RECOVERING GOODS NOT RETURNED AND NOT PAID FOR IN VICTORIA

[debanne1959]

Sold USED 40+ yo furniture for PICK in original condition (i.e. no modifications) - with many photos of wear and tear - on arrival purchaser invoked 'not as described' and said there was more damage than shown in photos - I also contact ebay to report the buyers bullying tactics - after a long process ebay (as everyone told me would happen) awarded in the buyers favour and told me to return the $3,000 and collect the goods (1,700kms away).  I contact the buyer and he says ebay says he can keep all the goods because he paid $1,000 in freight (the lounge was, in his email valued at $2,000 and the table & 6 chairs at $1,000) - effectively giving the goods for free.  Surely this is theft as he hasn't actually paid for the goods and will not return them (he is using the lounge an told us intends to sell then table).  I advised ebay that the buyer will not return the goods - the email response from them is unreadable - and they have since withdrawn the money from my bank account.  Does anyone know of  a law firm out there with experience dealing with ebay that can help with this?  Also has A Current Affair or similar ever done a report on how vulnerable sellers are in this market?

[papermoon.lady]

She already has (message 26). I hope they do something. I agree with Jelly that it is one of the worst scams ever reported on the board...

[papermoon.lady]

Incidentally... I don't want to raise new concerns, but photos can be modified/photoshopped, and if the buyer is a scammer it is possible he modified the photos to create new faults... I am not saying this is the case, but as he is a scammer you never know. The thought just entered my mind...

[jellybirddesigns]

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@debanne1959 wrote:

He did - and paid cash - I contacted the owner/courier and asked for copy of receipt and he said 'Stephen had paid cash for a discount'

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Then you can bring the courier company into this by reporting them to the ATO for avoiding their GST obligations by taking a cash payment and not providing paperwork upon request.

Happy to stand corrected, but the goods still belonged to you whilst they were in transit, up until the point of delivery, so the delivery company would have certain minimum obligations.

Did they not give you anything when they came to your house to pick up the items?

[debanne1959]

No - actually the money was deposited in my account from ebay on the 2/11 and shipment took place on the 11/11 - I thought about the ATO  can't really do that  sober - might come out at the bottom of a dry rose bottle!

Little update - had to have a break for a few days  - massive headaches & high blood pressure - after ages trying to get onto someone if Australia - I did (call back) 35 minute conversation with Mr X about them closing the Case because I did send return address label by the date they specified - no interest in the fact that the guy wasn't going to send anything back and wanted his freight costs in the refund.  Anyhoo Mr X  was just spouting the company policy  - I told him I'm aware of eEbays policy to side with purchase and that I didn't believe they realistically evaluated the case and that I'm not going to let this go - Aus Cyber Crime have passed onto Qld Police for review  - I asked for his supervisor, who was on a call and was calling me back straight away - that was an hour ago, Mr X did tell me the supervisor will say they same thing as him - gotta try.

[papermoon.lady]

Yahoo News also reports stories and scams, so if A Current Affair does not respond you could try contacting Yahoo News.

[debanne1959]

Update spoke to the highest level of escalation - same drivel - if you had accepted the return, they would be able to help me (pigs might fly) - I told him the buyer wasn't going to allow a pickup and I didn't need a label - I asked for the email address for the legal department he said they don't have one.  I asked for the email address of the Australian VP he said he was the highest point of contact.  I ask for the detailed report on why they found the seller was correct, he referred me to the general - you lost - 'ebay do not see the item when it leaves your hands and enters into you buyer's hands.  We cannot dispute your buyer's claims and based on the information they have provided' - so then instructing me to send shipping label (Royal Mail for UK) lot of good that would do for Queensland shipment.  I'm going to Yahoo News a go - thankyou - I can still see ebay chasing me for the money.

[jellybirddesigns]

So sorry to hear this - please make sure you have written records of all correspondence.

Anything on the phone won't cut it.

Also, has this buyer got anything for sale themselves?

If so, please give us an item number to look at (you can't name names on the boards).

Or, you can give us the postcode of the delivery, so we can see if anything has been listed for sale that fits what you sold.

Would be nice if someone had relatives near the buyer who could go over and pick up the OP's stuff.

[papermoon.lady]

If you would  like to have something in writing, apart from the initial correspondence when they decided in the buyer's favour, contact them via live chat. They won't change their decision, but they will send a transcript of the conversation to your email address, so you have some proof of what they said.

If the buyer has put your furniture up for sale, even if they took new photos, you might be able to find their listings by doing a reverse image search, as similar photos to the images you upload (your own photos) come up too in the results.

[papermoon.lady]

A debt collector could also be an option, although of course it will cost you something. Someone who poted here a few months ago was contacted by an international debt collector hired by a seller in Germany because the person who posted here had received something after being refunded by eBay  for INR and didn't want to pay full price for it after it arrived (they only wanted to pay 50%).

[springyzone]

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@twyngwyn wrote:

apparently even a PICKUP means I'm liable for his transport costs

Who told you that?

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I'd like to know that too.

My experience with ebay on this was a few years back, but we had a buyer of a pick up only item who paid via paypal and then refused to pick up. Claimed that because he paid via paypal that meant we we were liable for delivery costs.

My sister rang ebay and the rep there looked at the ad and agreed with us that nope, we were NOT liable for delivery, that pick up meant pick up.

The buyer was refunded the money, but there is no way even ebay expects sellers to cover delivery costs of pick up only items.