MBG: How to get eBay to 'step in and help'

[justajunk]

How exactly do I get eBay to 'step in and help' with a Money Back Guarantee return request?

I can't see any links or directions of how to upscale the case... it's now May 1 and it's the same time of the evening that I opened the request...

[harley_babes_hoard]

Would it be 1st of May US time which would be tomorrow for us in Australia? Just a thought

[justajunk]

Hi, Harley. I appreciate the response. This is would seem not to be an issue experienced by many buyers given the lack of replies so far here when so many have viewed the topic.

I suppose it could be US times, but that would seem to contradict the 3 business day wait/hold according to the MBG.

The only other thought I had is whether it has to be fully past three business days - i.e. it may be worth trying again at 0:01 on May 2 AEST.

I don't know. The item didn't cost that much at the end of the day, but considering how poor the seller has dealt with the issue so far (after an initial apology, I have been ignored since I asked for him to front the cost of return shipping), I really just want to get this over and done with.

Maybe it's worth also posting this topic on the Selling board since it's usually ten times more active than this one...

[harley_babes_hoard]

You should really only post on one board.

[justajunk]

Well, I guess I don't want to be seen as flooding the message boards with my problems. I'm not looking forward though to the possible prospect of contacting eBay directly. I've only ever heard reports of them being incredibly difficult to deal with.

[justajunk]

Friday night gremlins, maybe? As good an explanation as anything at this stage. 

[justajunk]

An update:

It is now after 12:00am Eastern time and now I *can* click "ask us to step in and help", however, it comes up with the message "You are not authorised to perform this action at this time." when I do so.

Wow!

As a seller, I am delighted at how infuriatingly difficult eBay makes it for buyers to use their Money Back Guarantee.

As a buyer who has bought an item that wasn't as described though, this really is the pits. 

[justajunk]

Further update: After trying to submit my case ten or twelve times, it has finally gone through as authorised. eBay now say that they will take 48 hours to review the case.

What absolutely baffles me is that I constantly read on the selling message board how buyers are automatically refunded through MBG without the seller having a chance to intervene. This really couldn't be further from the truth, so I'm a bit puzzled as to what all the fuss is about. All things considered, eBay give sellers heaps of time to resolve the problem before they step in.

[dbsr86]

I asked ebay to "step in and help" on April 8th after opening a case on March 30th and I'm still waiting for my refund.

Apparently the seller cancelling the order (as requested due to them not having it posted nearly a week after payment had been made, inc payment for express postage...) counts as a case being opened on eBay, making it impossible to open one on PayPal for the same transaction.

It's not a huge amount of money but I'm pretty disappointed at how useless eBay have been compared to PayPal who would have gotten the money back in my account within hours (I know from the one time I opened a dispute on PayPal, the money was refunded almost immediately).

The seller cancelling the order also means I can't leave negative feedback which I feel they definitely deserve, and I've never left negative feedback a single time before in the 6 or so years I've been using this site. 

[lyndal1838]

---

@dbsr86 wrote:

It's not a huge amount of money but I'm pretty disappointed at how useless eBay have been compared to PayPal who would have gotten the money back in my account within hours (I know from the one time I opened a dispute on PayPal, the money was refunded almost immediately).

---

When you open a dispute in paypal the refund is not instant.  The seller is given time to respond...10 days I think from memory.

the only way you can get the money any sooner is if the seller refunds it themselves.  If you received an almost instant refund then it has come from the seller, not paypal.  You need to give credit where credit is due.