Can it get any worse ? Customer Support - Technical Difficulties

[mbselections00]

Geeee, just rang Customer Support (twice now) and listened to recorded message

"CS is currently experiencing technical difficulties with the computer system and are unable to access Customer Accounts, you may like to call back later"

What tha ??  Have tried every other which way to find a way for them to call me about this problem I'm having - but can't get that button to appear anywhere today - though I did read a post where others are experiencing similar difficulties.

Lawdy - the problem itself is bad enough - I emailed them about it & their response is nothing short of pathetic.

Sorry folks I know this is very complicated, but I have no idea what to do now, so here's an outline of the situation as briefly as I can describe it :-

About 10 days ago I had a buyer who ordered several items (10 in total) - I must admit I was a little suspicious of what they were ordering & the way they were ordering, and they did ask me to cancel 2 of the orders, which at the time were unpaid,  so no problem, I issued Cancellation Requests, and I had combined several of the orders. 

Before I had a chance to combine all orders & before they responded to the Cancellation Requests, they went ahead and paid for everything.  I should add at this point I had sent several messages, to which I received rather incoherent responses (wondered what planet they were on, if you get my drift) and did attempt to phone the buyer - but the number was disconnected.  So suspicions were increasing

Within hours of them paying, I get 3 MC139 messages from eBay advising I should not continue dealing with this buyer & not to respond to any messages.

So I ring CS - sure enough bada---- buyer - Cancel every item and refund immediately & do not under any circumstances have contact with them, do not divulge any personal information or follow any links in their messages.  Change my Password.  Once everything is finished Block the ID.  OK, we can all see where this is leading !

And I must add here, when I questioned eBay what will happen with the Automatic Defects I will receive for cancelling all these orders after the customer has paid I was told I will have to contact them and 'plead' my case & provide evidence to have them removed ! (Great customer support for the innocent seller ! NOT)

I ring PayPal, no problems with my account or the Buyers account in their view and they agree I should proceed with refund.

So the two original cancellation requests expire with no buyer response - great - that's 2 down.

Another order Cancelled & refunded through eBay - all good with that one.

The combined order would not allow me to cancel via eBay, as the two orders they had requested to cancel were part of that order,  so I refunded via PayPal.

Aaah we're nearly there.  Next - Eligible for unpaid item disputes in the Resolution Centre.  So I figure, well if I open these disputes, buyer will no doubt ignore them (surely by now they are NARU'd), I will get my FVF's back and evrything will be finalised & tidy and I can Block the ID.

No, no.   We are now on a merry-go-round.  Next the buyer is messaging - why am I cancelling orders ?  And so off they go and re-order everything plus a few extras and have paid for the lot.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated - I am not in the right head space for this at the moment  (health issues, but that's another story, lol)

[justcruising49]

I cannot offer much help but can just sympathise. But if they are on your blocked buyer list they should not be able to buy again from you. I would just refund everything and quote to them that it is on advice from ebay, so they need to follow up with ebay themselves, and once you get your negatives I would then contact ebay customer support. And good luck with that!! There is a button for ebay to contact you when you follow the right links, they do phone back within a minute, but then keep you waiting in a queue for hours as their system has been down 4-6 days now, but some sellers seem to get thru. I am going to have to go down that path myself soon with a nasty pasty as her item is currently held up in UK customs and she is a nasty one -see she has left 20 negatives to sellers already so is trying to con the system with just demanding refunds. So if she claims it back and ebay refund she will have both the money and the item and I know she is going to leave a negative on top. So you are bit better off than me, as least you are refunding before posting if that makes you feel any better. Would be worse if you had posted like me.  mmmmm part of the 'joy' of ebaying

[mbselections00]

Thanks justcruising.  The problem is, CS told me not to block them until everything was sorted & under no circumstances should I contact them.  As there were still orders showing as Unpaid for (because I had refunded), I didn't think I could/should Block them until those orders were actually cancelled.  Seems the pile of s*** I'm in just gets deeper & deeper.

My dilemma is, what if this buyer isn't a scammer or isn't using a hijacked account - can eBay get it wrong (or maybe I'm just too naive & gullible) ?  If eBay are so adamant there is a problem with this member, why hasn't this buyer been NARU'd ?  If eBay are correct, I have no issue, but if they got it wrong, it sickens me to think I am ignoring this buyers messages and treating them with such disrespect.

