seller of damaged & counterfeit item now claiming harassment

[dolly-and-hill]

I was wondering if anyone had experience dealing with this situation. I currently have to wait to escalate my claim.

I have opened a case against the seller after an item arrived damaged and appearing to be counterfeit. The seller claimed that the item must be authentic (even though I listed TEN reasons why I thought it wasn't along with multiple photos), and that the damaged item is the fault of auspost, for which they take no responsibility for. Thus, they have refused a refund.

It has been frustrating as the seller will not even acknowledge the TEN discrepancies between the item they sold me and the genuine item, saying something along the lines of "I know it's authentic so I don't have to discuss the differences or answer any of your questions". They have not provided any evidence re authenticity except to say they bought it from an authentic site. 

Obviously I was not satisfied with this and opened a case.

(The item is actually a hazard to health; the damage has caused sharp shards which could cut, and the ingredients of a counterfeit are never truly known and could cause adverse reactions. I mentioned this in a message and this point was never responded to.)

Now the policies re a damaged item and a counterfeit item are very clearly stated on ebay. 

Re damaged item: "the seller is responsible for the item until it's in the buyer's possession"

Re counterfeit item: "Sellers may not disclaim knowledge of, or responsibility for, the authenticity or legality of the items"

Selling a counterfeit item is also illegal under Australian law.

The seller has chosen to NOT respond to either of those above statements. Instead, they write to say they are filing a complaint to ebay regarding my behaviour (stating I was rude and harassing them).

I have only contacted the seller using ebay messages (I sent 5 messages thru ebay messages, and 2 messages thru the ebay case resolution centre). While 7 messages in total may seem excessive, this was only because each time I messaged the seller, they would refuse to address my points leading me to ask the same question again (in case they had misunderstood me). I have received 6 messages back from them thru ebay. I have never once used profanity or made any threats, and have acknowledged on multiple occasions my gratefulness for their prompt replies and even apologised for any inconvenience caused. Of course I admit my tone may have been unintentionally"rude" to them, due to communication barrier using a medium such as this.

I am not sure why they feel harassed and am obviously not going to respond to them again. Is it because they have refused a refund multiple times and yet I keep asking them why (give the above policities), and how they could possibly explain the differences if the item was truly authentic. Is this truly grounds for claiming harassment?

[digupatin]

If you had immediately opened an INAD case with eBay why did you bother going through all of the above?

Ebay, or Paypal will oversee the refund, if due, with minimum of fuss or issues.

If you'd sent me 7 messages about the claim I'd also be calling it harrassment, rightly or wrongly.

[debonnairefashions]

No, this is not harrassment, as long as they made no nasty comments to the seller. She is trying to get answers from the seller for posting an item not as described and is not authentic.

I would escalate it to a claim and let ebay resolve the issue.

[dolly-and-hill]

Unfortunately I did not open a case instantly as I thought I may have been able to resolve/clarify this with the seller.

I sent all 5 ebay messages, interspersed between the seller's 4 replies, prior to the case opening and have not sent any messages since.  

I'm not sure if there's an official policy re what harassment is, but as you can see from the frequency of messages, it is not one-sided (7 from me, 6 from seller in total). Of course if I had sent 7 messages and had only 1 or 2 replies, I can see where it seems like I am harassing, versus just replying to their messages.

[kopenhagen5]

If it's the lip pencil, the seller has another neg for non authentic item.

Don't communicate with them anymore other than finalizing your case.

Also add them to your blocked list as you are a seller, so they cannot buy a small item from you and neg in retaliation.

[lyndal1838]

First, if you are claiming that the item is counterfeit it is up to you to produce written proof of the fact from an authorised 3rd party.

It is not up to the seller to prove that it is authentic in this case.

Ebay will not authorise a refund on your sayso that it is fake.

If it is the same item that is damaged you would be better to ignore the fake part of your claim and concentrate on the damage.

[digital*ghost]

As a seller, and one who would address the concerns of a buyer, I can only say most of the rest of us would have appreciated your approach and worked with you, but when it becomes clear a seller won't do that, better to not waste your time and go through the appropriate channels. 

[dolly-and-hill]

Thanks for letting me know! I wasn't sure who had the burden of proof but have so far done my best, documenting point-by-point x10, every discrepancy/issue and photographing it, as well as contacting the brand directly.

I have already mentioned my concerns re authenticity in the case so I can't retract my statements or photos that I attached (eg logo of brand is a slightly different name, typos on item, poorly pigmented shades, completely different back cover which was not in the listing's photos etc). I didn't notice any of those issues at first glance hence why I purchased it. The brand will be viewing the listing too.

My biggest concern at the moment is whether or not I am harassing someone as it is clearly not my intention. I have tried to be cordial in my messages while they have kept saying things like how the item which was damaged in transit is "auspost's fault, not my problem" and "I don't need to respond to your concerns". 

It seems that some people would count 7 messages (in reply to the seller's 6 messages) as harassment, while others wouldn't.

I wouldn't want to be harassed myself and could never fathom harassing someone else. I'm not sure how else to fix this issue apart from waiting for ebay to step in, and not contacting them further. I feel awful that I could make someone feel this way (unintentionally), and actually want to apologise to them but surely they will just consider this to be further harassment.

[black*poppy]

I think it takes a certain number of words to say what needs to be said, who is to say there is a limit?

Harrassment primarily about profanity and rudeness - which you have clearly tried to avoid - and spamming (for want of a better word).  In this the seller was responding to you so there is a responsibility there which pardons you from any excessive frequency of messages.  To my mind that's a conversation.

Clearly the seller has thrown in a red herring to try to get you to go away.  Just follow procedure and get your money back.

[amber-eyed-girl]

In the early days of my eBaying I was like you and would do my utmost to politely resolve issues directly with the seller.

Dishonest sellers know how to play on this and string things out so any timeframe for an official claim, passes.

You were having a conversation...the seller was responding. If it was that burdensome they would have ignored you.

The seller is attacking because they want you to drop it. A decent seller would address your concerns better than just "oh yeah? Of course it's authentic I bought it off a third party in good faith" type talk, while ignoring your actual points of reference.

You should go straight into an official claim for a damaged item, if you cannot prove the item is fake. I know some fakes are blindingly obvious when you hold them in person, but for a claim the buyer does have to prove it.

You mentioned the company would be looking at the listing. If the company can provide you with a written declaration it is a fake, you are in luck and can go with a counterfeit claim.