Schizophrenic, Flip Flopping, EBAY - changes its mind from day to day

[Modee]

Using my techniques, a client of mine recently got some feedback removed. Or did he? The next day someone else at EBAY restored the comment.

My client had made the request of EBAY from too many different places at once (via messages, direct email to trust and safety, etc.). This shotgun approach of asking for removal multiple times can be good in some instances, but in this case back fired. Check out this amusing story as it unfolded.

[Modee]

Feedback removed

On April _____, 2009, my client complained to EBAY that negative feedback comment left by ___________ for EBAY auction # ____________ was improper. Very simple - buyer had no right to leave feedback because he NEVER PAID for the item, and EBAY's policy is very clear on this:
[I had the client quote the relevant rule on this from EBAY's Terms of Service.]

Of course, on April ______, 2009, EBAY agreed, removed the feedback and my client received this email from __________ at Ebay customer support:

Re: PC_________ Your response from the eBay PowerSeller Team. (KMM321959566V___________)
Dear _________,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your request for Feedback
removal.

After reviewing your request, we did find that the Feedback met the
requirements for removal under our Feedback Removal Policy and have
removed it.

Please be patient as due to system updating, your Feedback score may not reflect this removal
for 24 hours.

To learn more about our Feedback Removal Policy, go to:

Feedback policies


Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
____________

eBay Customer Support

[Modee]

Oops - Negative Feedback restored

BUT WAIT, on April ______, 2009, client received an email from someone at EBAY named _________, who tells him, no - ________ was wrong, the feedback should not have been removed, and restores it! Here is _____'s email:

Re: FR9_____ Your recent email to eBay's Trust and Safety Department (KMM321992726____________)
Dear ___________,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your Feedback concerns.

When the buyer, in the response, states an acceptable reason why they
aren't buying, (we do not investigate whether the comment is true or
accurate) we don't take away their right to leave the feedback comment.

In this case, the buyer states that the ____________ and that they
did not realize because of _______________. Again, we do not
verify whether that is true or accurate.

We have reviewed the formatting, the comments in the Q & A and believe
the buyer did make a responsible response to the dispute.

We have restored the comment and have decided that the comment does not
meet the requirements for removal.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

_________
eBay Customer Support

Now how does this look? First one executive at EBAY says and does one thing, and next another overrides and does another. What does that tell me about EBAY? That no one there has a DUKE of an idea how to run a business. Different people running around, no idea what to do, no idea what the policy is.

[Modee]

Appeal

Next of course, on April _______, 2009, _________ at Ebay steps in and affirms what __________ did and said - that the feedback must stay:

Re: PC__________ Your response from the eBay PowerSeller Team. (KMM32200855___________)
Dear _____________,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to the feedback left by your
trading partner. I recognize your frustration and want to quickly and
responsively address your concerns.

I read your email and took a close look at the feedback you reported.
Unfortunately, this comment doesn't meet our requirements for removal.

We'll be able to reconsider this case if we receive new information or a
court order for the removal of the feedback.

Thanks for your patience while we reviewed this matter.


-- Related Links --

Feedback Abuse:
Feedback policies

Feedback Withdrawal and Removal:
Viewing and changing feedback left for sellers

Sending Suggestions to eBay:
Unsolicited idea submissions policy
It is my pleasure to assist you.

Sincerely,
________

[Modee]

Flip Flop again

In desperation, the client goes ahead and does a feedback revision with the buyer. Fortunately the buyer agrees and changes the negative to a positive, but not before seller has to rescind the unpaid item strike and get stuck with the listing fees. So client writes again to appeal the feedback issue and ask for the final value fees back for the auction, since the buyer never paid.

BUT OF COURSE THIS IS NOT THE FINAL WORD - _______ comes in on April _________, 2009, and says - wait a minute, the first Ebay employee was RIGHT and the feedback SHOULD have been removed:

Re: PC_________ Your response from the eBay PowerSeller Team. (KMM322062_____________)
Dear ___________,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your concern with
__________ [the buyer].

I'm sorry but you will not be eligible to receive a Final Value Fee
credit for this item again. I understand your frustration regarding this
matter and apologize for the inconvenience it caused you.

The feedback removal policy for UPI you stated is correct and we do
enforce it. Actually it looks like this Feedback would have been
removable under the policy you cited before it was revised.

We thank you for your cooperation, and wish you luck with your future
eBay transactions.

Sincerely,
_______

eBay Customer Support


SO this EBAY employee is saying: YES the feedback should have been reversed and WOULD have been if the buyer had not already revised it for you, but NO you will NOT get the final value fees back.

