Feb 19, 2018 05:20 PM
1925 Views
I ordered a Lenovo T410 Core i5 Laptop, 8 GB Ram, 2TB Harddisk, Mint Condition with Charger on eBay on Nov 27, 2017. I received the consignment on schedule. What I was shocked to find was that the box contained a damaged piece. Pictures attached of the screen. On seeing this I had decided that I don’t want any of this and simply want a refund without any exchange whatsoever since it was the reliable ebay that I had entrusted with for the transaction.
What ensued after this has been a nightmare for me. The up and down between ebay the seller rentopc and me has been giving me endless sleepless nights and frustration. And the issue is still not resolved, mind you as ebay has chosen to just shut the case saying it is resolved.
Just to walk you through the nightmare as it unfolded.
Dec 1st week
I promptly went on the ebay account and raised a claim. I kept receiving mails that the claim is under process.
It assured me that ebay guarantee covers a buyer from all such frauds. Their initial response was to connect me with the buyer.
And here the buyer steps in with a lady texting me late into the evening at times asking me about the problem. While I was not comfortable with this, I had to respond since it was in my interest. I was left shocked when one fine day the lady started claiming that there is no refund policy and will only replace it. I was shocked with this and sent another mail to ebay stating this has happened, following which I get a reassuring mail from ebay and then from the seller reassuring me. I also then got an email from the seller stating he will pick up and refund the money promptly, no questions asked since they had sent a damaged product.
Dec week 2
Then began the up and down over the next couple of weeks.
Ebay now steps in and gets on a call asking me for a copy of the invoice. In reality the seller rentopc did not provide a formal invoice but only a shipment proof attached to the consignment.(which I promptly shared as proof to ebay)
Ebay then began claiming that they need a copy of the actual invoice to make the refund. How can ebay even ask me for the invoice? Isn’t it their seller on their platform and shouldn’t they be asking them?.
Then begins the delay tactics. The seller then calls me reassuring me that he will share the invoice with me and ebay. But no response after that whatsoever.
What is most frustrating is that there are different people calling you each time from both organisations. Leaving you frustrated and empty.
Dec week 3
Then ebay contacts me asking me a for a letter giving them authorisation to manage the return. Which I do promptly.
Then I do not here from them for a many days. Then I get a call just before Christmas I guess on 23rd stating I have to ship it back to the seller and if I do not do it by the 26th the case will be closed in favour of the seller rentopc. Can you imagine this crap?
Dec week 4 – when they finally nail me!
Now I figured they were all hand in glove and for them this was only a game to screw customers. On the call, I categorically refused to ship it back for 2 reasons citing the following 1, that I do not have the resources to do it and that it was their duty to pick it up since they delivered it and 2 since I do not trust that they will even acknowledge it once I ship it back to them going by the events since my purchase. But the person on the other end was adamant, borderline rude and dismissive to all my requests.
The biggest clincher was their explanation that they could not pick it up since it was outside their normal delivery and pick up area and surprise my address is on MG road Bangalore, bang in the heart of the city.
I then get a mail and message yesterday(Dec 26th) stating that the claim has been closed. And since then I have had different people mailing me each time I write to them. And what takes the cake is that they always start a new mail trail careful not to reply on the repeated and previous mail trails that can reflect and track history. Their templated response everytime is that the claim is closed and that I should contact the seller(attached below), whose number and name they provided. And when I connected with the person, he scoffed at it saying this is strange and unlikely.
Now what am I to do as a buyer? I have already spent several hours of up and down on this, sometimes with insensitive and juvenile individuals on the other end of the line who were reading scripts without any intention to resolve the issue or to help me as a customer who just shelled out 18K blindly on ebay.
I am writing this article on Dec 27th a day after the purported claim closure mail by ebay and I can now see that I cannot even raise a request or contact anyone on the ebay website.
This is totally unbecoming of a global brand and this step motherly treatment towards customers in India is unacceptable!
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#ebay, #ebayindia, #ebayscam, #consumerfraud, #hindustantimes, #deccanherald, #timesofindia, #cosumerforum
