Tablet stolen by seller - Ebay refuses to intervene!

[guybrushthr33pw00d]

Sorry if this is a bit lengthy but it's a big drama.

Last year I bought a tablet from an Ebay seller in Hong Kong.  It was advertised as having an Australian warranty and it was advertised as being New.

When I got the tablet after some weeks I discovered it had been opened and used... it certainly wasn't new, the Serial Number on the box mismatched the S/N inside the tablet!  But it seemed to work so I took it on the chin.

However, 3 months later the tablet started having faults.   I contacted Samsung support in Australia and they said it was a known fault and should be taken in for warranty repair.   When I did, the guy in the local shop said the tablet was an international model and not covered by Australian warranty!

I contacted the seller and they said to ship it to them for warranty repair.

This was 5 months ago... essentially the seller has now taken the tablet and my money and won't return it.    Ebay support originally sided with me, and forced the seller to start communicating with me again, but now they have outright refused to assist.

Ebay have been advised that the sale was fraudulent (advertised as-new and under warranty) but they have refused to take any action.  It's well past 3 months since the sale so buyer protection doesn't apply.   But I don't understand why Ebay protects this seller when it's obvious that fraud was committed.

What are my avenues for appeal here?  I'm already contacting the local Australian consumer affairs department to complain about Ebay directly, and I intend to ask Ebay for the seller contact details so I can contact the Hong Kong consumer affairs department as well.

[iainlouden]

Hopefully you paid via PayPal so you should take the matter up with PayPal not Ebay.

Buying from outside Australia is always problematic regarding warranty.

[joethenuts]

lets get this straight , you brought a tablet from hong kong with an australian warranty ,mmmmmmm ten when you got it ,it was not new and the serial numbers did not match.mmmmmm  ,but you kept it mmmmmm.  then it worked fine for 3 months ,and then there was a problem .mmmmm [now the seller lied to you about the australian warranty,the seller lied about being new. the tablet did not match the serial number..[and then you paid a whole lot of money to sent it back to him. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

you want ebay to give you his details well did you not send the tablet to him .or did he lie about the address.

[guybrushthr33pw00d]

No Paypal on this one unfortunately... anyway, protection would have lapsed due to the long time frames.   I guess these fraudulent sellers know if they drag out a transaction they can sometimes get away with theft.

What's almost as disappointing is that Ebay are contributing to the crime by refusing to intervene, even to investigate and ban the sellers account.   I guess if they make profit from the crime, it's okay with them.

[guybrushthr33pw00d]

---

@joethenuts wrote:

lets get this straight , you brought a tablet from hong kong with an australian warranty ,mmmmmmm ten when you got it ,it was not new and the serial numbers did not match.mmmmmm  ,but you kept it mmmmmm.  then it worked fine for 3 months ,and then there was a problem .mmmmm [now the seller lied to you about the australian warranty,the seller lied about being new. the tablet did not match the serial number..[and then you paid a whole lot of money to sent it back to him. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

you want ebay to give you his details well did you not send the tablet to him .or did he lie about the address.

---

I didn't know the S/N was mismatching until I recorded the detail to ship it back after it had failed.   I contacted the seller about the packaging being worn and the tablet not being in a factory fresh state and they said they had to open it to test it... it seemed suspicious but the tablet was working at that point, so I foolishly avoided the hassle of getting a return just because something was fishy.

I had a dead tablet that was supposed to be under warranty... what was I going to do, the seller told me they'd fix it so I took their word for it.    What would you have done, just thrown the tablet in the trash and bought a new one?

I have the address but it's a post office box, not a street address.  I want more details from Ebay so I can provide relevant information to the Hong Kong government.

[joethenuts]

mate you cant have it both ways first you except the tablet ,then months later it does not work and you wanna blame ebay, and why shoulkd ebay ban someone for something you say ,its not the sellers fault that after months it did not work , its up to you to send it back to the samsung ,if its till under waranty your the owner . 

[guybrushthr33pw00d]

---

@joethenuts wrote:

mate you cant have it both ways first you except the tablet ,then months later it does not work and you wanna blame ebay, and why shoulkd ebay ban someone for something you say ,its not the sellers fault that after months it did not work , its up to you to send it back to the samsung ,if its till under waranty your the owner . 

---

The tablet was advertised as having an Australian warranty - it did not have one.  This is known as false and misleading conduct which is a breach of the Australian Consumer Act 2010.  

I took the tablet to Samsung Australia and they refused to repair it.

The seller offered to repair it, but simply used that as an opportunity to steal the tablet from me once they had it.

This is fairly cut and dry, I'm sorry if you don't understand.  Fraud has been committed, and later theft has been committed, and Ebay have been notified yet refuse to take action.

[joethenuts]

what i would of done is simple after all the lies you got ,surely to fix the problem it might of been a small fault as the store says its a common problem ,so they know what to do ,allow for your shipping cost ,you might of been better to fix it and if the cost was not worth it then ship it ,   now you say its a post box in hong kong and you still send it.

i am sorry for you , but you have to be a lot less trustworthy when dealing with people especialy from another country. and not using paypal

[cathyjoyjoy]

How were you able to pay for an OS item if not with PayPal? ....... just curious ....

[bakeandfry]

Have you got any phyisical evidence to support you that you paid for the item.
and im not talking about your word or i paid ect ect, im talking about proof...