Getting a refund on a product that falls apart past close of the feedback

[hatherm]

I bought a car cover for the USA in June 2012.  It was marketed as Waterproof with a Lifetime warranty - I paid aropund $100US.  I did not leave feedback initially as I was sceptical about its waterproofness.  It is now 10 months on and the cover has completely fallen apart.  Too late to give feedback and let other unsuspecting buyers know about this product.  I have contacted the seller 3 times and no response, despite its store site advocating what customer focus it is and any problems let us know and we will fix it straight away.  I have contacted ebay and it says they cant do anything and that I should resolve direct with seller.  Has anyone had a similar experience and can you suggest any other ways of getting a refund.  Is there a USA Ombudsman ?  Any thoughts appreciated.  cheers

[fred_fred_2004]

I've given up getting a decent car cover on ebay and like you I've wasted good money on the rubbish

drop it in the bin and go to a reputable shop

[lyndal1838]

Yes, there are Consumer Affairs organisations in the US but you are in Australia.  It seems to be a bit extreme to travel to the US to take action over a $100 item.

While things are cheaper in the USA, they are not that much cheaper...surely the price told you something?

[kopenhagen5]

I would pester them to hold up the lifetime guarantee until they get sick of you and send you another. Send messages to all their ebay accounts and email addies. But not much chop if you need to do that every year.

Unfortunately, buy cheap, get cheap.

[foxette-in-sox]

I would pester them to hold up the lifetime guarantee until they get sick of you and send you another. Send messages to all their ebay accounts and email addies. But not much chop if you need to do that every year.

Unfortunately, buy cheap, get cheap.

Thanks for hitting me over the head with the obvious Kopes-I have a similar issue & seller is ignoring ebay messages so off to email them DIRECTLY now :8}:8} 

[phorum_junkie*]

A warranty is not worth the cyberspace it is displayed on unless it is from a registered business and you can actually enforce it through Fair Trade or the equivalent in whichever country you purchased it from.

Even if it had failed within the 45 day time limit for opening a dispute it would probably have cost you more than it was worth to return it to the US for a refund, something you should always keep in mind when buying overseas.

You may have an outside chance, depending on which bank you are with, of doing a bank chargeback if you paid with a credit card but highly unlikely after all this time and you would still probably have to pay to return it by trackable post.

You can try being the grit in an oyster and irritating them into giving you a pearl but I wouldn't bank on it.

[hatherm]

Thanks all.  What is most irritating is that the seller has such a high % of positive feedback - no doubt beacuse of the 45 day limit on feedback.  Sells literally hundreds of these covers each week - and no buyer gets the hear the real story.  In NSW Australia you could pursue this through NSW Fair Trading under "fit for purpose" hence my thought of pursuing other avenues in the US - which if it does exist can surely be done remotely?  Ebay and PayPal have been no help at all.  One option suggested was to buy something very cheap from the store and then feedback away about the earlier purchase - yes more money given to a shonky seller but at least there is some exposure of what is going on?

[jameshouseofstyle]

OP, if you leave any f/back not relative to the item that you bought, but a different item bought previously they'll have it removed in no time.

And you are right in not providing him with any more money.

And you don't even know if you will be able to buy anything from them - they might have put you on a BBL, anticipating that you may cause trouble.

You could try pestering them with messages and emails, as some suggested, but don't over do it as you may be up for some sort of harrassment.

Most likely you are flogging a dead horse, as they say.

But I really feel for you, it's terrible when you buy something that doesn't stand the test of time.

Hovever, you are lucky that it was so little money.

Best to leave the whole thing well alone.

[phorum_junkie*]

Just to clarify 45 days is the limit for a claim, it is a 60 day limit for feedback.