EBay ripoff deceiving consumers hiding faults in system San Jose Internet
Saw a rv on ebay. emailed seller to ask some questions about rv and he offered a very good price and I told hime I would buy it. He said he would contact ebay and we would do the deal thur squaretrade. Everything looked and sounded okay. SquareTrade told us to send $3000.00 for deposit by Western Union, we did that.
Waited to here from seller, did not return emails at all. Then contacted SquareTrade & Ebay found out the members id was stolen and there was no trace of transaction on Square Trade. So I lost my money.
The real problem is that Ebay knew this was happening, did not warn consumers and has been trying to cover it up. It is still going on, Ebay ignores emails and you can't talk to a live person.
They are deceiving consumers by telling them their site is secure, knowing it is not.
WARNING!!!! Nothing is safe concerning Ebay!!! Don't use them!!
Martha
Jackson, Tennessee
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Tom
Borrego Springs,California,
U.S.A.
Yes One Should Follow eBay's Contact Rules
#5Consumer Comment
Fri, October 15, 2004
I apologize, Larry, if you thought I thought you were defending eBay. From my point of view you were stating existentially what can happen when one does not follow the eBay contact rules. I'm mad at eBay and piled on.
As well, since you mentioned that you had contacted eBay about scams several times, of course I did not think you were defending eBay, but if anything, you were being rather critical of it, which I support.
In stamps we have had a hard time with eBay. You can go to www.scads.org and read up on it. We even managed to have MSNBC go after eBay about stamp scams and eBay did change some policies.
Alas, by then it was too late for eBay to save its rep in stamps, and at present stamp shows seem once again to be where the main activity is at in stamps, not eBay.
Larry
Tucson,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Violation of eBay policy
#5Consumer Comment
Thu, October 14, 2004
Tom,
I don't know what thought process led you to believe that I was defending eBay.
The world is full of people ready to pick your pockets. The nature of eBay is strangers dealing with strangers. Both parties need to exercise some degree of caution to prevent being ripped off.
Martha said she emailed seller to ask some questions. On the very page that eBay provides to contact the seller is the following warning:
eBay rules prohibit you from offering to buy this item through email without winning it on eBay. If you receive a response inviting you to transact 'off eBay', you should decline -- these transactions violate eBay policy and may be unsafe
Martha received a reply from the seller offering her the item off eBay.
How much more was eBay supposed to do? They told her not to do precisely what she did. Martha did not use good judgment in violating eBay's terms of service and in sending money to a stranger by Western Union.
Tom
Borrego Springs,California,
U.S.A.
No Reason Here To Support Thieving Corporations
#5Consumer Suggestion
Wed, October 13, 2004
Larry proves Martha's point perfectly when he says: "I have brought several scams to their attention and they have taken no action against the sellers."
If a company claims it will protect its customers, then it should do so or be faced with fraud charges for misrepresenting the nature of its services.
Many people are totally lost nowadays in laying all blame on victims after such victims have been lied to by companies while the victims acted in good faith and believed what they were told by the company. It is not OK to lie to people in business and never has been, but that is exactly what eBay does.
I have in essence fired eBay by posting no further lots because it withdrew money from my bank account as follows, even though I had elected the Tenth of each month as the monthly date:
March 22
May 4
June 16
June 29
Sept. 8
Oct. 4
Note some gaps of 6 weeks and others of only two weeks. Nothing ever on the Tenth. This opprobrious corporate behaviour made paying the rest of my bills very difficult over that span of months, and still is.
After all this probing around with ACH withdrawal dates, eBay finally managed to rupture my bank balance on Oct. 4 by $1.76 and cause $40 in NSF fees. That was clearly eBay's goal.
Worst part was, my bank told me this was legal while it pocketed its $25 share of the loot.
eBay, PayPal and my bank are in the process of being fired en masse.
But with eBay, it takes 180 days to do that ... yes that's right folks: 180 days ....
One wonders what Larry would say to familial survivors were an angry customer like Martha to physically destroy the eBay company somehow and render it extinct. Would you blame Martha or eBay for that, Larry?
In my view, in that case I would just say "One bad turn deserves another.", as per Aesop.
Larry
Tucson,Arizona,
U.S.A.
You shoulda seen it comin'
#5Consumer Suggestion
Wed, October 13, 2004
You had two clues that this was a scam.
First, the seller did not wait for the auction to end before agreeing to sell you the RV. eBay does not normally condone side deals once an item has been listed.
Second -- and always a big red flag -- was sending the money by Western Union. You have no way of knowing who actually received your money or where to find him. Western Union is the scammers' vehicle of choice. Never send money by Western Union. Fedex a money order overnight; it is almost as fast and you will at least know where the money went.
I have bought and sold on eBay since 1999. There are plenty of scams out there and you cannot count on eBay to protect you. You have to be on your toes whenever you buy on eBay.
Please do not interpret my comments as an endorsement or defense of eBay. I have brought several scams to their attention and they have taken no action against the sellers. eBay routinely accepts listings for real estate with terms that violate state law. I found one such seller who was bidding on his own auctions (a shill bidder), eBay admitted that I was correct, and then eBay allowed the guy to continue offering properties.