Buyer provided false tracking number. And eBay rejected my refund claim

[coc7858]

So I ordered a graphics card 5 weeks ago for 600$. The seller said he'd take around 3 weeks to ship it for some odd reason. So I said it was fine. 4 weeks go by and I've been messaging him because I didn't receive any tracking numbers or any kind of confirmation that it was shipped. But a few days later it was shipped but I still didn't recieve a tracking number. So 2 days ago I filed a complaint on ebay support. Saying I didn't receive my product. But not more than 3 hours later he sends a tracking number of product delivered 18 days ago to the same address ( myUS shipping service). So I requested myUS to see what was going on. The guy had sent a " Christmas vacation" DVD and given me and eBay the tracking number for that product. By now eBay had already rejected my refund request because the product on the tracking number he gave was already delivered. So I made a claim that it was false. And I had myUS support send me a picture of the product and the label with the tracking number and address. However eBay rejected my claim as well. And closed the case. Now I'm at a 600$ loss. Is there anyway I can get a refund or any sort of compensation?. If you're an ebay rep or staff of any sort that can help me out pls contact me at my mail, cocadd9@gmail.com

[countessalmirena · Accepted solution]

@coc7858,

Note: you're not contacting eBay by posting on these boards. They are public forums on which any eBay member can post, and the responders are, like you, fellow eBay members who give voluntary helpful advice and information. (The standard of help is usually well above the type of cut-and-paste help provided by eBay customer service.)

Can you clarify? Are you saying that the tracking number was for a parcel that, although it was sent to myUS, was actually for another recipient? That the address on the label showed a different name and "suite"?

The seller might have made a mistake, if he/she has had a few items that were to be sent c/- myUS. But as long as you have some evidence that the "to" name and address were not identical to the name and address that you specified in the order, you should be able to get the situation looked at by eBay staff - but you'll need to contact eBay via eBay's "Have us call you" option. (Emails are useless, for a number of reasons, but primarily because the responses, when they are finally sent, are bot-generated. It's also pointless going through the appeal link on eBay because it's an automated process. You need an eBay CS rep with some degree of authority to make decisions - and that means the Have us call you option. Once you're on the Have us call you page (only available between 8 am - 10 pm), try selecting Buying, and then Get help with an item that hasn't arrived - rather than anything that mentions an appeal.)

eBay say: We'll call you at the phone number registered to your account, or you can enter a different number.

We’re available from 8am to 10pm AET, 7 days a week.

Have the picture from myUS support ready to upload, and explain to the CS rep (very politely) that the tracking number was not for your item, but for another item sent to a different customer who was also using myUS for parcel forwarding, so that the tracking number is not valid for your item. Explain with the utmost courtesy that the address information (name, suite no or unique customer number, in addition to the myUS address) does not identically match the address information attached to your order. Point out exactly what parts are different.

Good luck.

[gutterpunkz05]

I am assuming you were using some US forwarding service, to avoid paying GST.

If your seller has indeed shipped any item to you, via a forwarding service, why has the item not been on shipped to you.

The forwarding service would not know , if they had received the correct item or not, and simply should have forwarded shipment to you.

[countessalmirena]

gutterpunkz, it wouldn't have been for GST avoidance. The mail forwarding company becomes the agent responsible for collecting the GST on the item as well as on the shipping, import charges, etc.

I THINK I can see what might have happened...

If the OP is saying that the seller provided a tracking number for an item which was sent to another addressee who also used the same forwarding company, the forwarding company have apparently provided a photo to show the OP that the item received by them (the tracking company) under that tracking number was addressed to a completely different person, with a different unique code or suite number. That code/number would be how the company identifies who has received what. The addressee would receive notification from the forwarding company that item such-and-such was received for them. (The forwarding company  identifies parcels on the basis of the suite no. or unique code included in the address, not just the name.)

Once the parcel's received by the shipping forwarder, it may take a day or two to be processed, which I think refers to the parcel being checked (to ensure it doesn't contain any dangerous goods etc, and to mark the value of the goods if there's an invoice included) and allocated to the person matching the code/suite.

Usually there are a set number of days for free storage, since quite a few customers have multiple purchases coming from different sellers so that they can consolidate the total shipment to spread the total shipping cost. When the customer is ready, he/she selects the items for shipping (and possibly repacking) and pays the required amount at that time.

So... if the OP's shipping forwarder say that the tracking number which the OP communicated to them (from the seller in the eBay dispute) is not associated with a parcel addressed to him/her, then there are a few possible scenarios:

• The seller sent the correct item but addressed it incorrectly, with a different customer's unique code (which could only happen if the seller knew another customer's unique code), or
• The seller has sent more than one parcel to the forwarding company, with different customers all using that forwarding company) and has mistakenly provided the tracking number from the parcel containing one of those other customers' purchase, or
• The seller hasn't sent the OP's parcel at all, but has sent items to other customers using that forwarding company, and has deliberately provided the tracking number of one of those parcels.

It can't be the shipping forwarder's mistake, if the photos show the tracking number on a parcel addressed to someone other than the OP. That means that whatever has happened is the seller's fault - either an inadvertent error or a deliberate piece of chicanery.

[coc7858]

Thanks guys. I'll be trying the have us call you option. I'll let you know what happens. And I use myus to forward things I buy because they repack and send everything to me in one package rather than seperate packages. Which is easier and reduces shipping costs. Not for any other purpose haha