Restricted Account and eBay Customer non-Care?

[lbb_trading_company]

I thought I might summarise my recent eBay Customer Service Experience:

[I’m a seller over 10 years, 250+ 100% positive feedback].

Wed 7/2

eBay [email]: You’re account has been restricted [unknown reason] please upload your:

1. Driver’s License
2. Credit Card Statement
3. Supplier details for FC Watch you’re currently selling
4. Supplier details Audio Cables you’re currently selling

Me: Ok.  [Upload all documents requested]

Fri 9/2 5:08AM

eBay [email]:  Thank you for uploading the documents.  However you uploaded the wrong documents.  Please upload:

1. Supplier details for the CELL PHONES you sold in the past through eBay

Me:  [**bleep**? You asked for supplier details for the watch and audio cable before?] Ok …[Upload all documents requested]

Friday 9/2 12:34PM

eBay [Telephone call from eBay]:  You uploaded the wrong documents.  We need you to upload the documents for:

1. FC Watch you were selling
2. Rolex Watch you sold previously
3. Glycine Watch you sold previously
4. SNES Mini you sold previously

Me: [Surprised eBay called me directly].  Why are you asking me to upload supplier docs for a whole other set of different items I sold previously?  And I already uploaded the FC Watch invoices?

eBay [Kelly @eBay USA]: You sold the items at discount from retail price.  Selling at a discount is suspicious. [She obviously doesn’t know where she’s working] 

The invoice for the FC Watch was from a store in HK.  That’s part of China.  And “everyone knows China always sell fake things” [that’s literally what she said.  Obviously HK doesn’t sell real Swiss watches also]. 

The SNES you sold has multi-coloured buttons.  It should have grey buttons.  So it’s gotta be a fake from China also. [**bleep**? So the invoice I provided is from EB Games in AUSTRALIA is also fake?  Because in the US they don’t use colour buttons?  **bleep**?].

Me: I uploaded my invoices and authenticity certificate, the watch was bought at an authorised dealer, and SNES in Europe/Japan/Australia has multi-colour buttons, only in US it has grey buttons. AND I BOUGHT THE SNES IN AUSTRALIA.

eBay [USA Kelly]: We still need the invoices.

Me: Ok [Upload all documents requested.  Again]

Friday 9/2 12:58PM

eBay [email]: Thank you for uploading the documents.  However you uploaded the wrong documents.  Please upload documents for:

1. Rolex Watch you sold previously
2. Glycine Watch you sold previously
3. SNES Mini you sold previously

Me:  [I ALREADY UPLOADED THOSE DOCUMENTS]!!! [Call eBay Customer non-Care]

eBay [Telephone @Philipines]: Sorry, it’s a different department handling your case.  They can’t be contacted.  Just upload the documents again.

Me:  Ok. [Upload all documents requested.  Again]

Friday 10/2 1:01AM

eBay [email]: Thank you for uploading the documents.  However you uploaded the wrong documents.  Please upload documents for:

1. Rolex Watch you sold previously
2. Glycine Watch you sold previously
3. SNES Mini you sold previously

Me: [**bleep**?!?!? I ALREADY UPLOADED AND EMAILED ALL THESE DOCUMENTS THREE TIMES.] [Upload all documents requested.  Again.  Email replied with documents (invoice, authenticity/registered guarantee card with Rolex).  Again].

Me:  [Call eBay Customer Care]  What’s wrong the documents I’ve uploaded?  Why you keep on asking me to upload different documents every time? and now I’ve literally uploaded every document for every item I’ve sold on eBay in the last 5 years you ask for the SAME documents I’ve already uploaded previously?

eBay [Telephone @Phillipines]: Yeah, I don’t know why also.  It seems you uploaded too many documents [which eBAY ASKED ME TO!] The receipt, warranty card and authenticity certificate you’ve uploaded are more than enough.  I’ll get my manager look into it.  Just wait another three days see what they say.  If they send you any more emails asking for further documents ignore it.

Friday 10/2 2:55PM

eBay [email]: Thank you for uploading the documents.  However you uploaded the wrong documents.  Please upload Supplier documents for:

1. Rolex Watch you sold previously

Me: …

I’m actually starting to feel I’m part of an elaborate internet scam.  

Why do they keep asking me for invoice and supplier details, ID details, etc. for continuously different items, every other couple of days?  

Is this really how eBay customer support is?  Are they even bothering to check the documents I've uploaded?  Is eBay staffers just “cut and paste” pointless document requests to their long-time sellers?

They haven't even told me why my account was restricted and which items my restriction applied to?  I've literally provided invoice/purchase/authenticity/supplier documentation for EVERY SINGLE item I've sold on eBay for the past 5 years (which eBay asked me to provide documentation for) ... I have 100% positive feedback over 8 years (250+ feedback) ... and I still don't know which items I'm being restricted for or why?

