Scammed for $3000 - eBay is refusing to refund.

[mollysa2016]

Hello,

I bought an RTX 4090 brand new for $3000 AUD and the seller sent a fake tracking number.  Just a day before ebay was due to help, he added a tracking number that showed it was already delivered 3 days ago, but nothing ever arrived. My mum went to the post office and checked with them. and the new tracking number was an envelope when the item is 3kg+ and judging by the feedback a second victom gave, it probably wasn't even shipped to my address. eBay is refusing to help even with it being an obvious scam.

[springyzone]

Okay, I have never had to do this & if I have it wrong, one of the sellers can let me know.

My impression has been you can open a claim for item not received. If you then receive it, obviously you would lose that case.

But then, later on, you can still open a case for item not as described as that just means the item was not as described in the ad.

If I were you, I would first follow the advice of others and challenge the claim you lost. Do as others have said and upload the evidence from the PO.

If that gets you nowhere, then open a claim for item not as described and state how tracking showed an envelope (with uploaded evidence once again from PO) and the item you bought was over 3kg.

Good luck.

I honestly don't think ebay is the place to spend $3000, not unless you have really investigated the seller and it is a big, authorised seller here in Australia or you are talking about a pick up item.

That's no help to you with this, I know, but hold the thought for the future.

[domino-710]

Well - not exactly Springy. lol

[mollysa2016]

The funny thing is, the item I bought was on sale this week cheaper through an official store at eBay.

Right now, I have a lot of hope and confidence that I will get a refund because of what eBay told me, but who knows. Even with direct aupost evidence they still sided with the seller. At the moment it is being appealed, as  well as a return opened? I didn't do that myself though, that was an ebay support employee.

[mollysa2016]

At this current moment, my biggest worry now is my mum's health.

She says her heart hurts, she could barely walk home today because of all this.

[*sons_and_daughters*]

Springyzone, you used to be able to change an item not received dispute to not as described, but I don't know if you still can. I've never had to do it, so I don't know for sure if it's still an option.

[countessalmirena]

molly, look after your mum first. The money can be refunded via chargeback even if the eBay appeal (for whatever reason) fails.

If you’re ever faced with an issue like this in future, you must follow the protocol that matches eBay’s automatic bot-driven dispute process, not what you thought described the situation. If you read the MBG Help information, it’s clear that if a seller can prove postage status as “delivered” by providing the tracking number which shows that delivery is confirmed, the buyer is going to lose the dispute.

What a buyer must do is to open a SNAD/INAD dispute, and choose the appropriate option:

Why are you returning this item?

• Ordered by mistake

• Arrived damaged

• Don't like it

• Missing parts or pieces

• Changed my mind

• Item is defective

• Received wrong item

• Doesn't fit

• Found a better price

• Doesn't match description or photos

The right choice would have been “received wrong item”.

[domino-710]

I really don't understand the mixed messages being given here.

Countess - ' the right choice ' - open a ' received the wrong item ' - so the seller sends a return label - what has the buyer to return - zilch - it was never received.

The dispute has closed - the only avenue is an appeal - which should contain all ' proof ' - the item was delivered - but not to the correct given address - and possibly not even the same sale  - AP proof.

Scammers could have a field day if - delivered - was the end of it.

They sometimes get away with it - due to buyers not appealing and supplying the necessary proof.

Apart from all the correspondence between seller & buyer - $3000 is worth adding a police report - as long as the ' sale ' occurred in Aus.

This is why there is an appeals process - there are ' extraordinary ' circumstances - and appeals from my experience are not - bot driven - they have to be individually processed.

[papermoon.lady]

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@domino-710 wrote:

This is why there is an appeals process - there are ' extraordinary ' circumstances - and appeals from my experience are not - bot driven - they have to be individually processed.

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Exactly. I never had to do it, so I cannot say it is my experience, but that's what has been said here many times.

[springyzone]

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@*sons_and_daughters* wrote:

Springyzone, you used to be able to change an item not received dispute to not as described, but I don't know if you still can. I've never had to do it, so I don't know for sure if it's still an option.

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Thanks, S&D.

I was pretty sure I had read it was possible but that was years ago and I know ebay terms & conditions change all the time, so like you, I don't know if it is still an option.

The one bright spot in this is an ebay employee opened an appeal against the original decision so hopefully once humans look at it, molly might win.

$3000 is a lot of money though so my worry is ebay will be reluctant to pay unless they can get the money out of the seller's account.

[repentatleisure1952]

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@domino-710 wrote:

 - what has the buyer to return - zilch - 

dom... I agree with most of what you say.

However  the buyer could return an empty envelope.

I doubt this seller would issue a label.

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