I’m a long-time eBay user and have been buying and selling on the website for 17 years with a 100 per cent rating.
In March, I decided to sell my son’s old laptop so that he could upgrade to a newer one before going to university. I placed the advert and accepted an offer for £350.
The buyer was in Algeria and, after he paid for the laptop, offered to pay for and arrange the courier himself, which I thought was helpful.
He sent me postage labels and import paperwork so I sent it off and thought nothing more of it.
Online ordeal: Our reader sold a laptop on eBay, but the money has now been taken back after the buyer claimed he never received it
But a few weeks later, I got an automated email from eBay. It said the buyer was requesting a refund and had launched a dispute as the parcel had not been delivered. I contacted the buyer, but he had gone quiet.
EBay asked me to upload shipping details so that I could prove I posted the parcel – for example a confirmation email – but of course I did not have this, as I did not arrange the courier.
Realising I had been scammed, I spent several hours on online chats with eBay. I was assured this was not my fault and after three days the dispute would rule in my favour.
But the opposite happened – eBay automatically ruled against me and took £350 from my account to pay back the buyer for the ‘missing’ laptop.
When a further appeal was unsuccessful, I told eBay I would pursue a refund via the small claims court. It then permanently suspended my account with the reason that I was ‘putting the eBay community at risk’. D.B, via email
Helen Crane of This is Money replies: You were trying to make some money for your son’s old laptop, but eBay’s refusal to listen when you told it you’d been scammed sounds like a case of ‘computer says no’.
Paying for something, and then claiming it never arrived to get a refund or replacement, has become a common scam.
It’s usually perpetrated against big retailers – they call it ‘friendly fraud’ – and is costing them millions every year.
The scam works because it can be tricky to conclusively prove a parcel was delivered – unless the driver takes a picture of it being handed over, which some courier firms are now doing.
Your experience shows it can just as easily happen to a humble eBay seller as the Amazon and Asos giants of this world.
When selling things online, it’s important to keep proof of postage as this could help you to get your money back if anything goes wrong.
Sites such as eBay will often compensate a buyer or seller when something goes missing – as long as they have some evidence to prove it was posted – as this helps customers feel safe using their website.
But in your case, the buyer paid for the postage himself and simply sent you the label to stick on the package and post. Posting an item abroad can be a hassle, so you were more than happy for him to sort out the postage and fill out the required forms.
It meant there was no record of you having done anything – and this is why he was able to claim that the laptop never turned up.
Gone missing: The buyer of the laptop told eBay it was never sent, and it took his word for it
You turned to eBay in the hope it would recognise that this buyer was a bad egg. At first it seemed as if it would help you, but then you received a message saying the buyer had ‘won’ the dispute and you would be left out of pocket.
This left the buyer with his money back, and also, we assume, the laptop.
You, meanwhile, were landed with a permanent eBay ban, despite previously having had a spotless record for nearly two decades.
Since then, you’ve told me it has been impossible to get eBay to see sense despite your repeated attempts.
In your desperation, you told me you also got in touch with UPS, the parcel carrier, to see if it would help get the laptop returned to you.
Parcel problems: D.B contacted UPS to see if it could help him get his laptop back – but it asked him to contact the buyer who asked for even MORE money
It said the buyer of the laptop to would need to get in touch to authorise the return of the laptop, so you contacted him again.
Unexpectedly, he did reply – but only to try and con you out of more money. He spun a yarn that he had to drive 700km to his closest UPS office, and paid £180 to release the parcel.
He requested that you pay half of this amount – and even asked you to send him your bank details, confirming your suspicions that you had been scammed.
I contacted eBay to ask it to look again at the decision. I’m glad to say it did and the £350 has now been paid back to you.
An eBay spokesman said: ‘We are sorry to hear about D.B’s experience on eBay.
‘This case should not have been closed against him, and we have refunded him the full amount.’
However, you have said you still appear to be banned from selling on eBay so I have also asked for this to be put right.
I also asked eBay why your long record as a trustworthy seller wasn’t taken into account when making the decision to close your account, but it did not provide an answer.
I am glad this online auction ordeal is over, and hope you can get back to selling successfully soon.
Blades of glory: Fiskars-owned knife maker Kitchen Devils impressed reader Gail when it offered to replace two old knives
Kitchen Devils knife brand is a cut above
Reader Gail carved out the time to email me with a good review of the knife maker, Kitchen Devils.
She said: ‘Kitchen Devils is our preferred knife brand for preparing fruit and vegetables and offers a 15-year guarantee.
‘After many years of use we had to contact Fiskars, which owns the brand, as one knife handle broke and the other developed rust spots on the blade.
‘Customer services asked us to email photographs, and despite not having the receipt for the second knife, promptly agreed to replace both and had them delivered by UPS. It is fantastic when a guarantee really IS a guarantee.
‘I love it when I can say thank you for great service.’
