Help! eBay suspended me after my first purchase – and kept my $438

Ken Sours buys a watch on eBay, but the company suspends his account immediately after the purchase. Then he receives a magazine instead of the watch. Now he can’t get a refund. What should he do?

Question

I recently had a frustrating experience with eBay that left me baffled and out $438. I registered for an account to buy a Tag Heuer watch. After completing the purchase, I received a confirmation email. 

But moments later, eBay suspended my account. eBay charged my credit card but never delivered the watch. Instead, I received a package with a Better Homes & Gardens magazine and the same tracking number as my order. 

When I contacted eBay, a representative said my account was permanently banned and their money-back guarantee no longer applied. I’m angered by the way I was treated as a first-time customer. Why was my account suspended? And why won’t eBay honor its money-back guarantee? Can you help me?

— Ken Sours, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Answer

eBay should have provided a clear explanation for suspending your account and honored its money-back guarantee.

Under eBay’s Money Back Guarantee Policy, buyers are protected if they don’t receive an item or if it’s significantly different from the description, regardless of their account status. The fact that you received a magazine instead of a watch clearly qualifies for a refund. eBay’s decision to deny your claim because of a suspension is inconsistent with its own policies.

It looks like you kept a good paper trail of correspondence between you and eBay. That’s a great start. You might have tried appealing your case to a manager at eBay. I list the names, numbers and email addresses of the eBay executives on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. (Related: eBay’s buyer protection loophole leaves a customer empty-handed.)

In your correspondence, eBay explained that it sometimes flags new accounts for additional verification to prevent fraud. In other words, signing up for a new account on eBay and then buying a $438 luxury watch will trigger its fraud detection algorithm. In your case, after completing a verification, eBay found your account to still be too risky.

“We regret to inform you that you can no longer participate in any buying or selling activities and to communicate with other members on eBay,” it told you in an email.

Still, there was something fishy going on with that eBay seller who sent you a magazine instead of a watch. I’ve come across that a few times and there’s no reason eBay’s “money back” guarantee shouldn’t have worked for you. Fortunately, you took a picture of the magazine along with the package — that was smart.

But there’s one other complication: You also filed a credit card dispute under the Fair Credit Billing Act. A credit card chargeback makes perfect sense, and I might have done the same thing. The problem is, a credit card dispute can freeze things up internally, slowing down any potential resolution. So chances are, eBay was waiting for your dispute to get resolved.

I contacted eBay on your behalf. The company offered you a full refund and reinstated your account without offering an explanation. You are happy with that resolution.

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