Seller - deceptive and misleading information - what to do now?

[janellehollycat]

Hi there - thought I would throw this open to see what others think.  I recently purchased and paid (yes, silly me!) for items from UK.  I did complain about the postage as I thought it was too high at the time.  Later on when I worked it out, the seller had not used combined postage for the items even though their ads state that they combine post for multiple items.  I complained about this again and asked for the weight of the package so that I could work out what the item should cost to post to Australia.  The seller has responded saying they have decided to charge extra for packaging and handling to give the money to charity.  This is not mentioned in the ad and they are not listed as a charity seller. 

So basically they charged me 29 pounds postage for a small packet that costs 18.60 pounds.  They have refunded me 2 pounds 'goodwill'.  So now I am being charged 27 pounds for 18.60 package.  I am chasing them for a refund for the rest.  A 'reasonable' handling charge would I think be 1 or 2 pounds on top of posage not 8.40 pounds.

Obviously this is very poor seller behaviour.  Can I report this seller to Ebay for misleading and deceptive conduct?  What do other people think?

[cherry*135]

Not much chance of recovering any of the money, as you agreed to postage costs when you bought the item. Even for combined postage the new total needs to be invoiced before the buyer pays.

A 'reasonable' handling charge would I think be 1 or 2 pounds on top of posage not 8.40 pounds.

eBays cut of the postage you paid is 9.9% of the total approx.

Postage paid of £29 - £2.90 would go to ebay. Sellers often factor that into their postage rates. I know that still leaves a big gap, but for sellers charging the correct amount, they don't actually get the whole postage amount paid.

[lyndal1838]

You have had answers in the Answer Centre to your question....there is not a lot more to say as far as I can see.

[cherry*135]

£29 postage paid

- £2.90 ebay fee

- £2 refund

= £24.10 net to seller

- £18.60 actual postage cost

= £5.50 balance

- cost of envelope/satchel/ padded bag and any packaging required.

[janellehollycat]

It was suggested that I put this in the discussion list for other's opinions!

I'm sorry - the seller clearly lied to me personally and lied in their advertising.

Personally I always refund overpayment of postage and when I say I combine postage, I actually do combine postage to make it cheaper for my buyers.  Any 'ebay fees' or whatever I factor into the purchase price NOT the postage price so for me this point is ridiculous.  Don't forget that pounds is double in AUD - so it's $10 or so I have been scammed.

The seller has lied and ripped me off - poor fool me I know as I have paid - but to lie in your advertising I believe is against Ebay rules and I will try and report this seller for their deceptive and misleading behaviour.  I don't know how far I will get but I will try.  I think we can do without these sellers on Ebay - it sours the whole experience.

[cherry*135]

Or don't buy/bid on an item unless you are satisfied with the postage costs. If wanting combined postage msg the seller before paying so an adjusted invoice can be sent.

Sellers can get defects from eBay for giving paypal refunds. All because a buyer doesn't wait for or request an adjusted invoice with combined postage before they pay for their items.

[girl82721]

I agree with the other replys here. Put back into perspective, based on the £18.60 actual cost it looks like the seller has refunded the overpayment. A nice gesture that was not required. It can be difficult ensuring enough is collected to cover international postage.

If paid by paypal and assuming same as AU rates -

£29, Less costs relating to postage only.

- Ebay fees £2.0 - Paypal Fees £.76 - £2 refund - actual postage cost £18.60
= £4.74 to go towards packaging.

I accept allocating fees whether to listing or postage as valid however personally for me I believe allocating the costs within postage is more honest and cost effective for the buyer. Allocating postage fees to the listing means I am collecting double or more fees if I have lowered or combined my postage costs.

The rule I follow is ebay currency = real currency/.875 ie if I need to be left with $10 to spend on postage I need to collect $11.43 in ebay $ to cover postage costs and fees. This works if I put 5 things in the same satchel or just one and also covers if I end up needing a larger satchel.

[robinsonmarineparts]

Here we go again, the invoice says X if the buyer is not happy the time to whinge **bleep** moan is before you pay, NOT after.

To the O.P report them all you like, we all know what Ebay will say, and you won't like what you hear.

Good luck.

[phorum_junkie*]

If the seller said they combined items but made no mention of a discount then you would have to pay the full amount for each item. You can choose to uncombine them and pay for each item separately if that is the case but unless there is a firm discount amount given the seller does not have to give you one.

Keep in mind that Paypal fees are higher in the UK so if you paid for each one separately it would cost the seller a lot more so they may come up with a more reasonable quote but to be frank I don't think it was too much of an overcharge as they would have to pay extra for proof of posting and for delivery confirmation, in the UK it is not enough to just prove to Paypal that you have posted something.

[k1ooo-slr-sales]

---

@janellehollycat wrote:

Hi there - thought I would throw this open to see what others think.  I recently purchased and paid (yes, silly me!) for items from UK.  I did complain about the postage as I thought it was too high at the time.  Later on when I worked it out, the seller had not used combined postage for the items even though their ads state that they combine post for multiple items.  I complained about this again and asked for the weight of the package so that I could work out what the item should cost to post to Australia.  The seller has responded saying they have decided to charge extra for packaging and handling to give the money to charity.  This is not mentioned in the ad and they are not listed as a charity seller. 

So basically they charged me 29 pounds postage for a small packet that costs 18.60 pounds.  They have refunded me 2 pounds 'goodwill'.  So now I am being charged 27 pounds for 18.60 package.  I am chasing them for a refund for the rest.  A 'reasonable' handling charge would I think be 1 or 2 pounds on top of posage not 8.40 pounds.

Obviously this is very poor seller behaviour.  Can I report this seller to Ebay for misleading and deceptive conduct?  What do other people think?

---

just re-read the opening post again and have some questions for the OP . . . . . has the item arrived yet?  If yes, was the postage exactly the same as you "calculated"?  If no, then I think your concerns are a little premature and you should wait until the item arrives before doing anything about this as you may find that the cost was more than 18.60 pounds.