi springyzone (and others that have contributed to this useful thread),

Unfortunately, I am still in the middle of a bad experience where I have followed a lot, if not all, of the good advice here (Au seller Tick, Perfect feedback Tick, Responsive to Enquiry) & when the purchased item failed to show up (a high value item), opened a case with eBay, had many assurances from eBay customer service that I would be covered under the MBG etc and at last got the cold email, "After reviewing all the details of this case, we've determined that you won't receive a refund." (the appeal was also declined).

There are a couple of points worth being clear about,

1 I have not received an expensive item

2 The MBG rules concerning "Evidence of successful delivery" include,

• The recipient's address, showing at least the city/suburb or postcode (or international equivalent) that matches the one found on the Order details page
• and that for small items (such as ExpressPost envelopes, some carriers regard leaving in a letterbox as equivalent to signature confirmation)

3 Since the seller was able to provide (on the third attempt), a tracking number showing delivery in my suburb, the case and it's appeal were decided, according to clause 2 above, in the sellers favour.

eBay to their credit have at least given me the benefit of the doubt and are reviewing the evidence that the carrier provided me that the sellers tracking number was not delivered to my address nor could it have been (because the item delivered was too small) the purchased item.

My suggestion is that in the event of non-delivery, do not open a case with eBay without first asking the carrier (by opening a case with their customer service) for evidence about the delivery. 

While it is likely that, because of the "evidence of delivery" rules, any case will be decided based on the sellers tracking number, at least it should be clear to any person reviewing the case, what the real situation is. 

In fact, assuming that the appeal page allows the upload of the document from the carrier (in my case, I wasn't aware of what needed to be done so I can't remember if I could upload documents - which at that stage I didn't have), an appeal may quickly overturn the case judgement.

I believe that eBay attempts to provide procedural fairness to both buyers and sellers in making decisions based on evidence. However, this is a tedious process and one should not imagine that eBay will respond as quickly as one may like (the process, still incomplete, has taken me weeks from the purchase).

It is also hard to understand that the seller is able to continue selling a product when I have what I consider, as does the carrier's Customer service respondents, proof that the tracking number they claimed was for the delivery, could not have been.

To sum up, asking eBay to step in and help with a case against a seller, is likely to be disappointing without evidence about the delivery from the carrier.

[Anonymous]

Hi I have had the same experience at ebay, the seller takes no responsibility for their action when there is a dispute to what was delivered. I paid $66 for an item and could only go through a request return service as though every buyer coming to ebay are dodgy. Once the seller Declined the return then my case to appeal at ebay was also rejected. 

This is unfair as i have provided enough evidence to prove i am a legitimate buyer, however there was no avenue within management policy to negotiate or talk to ebay. The reason people come to buy products from any seller is because we think that ebay could be a reliable platform for selling products.

We have various other online market platforms where you have better customer experience, they do not treat their customers purchasers like this.

 Aliexpress, Temu, Shein, Amazon. 

I will never buy any custom product in ebay. I think this is a failing business.