Buyer doesn't pay then sends fake echeque but eBay closes case!

[kustomizer99]

Has this happened to anyone else?

A buyer didn't pay for an item and made no response, so after 10 days I opened an unpaid item dispute.

The buyer then issued a PayPal eCheque and eBay recorded the payment as received, even though it would take several days for the funds to clear.

I've been informed by PayPal today that this eCheque has failed and they have cancelled the transaction. There is however no record in PayPal of the dispute ever even occurring, as if they've just erased it.

But even worse is that Ebay still consider the 'payment' to have been made, and I cannot reopen an unpaid item dispute. When I try to do so, I simply get told that the case is closed and I can't proceed any further in contacting anyeone at Ebay about it.

What the heck do I do next? Is anyone else tired of these time-wasting, inept loopholes for scammers?!?!

[b3llag1na]

Have you tried marking it as unpaid first?

I don't think you can open another unpaid item dispute on it, but a call to ebay might get it sorted for you..

[kustomizer99]

Hi b3llag1na -- thanks for your comment.

Yep, I did already unmark it as payment received. It's strange that Ebay and PayPal suddenly stop communicating when something like this happens.

I've emailed eBay about it now, hope they can resolve it. I'd prefer not to have to phone them if I can avoid it.

[2106greencat]

I would be phoning paypal - an echeque is not marked paid it is marked pending, so seems a glitch in the paypal side of things, not eBay. If you have to ask for a supervisor, although paypal are usually quite good I have heard.

[foxette-in-sox]

I've emailed eBay about it now, hope they can resolve it. I'd prefer not to have to phone them if I can avoid it.

Why would you avoid phoning a real person?

Emailing is a waste of time-all you will receive is a copy & paste response.

[kustomizer99]

'Why would you avoid phoning a real person?'

They haven't sounded like real people whenever I've phoned them in the past -- they sound more like tinny-voiced robots and have trouble comprehending what they're being told - -although to be fair, the latter is also the case when sending them email. This goes for both Ebay and PayPal.

[lyndal1838]

I have had to phone paypal twice in the last few weeks and they have been great on both occasions....the first time it was a lovely American girl, the second time a man and both were only too happy to chat as they solved the problem, which was done in a very short period of time.

[kustomizer99]

They must have really improved. Last time I had to speak to PayPal employees I felt like I was talking to random-comment generating machinery.

[***super_nova***]

They must have really improved. Last time I had to speak to PayPal employees I felt like I was talking to random-comment generating machinery.

if you get a hopeless one, the thing is to ask for supervisor or call again and speak to somebody else.  I also had only very helpful people answer my call, and resolve my problem quickly.

[digital*ghost]

This is quite odd - was the UPI case closed as soon as the eCheque was sent? I have a similar situation now, the buyer sent an eCheque last week but the case is still open (of course, not sure what options I will have as yet if/when I go to close it myself manually - I presume if the eCheque clears, it will close automatically).