Disclaimer- there is no concrete proof of retaliation, but there is no concrete proof of Aliens so you be the judge....
Years ago, had an account for 13 years, Ebay erased my account by accident costing me 500 100% positive feedback score. The response then was too bad, start over... We all know its income suicide to lose that many positive feedback transactions.They didn't care. All they would reinstate was 58 international sales... Well international sales dont count towards seller history, so no promoting my new ads to get ahead again etc... So off to Amazon I go... fast forward to this year, a business partner persuades me to give them another chance and start selling on Ebay again...
Right out of the gate worst decision ever. I spend a couple min familiarizing and setting my account back to being updated, and get right to it. I spend all night putting in items, get in the 60-70 range and call it a night. To my dispair, when I wake up the account has been deleted, all the listings gone... I callin to learn there seemed to be fraudulent activity in my account, some **bleep** had the nerve to hack my account and spend all night making listings that look legit...I KNOW!! How dare they... Then after being told three different reasons and three more solutions, ranging from changing the account email to shutting the account down permanently and starting over. With my 500 reviews gone, the only reputation was long term member. Now this was wavering... so I keep going and have to make an application to get the listings back, which come to find out is not true.
A week later...same deal everything gone... guess what was still there...yup listing fees.. After several phone calls the fees are removed, no apology or offer of a free coffee, I was lucky apparently to have the fees reversed. In my anger I spew the beans about Amazon and how I should have stayed... not a big mistake.. HUGE MASSIVE.. THe torture then became daily.... locked out of the account 4, 5 6, 10 times a day...NOT EXAGGERATING ...
On several occasions the account was locked literally 20 seconds after being unlocked. Every agent said it was something different, every third agent said it was fixed and would never happen again, every 4th agent said it was escalated to this dept or that and someone would be in touch within 24 hours to discuss...Of the estimated 12 or so times it was "escalated" not once...NOT ONCE did someone call back.
They blamed everything under the sun, ip address, device not recognized, not using the right browser, not being the right colored eyesand on and on and on.
I changed laptops twice... 2 times, I tried chrome, edge, internet explorer, opera, firefox so on and so forth... REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT to the point of nervous breakdown.
and then CORONA Covid-19 hits...
The account issues slow and stop.... all is glorious! sales roll in positive feed back keeps skyrocketing at 100% life is good....
BOOM BRICK WALL...
Ebay goes back to work, phone lines open wait times are 2 min from 2 hours and I have 3 of my biggest deals ever in the works 800 each one confirmed bid and two emails with intent.... all of the sudden I cannot email one of the users about the item we are discussing... He is emailing me, but when I respond it says user blocked.
I call Ebay they say Its an automated restriction that your only allowed so many times per day, sending emails to a specific user. This is designed to ensure we don't communicate outside Ebay the agent tells me.... SO let me get this straight... you limit the number of times I can send a note to a user so IDON'T try and contact them outside Ebay... Yes they explain... I ask astonished" wouldn't that encourage outside contact?" "I don't know but thats the policy"
I should have seen it coming, but didn't... I should have known that once people started to work again it would come back....
As I left happy this morning, 1600 in pending sales, to walk the dog on this beautiful sunny morning, did I realize what evil was afoot. I returned to my laptop notification bubble flashing an ominous red blink, opening it up revealed the worst.. ACCOUNT HAS HAD SOMEONE USE IT UNAUTHORIZED... so instead of calling me, emailing, texting, pigeon carrier.... they delete everything...OH and I mean full tilt this time setting the date back to 2002.. deleting 92 listings, erasing email address, phone numbers, un-linking accounts the whole nine yards.....ooh ooohh here is the best part They send emails to anyone associated with the account, saying the account is fraudulent, not to do business with it. Bids cancelled, account blocked so on and so forth.
So I follow the instructionsand open a chat with an agentwho wastes more ofmy time telling me she cant help and that she'll have to send and email to the correct department after this is the link send to me. I tell her I'll just call, she proceeds to tell me due to state and federallaw the phone lines are closed, email is the only way... ya ok.... I call and get the biggest load of corn nibblets anyone has ever seen...
Someones been in the account and to protect you weve deleted your account and dont worry your financial information was never in jeopardy....So you deleted my account, sent emails to everyone in my email list saying my account was fake but there was no financial risk.... delete everything but no risk...
So I talk to an agent lose my mind( whats left) the restore everything...ya right they throw all 92 listings in an unsold folder and tell me to relist what I want.. but need to verify my account... they want to send verification to a phone I had in 2002, an email I had in....2002 just a three stooges movie playing out in my office. I almost for a minute thought this was all a prank... no such luck... so now the sale that had gone through for $950 says they want their money back because of the email Ebay sent...
Call number 5--- I want to talk to a manager,which they wont transfer but explain they will contact the user and confirm everything is fine, I still insist to speak to a amanager to which I'm put on hold... The agent comes back on and tells me the manager will take the call. I'm to hang up and the manager will call me in a couple minutes.. I express my disbelief at the manager calling me back and am assured with appall, that they will call...
You all know where this ones going don't you..... yup...no call....
1hr45 min later the user is freaking out trying to cancel his paypal payment, so I call back losing the air between my ears,cause there is no,brain left wanting, no begging for help... At first the agent wont help me, tells me she can request a manager tocallme in a couple minutes... HAHAH no sir... I've heard this riddle before. She tells me she works from home and cannot get a manager. I ask her to at least get a hold of this USER and save this transaction... Nope not possible, system doesn't allow it repeatedly. FINALLY she has a moment of compassion and puts me on hold gets in touch with a manager and they decide it is possible and they will somehow get in touch with the user and convey the message that was supposed to have been conveyed hours ago.
I ask how to complain about the agent who lied and said a manager was going to call or the managers name who didn't call. She couldnt give me either. I asked, can I have the avenue or contact to lodge a complaint....
and here it is....ready?? THERE IS NONE There is no formal complaint process.. She can send a note to her supervisor requesting "coaching" for the other agent...
Wait...What? is this like police policing the police without the police and sending a note to the fire chief to coach the police on proper traffic stops?
How does that shakespeare quote go? " There is something rotten in Denmark."
