Folks, If this is an inappropriate place for this thread, please let me know. I am seeking advice so try to be open minded here. Here's the scoop: Over the course of a year, I started a small eBay side business selling some local wares and what not. It blossomed well. I ended up having regular monthly seller fees of $500-$800. Several weeks back my seller account was suspended due to some internal issues (nothing negative/offensive I assure you - all OK in the end). Anyway, once eBay suspended the account all auction fees were immediately due. The problem is, several auctions had been won by scammers (most of my auctions are .99c no reserve auctions) where several final bids were $5000+ for $200-$400 items - clearly false bids but they occured in the last moments of the auctions. The problem is, the Final Value Fee for a $5000 item these days is over $150. I had several of these items end with outrageous bids. It wasn't a big deal, as this has occured occasionally in the past and I simply filed FVF refund requests with eBay 7 days later. Unfortunately, as soon as eBay suspended the account all of the items I was waiting to file refund requests for were "deleted" and I was unable to request any of further fee refunds. That meant all those items that were never paid for had huge fees tacked on. This account for a $1900+ bill from eBay. While trying to work things out with eBay (virtually impossible, horrendous customer service), the account ended up in collections with IC Systems. As it stands, they are attempting to collect some $1900+ in fees for items that were never paid for. eBay insists I must pay the balance in full and "maybe" I can work something out after I pay off the debt. That seems pretty ludicrous to me. I have 30 days to respond to the debt collection letter before the debt is assumed valid. Options I see (I'm putting them all out here): 1) Ignore the debt collector and eBay 2) Pay the debt collector and hope to work something out with eBay 3) Pay eBay and hope for some sort of refund even though I can't even access the items 4) Send a dispute letter to the debt collector 5) Send a dispute letter to eBay (?) seeing as all other non-official communications have been virtually ignored so far While I'm fairly certain that the proper step is to send a dispute note to the debt collector - I'm wondering if I should send a copy to eBay or communicate with them in anyway. Additionally, I wanted to find out if there's any other steps I should take. Again, if you have any experience or advice in dealing with this situation please let me know. My credit rating is untarnished and I'd like to keep it that way. I pulled a report today and so no negatives [yet]. Thanks
I would go with none of the above. Unless you like dealing with bigger A-Holes than ebay (and yes i have had a similar problem with ebay) I would send the CA a c&d letter and open a new account with ebay and sell away....or you can send the ca a validation letter and play the game.
Was it for a similarly high amount? Certainly they would pursue it if I just ignored them. I can see them not bothering with $100 but, this is a fair chunk of change. Thanks!
No it wasn't a high amount however they pissed me off. You don't need to ignore them But you do not want to deal with a ca,so send the c&d letter. Write a letter and explain what happened and send it to ebay put the onus back on them. What were you selling i have been looking for something to sell and make a few extra bucks now i am retired. lol
First, you cannot "ignore" the notice from the debt collection agency. Immediately write a "dispute" of the debt, and request a full "Debt Validation" of the amount. Sample letters are posted in the forum homepage. Again, do NOT ignore this...you have a legitimate business claim here, so fight. Second, write a "dispute letter" to ebay, state your business case clearly and simply. Send this dispute letter Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested (CMRRR) to have proof of receipt. Third, write letters of dispute regarding these "scam bids", again send CMRRR. Just becasue they have closed your account (and you cannot enter disputes on-line), this would not stop a "prudent person" from communicating an issue. Be prepared to have to go to court on this one, you will need all the documentation and evidence you can gather *hence, sending documents CMRRR). Lastly, if it were me, I would be on the phone demanding someone higher up the ladder (in an executive position), be sure to ask if that person has the authority and ability to take appropriate actions at that moment. If not, then ask for the person who can.
eBay can be a real PITA to work with. I agree with BizWiz, dispute and document. you have a flip-side to this that you may be ignoring -- take a look at eBay's TOS and see what recourse you have against THEM. The buyers placed fraudulent bids, so what has eBay done about that? Send them a bill for the amounts that they have PREVENTED you from collecting from these bidders as a result of suspending your account. Ignore the fact that they're fraudulent bids if eBay is assuming they're not. If that doesn't change their tune, then nothing will. As it says every time you bid on something: This is a contract and agreement to pay the seller the amount you have bid (or something to that effect). So what has eBay done in connection with these guys' accounts? I'd threaten them with a lawsuit over the entire amounts owed to you from the sellers if they don't immediately address the issue properly. Find some reasonable grounds that you can actually get away with filing in court and just pound away at them.
It is virtually impossible to speak with anyone one the phone at ebay. I've tried everything. It took me days just to find a number, then you get an automated thing, then you are on hold for literally hours. One day I just laid my phone down on the table and went about my business of things I had to do in my house. picked up the phone two hours later and I was still on hold.
I'm not saying it's easy to call and get the appropriate person, but executives always have phones, and sometimes with a little research, you can always get a number. Sometimes you have to "scare" the first persons you speak to, to make them "want" to transfer you to a higher level person. Yes, a bit harsh, but it works!
Hi, first post -- but this is something I could help with, maybe - getting contact info out of the "voice mail" or "email hell" most companies put you through. This has the contact names for the higher echelon people at eBay: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=EBAY ... Maybe you already saw this, also? http://www.auctionguild.com/generic17.html (scroll down -- very long list) I would also consider posting on a website forum for the industry, like auctionbytes, to ask if other posters know of any contact number or person besides the head of the company. Using a handle is always good unless you are absolutely certain you did nothing wrong. (It's typical that someone may try to "thread crap" by announcing, "Yeah, but your feedback is disgusting man." and otherwise change the subject from the fraud committed against you.) You could also see whether AuctionBytes' editor or one of their writers might want to detail your story: they often cover egregious violations of eBay's own TOS (terms of service). Here are some other resources, mostly reference pages that list contacts and rules for eBay, and some outer links: http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=mioka http://www.ebayhelppage.com/ I'm still fairly new to cleaning up my reports, and so I'm sure all the previous advice should still be adhered to as far as what you do with the collection agency. You can just bump it up with eBay themselves by contacting them, also going through and writing a letter to your state attorney general, the BBB for Silicon Valley (where eBay is based), and Federal Trade Commission. They may clear your account and reinstate you, before the CA removes this crud from your report.
Another possible response: Since eBay unilaterally cut off your right to get relief for the phony sales, they unilaterally changed the contract with you, and this cannot be done. I would notify this CA that you (a) dispute the charge and (b) if they want to pursue this matter in Court you are ready and willing to fight it- and that you have meritorious defenses. The major defense is that the plaintiff (them) has a duty to mitigate damages. By deleting the listings and cutting off your ability to dispute the charges they did all in their power to magnify the damages. The fact that you have had auctions in the past with them where bids were sent up into the stratosphere and they allowed you to contest the fees on these auctions where the buyer defaulted and the item was not in fact sold will look very bad for them in Court. You need to fight this CA every inch of the way and convince them that they will not collect from you no matter what they try to do, and that if they place a TL on your CRA file without the DISPUTED notation they will be a defendant in a FCRA suit immediately, with no advance notice.
