To whom it may concern:
My name is Chelsea <Removed> and I have been a seller with eBay over 5 years and I am currently a “power seller” with a 5 star rating. I am writing this letter as a seller and to express my anger and dismay over buyer fraud and deceit on eBay and eBay’s/PayPal’s unwillingness to help me.
This letter is pertaining to eBay order number 27-04785-69012, item number 124138709314 and PayPal case ID PP-D-62801967 for the Red Coleman CT200U Mini Bike purchased by buyer “bicro44” on April 05, 2020, 3:09PM for $450.00 from eBay seller Chelsea <Removed>. The seller picked up the item about a week later and we arranged the pickup through a phone call. The item as you can see below, was listed as local pickup and the buyer paid though PayPal. The product was shown and its use was demonstrated to the buyer. He accepted the item and we helped him load it in his car. The bike was demonstrated to the buyer and the bike was fully functional at the time of sale. The bike was in the condition as described on the post as seen in Appendix A.
Despite the fact that the buyer rated me with 5 stars, after two weeks that the buyer had the item, he contacted me on April 20th (various messages are on eBay) and complained of a “dent on the fender.” He contacted me through the eBay platform as well as my personal cell phone number and started to harass and threaten me. Because I was being threatened with numerous texts and to maintain my image as an 5 star seller, I settled with him on the eBay platform and gave him a $50 partial refund for his concerns. They buyer accepted the partial refund and the case was closed on eBay as you can see in Appendix B.
The buyer then proceeded to file a chargeback with his financial institution. I tried to contact PayPal to provide them the information that the case has been closed on eBay. I sent the email to PayPal that you see in Appendix B, however, there was no response from PayPal to my email stating that they would use this information against the buyer in the chargeback dispute. I then called PayPal to make sure they received the message as there was no confirmation. PayPal referred me to the “message center” they had operating due to Covid-19. Again, I sent information and documents that the case had been closed through “chat.” Again, there was no confirmation that PayPal had received my information or was going to use it against the buyer to dispute the chargeback. I sent my email to payypal as instructed to do so on PayPal’s mail in Appendix C. There was no answer or response from PayPal to the information I provided them. I made every effort to try to get confirmation that they had received my information that the case has been closed on eBay, but there was no response or answer.
On Thursday, June 4, 10:51 AM, I received an email from PayPal stating that PayPal had “lost the dispute” against the buyers financial institution and I was to pay PayPal $400.00 (please see appendix D). PayPal stated that this “chargeback was not covered under seller protection.” I called PayPal twice on June 4th expressing my concern that this was fraud and deceit on the buyer’s part because he now has the money ($450) he paid for the product as well as the Red Coleman CT200U Mini Bike. For privacy reasons, PayPal said they could not provide any information regarding the details of the dispute with the buyer’s financial institution. They told me reaching out to my local authorities was now my only remedy. However, he bought the item in Minnesota, but is from New York.
I have tried to reach out to the buyer through the eBay platform, email, phone, and mail, however, none of his information is “in service.” I called eBay stating that the small amount of information I had on the buyer appeared to be fake information. Per privacy regulations, eBay said they could not give me his updated information and said he was a “good” buyer on the platform. Again, PayPal said my only restitution was to contact the buyer myself or my local authorities to get my money back, however, PayPal and eBay would not provide me the buyer’s real contact information. As stated, I spoke to the buyer several times on the phone as he was calling and asking for directions to pick up the Mini Bike. Now that I am trying to pursue litigation against him and get my money back, his email address does not exist, and his phone is out of service. As seen in Appendix E, I tried to contact the buyer on eBay, however, it shows a red line saying, “something went wrong.” I have tried to resubmit my message to the buyer and refresh the page, but the page will not submit the message to the buyer. eBay is unwilling to help me in this matter so that I can take correct action against the buyer.
The buyer’s account was a fake account set up on eBay for fraud and deceit because there is a loophole in eBay and PayPal’s system. The buyer stole my personal property through your eBay and PayPal platform and you have done nothing to help me as a seller. In my opinion, eBay and PayPal have aided and abetted in this fraudulent transaction. As I stated, I have sold on eBay for over five years, and have paid you plenty in seller account fees. I expect something to be done about this issue or that you remedy the situation so I do not have to pay $400 back for an item that the buyer still holds in their possession and a case that eBay marked as “closed.” I have tried on multiple occasions to reach out to eBay through message and phone about this issue, but I have not been able to make contact due to your call center’s being closed per the CDC guidelines.
As a 5 star seller on eBay for 5 years, I am very saddened and perplexed. If PayPal and eBay are unable to help me to recover the stolen item or the money paid as a seller of many years, you will be forcing me to file this issue with the Attorney General, Federal Consumer Fraud Protection Agency, Better Business Bureau (BBB), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and I will contact media sources, if need be, to let them know of the unfortunate situation and how you, as established companies have handled the matter. I see that there are many other sellers out there that this has happened to, and PayPal and eBay have done nothing but facilitate fraud and deceit. Action will be taken against you as well-established companies.
I expect to hear back soon regarding my situation. Your prompt attention to this matter would be greatly appreciated.