RE : There is a button for ebay to contact you when you follow the right links

Yes, I have used that method before & have received the call back quickly, it just seems today I can't find the right links

[*tippy*toes*]

If your gut is telling you eBay is correct, add them to your BBL now. It won't affect current transactions, but will stop them rebuying (again) if you go through with the cancellations.

Sounds like a complete nightmare, I hope you get it sorted with minimal damage to your account.

Edit: If they're not responding to the cancellation requests, make sure you select the buyer changed mind option so you don't get defects for it.

[mbselections00]

Thanks tippy   Problem is, they paid again (almost instantly),  so I have to refund & that seems to be when the Defects will occur, regardless of the reason.

I've just sent eBay another rather terse email, waste of frikkin time I know, but just don't need all this B*S* at the moment.

Oooh, sounds like i might be getting through on the phone at last

[gec2002]

I would cancel all of the sales, however use the "Buyer asked to cancel or there's an issue with the buyers address" dropdown option.  This will save you from any defects and as ebay have stated there is an issue with the seller, if there is any blow back state thats why you used that option.  For all you know it could be an address issue.

Maybe get ebay to reconfirm the problem and get a reference number or record the time rang so available if needed in the future, and regardless of what CS said block straight away.

[mbselections00]

Thanks everyone for your advice - here's the latest.

Yay, I eventually got through to CS and explained everything in detail.

Have made a note of the time (conversation started at 4.25) & got a reference number, thanks gec, I learnt that lesson a while back

I also took down the following notes :-

First rep transferred me (too confusing for him I think).

Next rep - you have an UI Case open - close it now.  Ummmm it's only been 2 days ?? I can't.

Oh well, close it tomorrow & when it's closed, Report the Member and the appropriate team will review and take action in accordance with eBay policy.  I can appeal the Feedback which inevitably will be negative & they may be able to review & remove it.  Seriously, on what grounds do I report this member - what is it they have done to me that I can see to justify reporting ?

Aah, so now they back track as I have a point.  No, I have an obligation as a seller to fulfill the orders that are paid for, otherwise the buyer can file a claim against me, I will get a defect and they will win !! What tha ?

It is now 5.15 and my wick has become very short !!  Are they for real.  Send me 3 x MC139 Notices initially tell me to refund & cancel all orders, which I have done, now tell me I have to send all orders. So I ask, why, and insisted, tell me, why did eBay send me not one but 3 notices in the first place then ?  So off to ask someone else and comes back I have Verified the notices were sent because the buyers account is currently suspended.  Disregard all previous advice & return their money !!!  Then get back to CS to arrange FVF credits for all orders.  DO NOT BLOCK YET !!

Call ended at 5.30

I have Cancelled all but one order using the reason 'Buyer asked to cancel or there's an issue with the buyers address ' refunded all money & the order I can't cancel is the one that I've already opened a case for.  And sorry eBay, I HAVE blocked the member.

Something tells me this isn't over yet . . . . . . .

[*tippy*toes*]

If the buyer is suspended, how can they have rebought after you refunded the first time? What's their feedback like, both feedback left for them and feedback left for others?

[lyndal1838]

That is what I was wondering too Tippy.

Also, if the buyer bought and paid before being suspended why can't the seller send the items?  As far as I can see there is nothing that can happen to the seller other than being safe from a dispute on the grounds of having no access to ebay.

On the other hand they could probably open a paypal dispute or do a chargeback through their bank.

[mbselections00]

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@*tippy*toes* wrote:

If the buyer is suspended, how can they have rebought after you refunded the first time? What's their feedback like, both feedback left for them and feedback left for others?

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When I spat the dummy, that was one of the questions I asked when I asked why the 3 Notices were issued in the first place then, sorry forgot to mention that, but that was when she went off and checked & came back & said disregard all previous advice - lol, of course I didn't get a very direct response to my very direct questions.  In the end though, she dropped a few hints, said she couldn't really give me the details but I said, in other words, it's a hijacked account is it ?  She pretty much confirmed it was.  But why did it take over an hour and so many incorrect responses to (hopefully) get it right ?

That's one of the weird things Feedback looks ok