Advice Needed about Dealing with Grays Online eBay

lazydaisy on 05/02/2019 - 12:56

Just after some advice please, to avoid being really scammed.

I purchased a 'Manufactured Refurbished' Lenovo computer from Grays Online Ebay store.
It didnt work.
Contacted seller, no response, contacted Ebay then seller responds.
I get a phone call early this morning, lady (with a wannabe American accent) says she is calling from Ebay, basically says go to PO return computer and withdraw complaint immediately, otherwise refund cant be completed (because Ebay have put a hold on it). After checking the number that she called from it was from Grays.
This is the first time I have had to return anything on Ebay.
I phoned Ebay and they confirmed they did not phone me this morning.
Any advice on how to protect myself from loosing $$
The box has been taped up several times and can see where other postage labels have been removed, so guessing I am not the first one to return computer because it doesnt work.
Thankyou

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  • [Deactivated] on 05/02/2019 - 12:58
    +3

    with a wannabe American accent

    She was calling from the Philippines. Not sure why they sound like this.

    • altomic on 05/02/2019 - 13:11
      +2

      Philippines has a large/several American Army bases. people tend to learn an "american" version of English - complete with accent.

      • djkelly69 on 05/02/2019 - 13:16

        I think it is more from TV - my Dutch relatives speak english with american accents as well.

        • singlemalt72 on 05/02/2019 - 13:34

          American sounding accents in the Phillipines stem from the military presence post WW2 and the christian missionaries.

          This is not true of the entire population, but particularly the major Islands and cities of Luzon, Cebu, Bicol, Cagayan and Palawan.
          Most telephone centers are in Cebu and Manila, where the accent is even more "Americanised" than the rest of the country.

          The older generations tend to have a more Spanish Accent, or in the south, Malay accent.

          Source - My wife was born in the Philippines, have traveled there extensively.

          • singlemalt72 on 05/02/2019 - 13:36

            @singlemalt72: Funnily enough, when you travel around Asia you find little enclaves of interesting Accents. For instance there are many English language schools in Chaing Mai (Thailand) staffed entirely by Scottish teachers, as a result a lot of kids in certain areas of the city speak English with a strong Scottish brogue

  • cr12330 on 05/02/2019 - 13:15

    Grey Online been good with obtain serial numbers for a stolen laptop, really help with their service and everything with me.

  • altomic on 05/02/2019 - 13:16
    +2

    I bought a refurbished Lenovo computer from Greys Online ebay. the AC adapter had a broken prong. sent an email with a photo of the broken adapter. they sent a replacement with in a few days.

  • Ryanek on 05/02/2019 - 13:30

    It is not a wannabe American accent, the Gray's call centres are located in the Philippines. All the text is spelt in American English so American pronunciation and grammar is taught that way.

    There's also a reason why a lot of call centres are located there… it's cheap and Philippines has the second highest English proficiency in Asia.

  • Randxyz123 on 05/02/2019 - 13:49

    The box has been taped up several times and can see where other postage labels have been removed, so guessing I am not the first one to return computer because it doesnt work.

    Or like many companies they use boxes again??

    Ask eBay if you should be paying or if grays are meant to send a prepaid label?

    Then send it back. Maybe take a photo of the laptop packed properly.

  • ibuy on 05/02/2019 - 14:38
    +1

    EBay will never ask you to withdraw the complaint.

    Likely from a Grays agent.

    The normal process is open a request, seller responds, you agree or disagree with seller and close it when you are satisfied.

    If you close the case you cannot reopen the case.

    If you disagree with the seller then you send the case to eBay to decide. EBay decides outcome and they close the case.

    Your best and strongest claim will be item is not as described. In this case it will be the item is not working and was sold as a working computer.

    You should take photos as soon as the box arrives unopened. So that will be proof for the delivery condition.

    If the fault is with the seller (supplying goods that are not working) they are liable to provide you with a return postage coupon/label unless you agree to pay postage and they reimburse you. You should repack the item exactly as received. If the packaging is severely damaged you should put the item into the damaged packaging and then into another box. Photos of this should be taken so you can assure that the goods are not damaged any more than what you received.

    If you receive another call from Grays or puported eBay person ask for their name and id. Also speak to the supervisor to confirm the process because the process you describe is not the correct way to handle returns/requests. You should then contact eBay independently to verify that person you spoke to is an eBay person or a grays person. If the latter is the case you can report fraudulent activities from Grays staff. Never close a case without discussing it with eBay independent of any calls. It is extremely rare eBay will call you. At most they will send you an email via eBay messaging.

    Assuming you pay by paypal using your credit card you may want to file a chargeback. This is the strongest defence you have against a dodgy seller or a seller who is not doing the right thing. Note, depending on your claims history this can result in Paypal suspending you as it will be paypal that wears the loss if the eBay seller doesn’t come to the party. So do that as a very last resort.

  • Bid Sniper on 05/02/2019 - 15:40

    I had Greys online do the same thing with some crap I bought that was not what they described. They rang just after I put in the dispute, said to withdraw the dispute and I will get my money back faster, told them nope because this was after 2 weeks of ignored emails. Got my refund faster through paypal plus more than I was asking for (forgot % buyers premium).

    My advice, just follow what Ebay says through the dispute page and ignore Greys

  • Cartman2530 on 05/02/2019 - 17:57

    I bought a laptop for my son for school from Greys. The battery was completely dead, and they didn't respond to emails through ebay for a couple of weeks. Like you, I had to get ebay involved before they would respond.

    I had purchased another battery in the meantime to get my son going. They eventually reimbursed me for the battery i had bought but it was a long drawn out process.

    Like others said I would get ebay involved. Make sure you follow the eBay process to send it back for a refund. Your problem sounds a bit more complex than a dead battery.

  • madreece on 05/02/2019 - 18:30

    I had to return a refurb TV over the Christmas break. Had no problems dealing with them and received refund quickly after they received the returned TV.I must have gotten lucky.

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