eBay seller threatening to throw a brick through your window

udyz on 07/07/2015 - 21:29
Last edited 07/07/2015 - 21:36

Purchased a laptop part from a local ebay seller (with a repair shop) about an hours drive. Paid twice the price for the same item from Hongkong so i can get part quicker.
Received wrong colour and defective.
When contacted through ebay, he accepted to pay partial shipping cost. After few back and forth communication i didnt want to deal with him any more so asked for a refund and full return shipping cost. No reply…

So raised the ebay's request for return claim, seller called (my phone) and asked be to drop it off at shop
or post the part..
I told " I would have picked up from the store in the first place if i could instead of going through ebay"
I told " Auspost charges (parcel) more than what he is willing to reimburse"
He replies "thats the problem between you and Auspost".
I told " if you haven't sent the wrong part I would not have to deal with this in the first place".
He flipped out and replies " I know where you live, expect a brick through your window you f**kwit". Hangsup

After the phone call he messages me on ebay quoting ACCC "http://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/repair-replace-refund"
And this message
"We are withdrawing our previous offer to compensate you the postage cost of $2.10 because you chose to open a dispute . Under law we are not required to offer compensation and we extended that purely out of good will.

We expect return of the item immediately without further delay. Post it back tomorrow or bring it in personally as extended to you or we will deem that you have accepted the product as per the Victorian Goods Act."

So what are you thought on this situation and buying from local ebay sellers who get you name, address and phone number.

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Comments

  • zolinger on 07/07/2015 - 22:08
    +16

    Paypal charge back

  • nocure on 07/07/2015 - 22:25
    +18

    Report him to eBay…notice he made the threats over the phone rather then eBay message …he probably does it to everyone.

    • udyz on 07/07/2015 - 23:49

      True, all the negative feedback have similar response. Rude, abusive, threatening…

      but 99.5% positive over 30k feedback…

  • gstfree on 07/07/2015 - 22:35
    +7

    I would ask the seller to apologies first.
    In case he/she refused, I would treat the threat seriously and will file a case with police - this will be a criminal offence if prosecuted.
    Once you get the file number from police, report it to Ebay/PayPal and ask for a chargeback.

  • Ughhh on 07/07/2015 - 23:11
    +9

    He knows your address and since you have to post it back to his address, means you know his address too…?
    Brick fight?

    If you're really worried, install cameras around. I would also stop talking on the phone and keep all communications via email, that way its not a "he says she says" scenario, cops would probably take the threat more seriously too.

    • udyz on 08/07/2015 - 00:05
      +2

      i got his shop address. ebay said they will look in to the case and asked me to contact police.

      Went to cop shop they took notes on their notepad. Unfortunately i did not have the callers name just had the name of the shop and contact details. they tried to call the number but apparently went to voice mail. so they will email the shop. Meanwhile they suggested me to just ship the part back… why bother to deal with these people for $10 shipping cost unless im worried about my principles.

    • Tasmaniac on 08/07/2015 - 07:47

      Brick fight…..lol.

  • yessum on 07/07/2015 - 23:18
    +3

    I would definitely report the threat, then if he does try something, you'll have a lot to back you up. Don't let him intimidate you.

  • endotherm on 08/07/2015 - 03:45
    +4

    If you paid by PayPal, they will pay for the shipping charges until the end of July; https://www.paypal.com/au/webapps/mpp/home. Might want to include a brick in the parcel with the returned goods :)

    With respect to reimbursement, I'd expect him to give a full refund or report it to eBay and/or PayPal and initiate a dispute.

    • cim85 on 08/07/2015 - 08:12
      +2

      When I'm buying from EBay, should I see a seller refusing payment via PayPal because of fees, I ignore their listing and look on. I have experienced several instances of EBay items not received/not as ordered with the seller becoming suddenly silent. Initiating a PayPal dispute has resulted in a full refund each time. Can't beat that!! Also important to use PayPal outside of EBay for similar reasons.