Now, look at something else - this Ebay employee has told my client that he cannot get credit for the auction fees (which for this item, a $3000. item sold, were considerable).

BUT - YET ANOTHER Ebay employee has already refunded the final value fees for him:

Re: BI=RN______ Selling - after I've sold ; Fee credits (KMM12338024_______________)
Dear _____________,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to your concern over the fee that
was reversed for item _____________.

I completely understand your disappointment in this situation and I will
be glad to assist you with the required information.

First, with regard to your concern over the buyer who never paid and
still left a negative feedback, know that for this I have forwarded your
email to our concerned department who will assist you further in this
regard.

Further, I'm happy to let you know that I've posted Final Value Fee
credit for this item ___________. The credit of $________ has been posted
to your account and you should be able to view it on your Account Status
page. In the future please exercise caution while using Unpaid Item
dispute.

You can verify the credit made to your account through the following
steps:

1. Click the "My eBay" button located at the top of most eBay pages. You
may be asked to sign in.
2. Click the "My Account" link on the left.
3. Click the "View account status" link.
4. The next page will display your account status. Credits for the
requested items will appear with a (-) symbol in front of them. If you
want to view a previous invoice, click the "View invoices" link inside
the box, then select the invoice you want to view from the drop-down
menu.

Now, please allow me to explain why the Final Value Fee credited was
charged again on the account.

For this, I have reviewed your account carefully and have seen that you
have selected the FVF reversal option for item ______________ from the
dispute console. Please be advised that the Final Value Fee credit
reversal option is not the link that gives you the Final Value Fee
credit. The Final Value Fee credit reversal link reverses the credit,
not the original fee. This option becomes available after the dispute is
closed, and is there for the seller who ends up unexpectedly selling the
item afterwards. This option lets us know that the transaction was
successful, and that the Final Value Fee was charged accordingly.

Alternatively, if you still have questions about this issue, you may
want to contact Live Help. To connect to a private chat room where you
can ask a representative your questions, please go to:

eBay Customer Service

Thank you for using eBay for your online trading needs.

Sincerely,
___________

eBay Customer Support


Luckily, the refund of the final value fees stuck.

LOL LOL LOL. Can EBAY get it right? Can you say the word FLIP FLOP!

And boy does this make everyone feel better:
First, with regard to your concern over the buyer who never paid and
still left a negative feedback, know that for this I have forwarded your
email to our concerned department who will assist you further in this
regard.

QUACK!

[Modee]

This goes on....

Yet another nonsensical response from EBAY, out of the blue, recently on this same matter. What are they doing to do? They don't even realize that the feedback was already revised? Why are they asking client to open an unpaid item dispute when this was already done nearly two months ago!

re: Re: FR_______ Your recent email to eBay's Trust and Safety Department (KMM322231903___________)
Dear ___________,

Thank you for writing eBay in regard to removing negative Feedback.

Since eBay, as a venue, is not a party to the auction, and since we do
not guarantee either payment or delivery of the item, we do not track
either payment or delivery. So we don't make the right to leave
feedback dependent on whether the party has paid or delivered the
product.

If you can't get your buyer to pay for the item, and contacting them
didn't help, you should open an unpaid item case. You can do that from 7
to 45 days after your listing ends. That starts the refund process and
gives the buyer one last chance to complete the sale.

If the buyer fails to respond to eBay's requests for more information
through the UPI process, provides an inadequate response such as
nonsense words, or insists upon paying with an unapproved payment
method, any negative or neutral Feedback left by the buyer will be
removed.

When buyers or sellers abuse the feedback system to get goods or
services that aren't part of the listing agreement, it's called feedback
extortion. Feedback extortion is strictly prohibited.
For example, buyers aren't allowed to threaten sellers with negative or
neutral feedback or low detailed seller ratings to gain something that
wasn't in the original listing. And sellers can't require buyers to
leave -- or withdraw -- specific feedback or detailed seller ratings.
Here are some examples of feedback extortion:
-- The buyer demands that the seller send an item that hasn't been paid
for, or the buyer will leave negative feedback.
-- The buyer demands money from the seller, or the buyer will leave
negative feedback.
-- The seller refuses to ship an item until the buyer has left positive
feedback.

Here are some examples of situations when leaving negative or neutral
feedback is not extortion:
- When a member doesn't receive an item that's been paid for.
- When a member doesn't receive a refund for an item that's been
returned.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
______

eBay Customer Support