Anyone have any suggestions dealing with the eBay Customer Service merry go round?  The Customer Care in USA don't seem to care or be bothered to look into anything, the ones in Phillipines are friendly and professional, but don't seem to be able to do much (have to refer to US head office, who don't care, don't bother).  Haven't had any contact with eBat Customer Care Australia, even though I called the Sydney number, and wrote to Customer Care Australia?

[lm-entertainment]

i must admit that i've never spoken to ebay Customer Care on the phone - but is there a reason why you're dealing with the US and not Australia? after all, it seems like all your products are australian (ie purchased here) and that your account is australian? 

i've always made a point of speaking with people via email or via online chat and making sure i keep a copy of the email or chat transcript. 

have you tried requesting a callback via ebay Australia and seeing how that goes? a lot of users on the boards here seem to be of the opinion that you get a higher level of service via using the call back feature as opposed to calling them yourself. 

you definitely shouldn't have to go through uploading these documents time and time again. it does sound incredibly dodgey. that being said, a lot of the time you do get copied-and-pasted responses from reps or they don't know what they're talking about because they're just picking up part of the story (ie probably seeing that something on their end says you need to upload x documents and haven't looked at the full history). 

i'm by no means an expert at all on these types of issues - but i'm sure someone here will have the best advice for you about what action to take from here. what you're currently doing though obviously isn't working. 

i really hope you can get the problem resolved as i can only imagine how frustrating it is for you. 

** edit - i did see that you said you have tried writing to ebay australia and calling them - but something seems to be wrong, because i highly doubt you should be speaking with people based in the US on the phone regarding this issue (?)

[enigmabear]

Have you used the 'call me' option or asked to speak to a supervisor so far?

[clarry100]

That's a very bizarre sequence of events.

The only suggestion I can make as to why your account might have been limited is that ebay have received a complaint under the VERO program from one of the rights owners of the barnd name products you are selling.

Some brands require specific permission to sell their products on ebay.

Hence why they would be asking for valid sources of supply. But why they would ask over & over beats me.

[porcelain_dolls_by_me]

Are you 100% certain it is in fact EBay you are corresponding with?

That aside there is absolutely no way I would provide personal data such as a copy of my drivers license and credit card statement.

Great documents to use in an identity theft scenario.

[digital*ghost]

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@lbb_trading_companywrote:

The invoice for the FC Watch was from a store in HK.  That’s part of China.  And “everyone knows China always sell fake things” [that’s literally what she said.  Obviously HK doesn’t sell real Swiss watches also]. 

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What the actual.... ? I don't know whether to laugh or cry at an eBay employee making that kind of statement, given the problems on eBay with such issues, that they don't seem to do anything about. (On a slightly different note - eBay US sanctioning an Aus seller and making that statement also just confirms their reasons for Aus or even US eBay not sanctioning Chinese sellers who are in clear violation of policies is total BS). 

The whole thing would be incredibly frustrating (it was frustrating just to read), but it wouldn't surprise me for ebay to effectively stick someone in a Groundhog Day-like time loop. (Obviously account restrictions - if genuine - would be reflected in your account, and having called eBay directly and them confirming the issue, if not resolving it, would suggest they know what's going on. 

I guess the only thing I can suggest from here is contacting eBay AU through their Facebook page (post on their wall, but keep it factual), you will at least get a response from an Australian team member. 

[collect247]

100% certain it is identity theft.

I'd be changing/cancelling everything.

[digital*ghost]

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@collect247wrote:

100% certain it is identity theft.

I'd be changing/cancelling everything.

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Except why keep asking for documents once they've already received the pertinent one, receipts for SNES' or having more than one digital copy of a document is of no benefit to a scammer, plus the OP has called eBay themselves (presumably getting the number on site, not from the email?) and had the issue confirmed. 

In any case, if their account is restricted, that would be apparent immediately, eg they may be able to buy, but not list anything. 

[enigmabear]

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@digital*ghost

Except why keep asking for documents once they've already received the pertinent one, receipts for SNES' or having more than one digital copy of a document is of no benefit to a scammer, plus the OP has called eBay themselves (presumably getting the number on site, not from the email?) and had the issue confirmed. 

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In the case of being a scammer, just to be an annoying **bleep**,I'd imagine 

But that is what I wondered , did all contact info come from the info/links given in the email, or did the phone number come from the ebay site proper?

[imastawka]

Amongst other things, the OP sold a watdch for $18,000.

Maybe they think it's a hi-jacked account?

The watch was sold to a noob as well, hope it's a genuine sale.

OP being a 'part-time' seller will have those monies on a 21 day hold.