Hi all
Last week I won an item (a camera lens) at £560 in an auction on eBay. I paid for it immediately using my PayPal Credit. The seller doesn't have any ratings in fact he registered with eBay two days before he list the item. After I paid for the item I emailed the seller and asked him to let me know when it was posted, he didn't reply, a day later I emailed again but no response, I sent the third email saying that he should reply to my email or I would ask for a refund. Then suddenly out of blue last Thursday (without replying to any of my emails) he adds a tracking number to the item, the tracking number was for a RoyalMail signed for service, which says the item was delivered the day before and signed for. The tracking number says it was delivered at 10:30am and signed for by someone called DEXTERS. I don't know anyone or any organisation with this name, the address was to my work place, we are less than 50 people there and no one knows anyone called with that name.
So I never got the item.
I was waiting for it a day after just in case the postman made a mistake, but nothing arrived.
I went to the post office and spoke to the postman himself, he said he knew the area and our building well enough, he said there is no chance that they might have delivered it, because they arrive at our street around 11:30am-12pm every day. This shows that the item might have been posted to a different address.
I spoke to eBay they said we can open an Item not arrived case for you, they opened the case, but eBay closed my case after two days saying that the seller provided a valid tracking ID. So I contacted Royal Mail and ask them to verify the tracking ID and tell me if it was actually sent to my address, surprisingly they had track of it and they told me that the item was sent to a different address and not my address.
So I asked them to send me an official letter confirming this. I got the letter, so a solid evidence that I never received the item and the seller never sent the item to me.
I have reported this to the Police and got a CRN for it, which PayPal is aware of it, (if they actually read my emails, so far they have ignored everything)
Right after eBay closed my case I opened a PayPal one as I was told that PayPal would actually check the tracking IDs with Royal Mail, but they closed my case straight away and told me the same thing that the seller provided a valid tracking ID.
Now my problem is that PayPal and eBay are ignoring all my messages and the evidence that I have. I don't think this is right I don't deserve to lose my money like this, how can they claim that they protect buyers?
Some people on eBay community saying that this is a common scam for camera equipment and some scammers sell stuff on eBay and never send them, they just add a false tracking ID to the item to trick eBay, obviously this is a loophole which I'm sure eBay is aware of.
I do appreciate that they might be receiving so many of these claims but they need to see who actually has official evidence.
It's not fair.
This has been going on for two weeks now and has affected my mental health, I work hard for my money and I can't let a criminal steal it like this.
I don't know how I can get PayPals attention so that they would at least give Royal Mail a phone call and verify this for themselves (if they can't be asked to check my valid evidence).
Thanks