      • udyz on 08/07/2015 - 10:40
        +1

        The problem here is the seller is a scum, lives in the same city and has your details. Any form of dispute is going to aggravate him.
        And a negative feedback will too….

        • cim85 on 08/07/2015 - 18:12
          +1

          I understand your circumstances but sometimes it's important to stand up and be counted against such thugs - if that is too stressful then you might have to scrap the whole transaction and write it off as lesson learned. PS: something else I do with eBay is PO Box address only. Majority of sellers will deliver to PO Box - any that don't I ignore. I'm never comfortable giving my home address to unknowns.

  • Meho2026 on 08/07/2015 - 03:59
    +1

    You've got a case for being reimbursed for the return postage costs anyway according to ebays return policy http://pages.ebay.com.au/help/buy/contextual/return-policy.h…
    "compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss"

    • Love a bargain on 08/07/2015 - 13:54

      Agree. I know for a fact that eBay's policy is that if something is faulty/ not as described, the seller is responsible for return shipping. Unfortunately, a lot of sellers don't understand that and would claim return shipping is the buyer's responsibility in all circumstances. In which case an eBay dispute is the only way to sort that out.

  • Ash-Say on 08/07/2015 - 05:22
    +1

    Don't go for Ebay dispute. Open a Paypal dispute and return the item via method that provides tracking. As soon as the item is delivered to the seller, Paypal will provide you the full refund.

    As mentioned above, Paypal is also running promotion until 31 July and you will get full refund on returned shipment cost.

    https://www.paypal.com/au/webapps/mpp/home

    • twinbag on 08/07/2015 - 20:46
      +2

      I thought the ebay dispute made the seller pay for return postage if the item was not as described. Buyer has to pay return postage if they go through paypal, unless registered for the promotion you mention, but I thought you needed to be registered to that promotion before the purchase.

  • [Deactivated] on 08/07/2015 - 07:34
    +3

    For future reference, OP: Don't ever engage with sellers outside of eBay messaging. No phone calls answered or made. No personal emails exchanged. You require evidence viewable by customer service - from there, and there alone - in the event of any dispute.

    Have you never noticed how often parcels delivered from eBay sellers, and from others (and paid for by PayPal) have your phone number printed on the address label? For that reason alone, have a specific number attached to all of your online accounts, that you then - and then only ever rarely - use for other purpose. Dodgy sellers won't hesitate to onsell any customer contact details they get.

    Aldi, virtually giving away there 365 day account expiry plan SIM cards, of late….
    Still, five bucks isn't much to pay.

    • udyz on 08/07/2015 - 10:45

      Ya its annoying to have the phone number on the address. Have to remove my number from eBay and PayPal and use an aldi number. And what about the address for parcels with signature?

      • cim85 on 08/07/2015 - 18:14

        ……as mentioned further up thread, I use PO Box. Aust Post cards my box for a sig on pickup at post office and stores the item until collection.

  • ProjectZero on 08/07/2015 - 09:23

    Would it be agaisnt OzB policy to name the party from ebay? Would like to know who it is so I don't buy from them if I ever come across them.

  • ozy on 08/07/2015 - 09:38
    +4

    Ron Burgundy;
    Brick, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. You should find yourself a safehouse or a relative close by. Lay low for a while, because you're probably wanted for murder.

    Police is the ONLY way to deal with threats.
    My sister and unkle are both in the police force and they totally agree. They can also get his full details from ebay/paypal.

  • Love a bargain on 08/07/2015 - 13:50
    +1

    Another suggestion for the future. Always have things posted to an AusPost parcel collect facility/ parcel locker (if they are sent via AusPost of course). That way, the seller won't have your address.

    For undersized items (i.e. those that would have been able to get into your letter box), they might redirect it to your home address (which is okay, just means it'll get there a few days late) but more often than not they'll just process them as parcels and let you collect from the PO/locker.

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