Jamie McClelland from NSW got in touch with Investigator about an issue with eBay Australia that has been unresolved since 2006. It relates to a mix-up with his account fees. "I still continue to receive telephone calls from them regarding this issue," says Jamie. "I have sent emails to eBay attempting to resolve my problem, but to date have failed to receive a response."

Jamie sold items on eBay and was then issued with a fee for listing the items. The fee was paid using a once-off direct debit authority from his bank account. However, the account fees were debited twice from his account. "When I tried to dispute the overpayment, eBay suspended my account. I found that you could not contact anyone at eBay by telephone and resorted to contact by email. This met with numerous ‘automated' replies stating that I owed them money and my account would not be reinstated until those monies were paid."

Jamie eventually received a reply that requested documentation to support his claim that he had paid the account fees twice. He sent bank account statements and emails. He supplied a copy of his Westpac statement for his accounts from 31 May 2006 - 30 June 2006, and 30 June 2006 - 31 July 2006 and a copy of a letter from Westpac regarding the direct debit claim and included a copy of his eBay International invoice.

In addition, he included a complete copy of the original email that he sent to eBay customer support that explained his problems regarding returned direct debits from his bank account and the subsequent suspension of his eBay account.

Jamie outlined the discrepancy between his bank account that showed one refund and his eBay account that showed two refunds after the original double payment. "On the statement dated 31 May 2006 - 30 June 2006 there are two direct debits from eBay International on 26 June 2006. Both of these direct debits are indicated by "Payment by authority to eBay International" and are for the amount of $84.17." The two debits had separate reference numbers.

"Furthermore, on the bank statement dated 30 June 2006 - 31 July 2006, there is one direct debit reversal from eBay International on 14 July 2006. This direct debit reversal is indicated by "Deposit DDR Claims PWD704" and is for $84.17."

He received a reply from eBay Australia to the effect that his problem had been escalated and sent to the San Jose office for resolution and he would be contacted within 28 days. However, he wasn't contacted.

Despite this, on 14 July 2006 eBay suspended his account due to ‘Non-payment of eBay fees due to recent Direct Debit Reject incident(s)'. Upon examination of his eBay statement, Jamie found that there were two direct debit reversals of $84.17 on his account.

The problem is that his bank account shows that the payment was paid twice and subsequently one payment was refunded. However, Jamie's eBay account shows that both payments were refunded so that the account payment is overdue and it has been suspended as a result of this. "I still have not received any response from eBay other than telephone calls requesting payment of the outstanding amount that I dispute I owe."

"I had used eBay extensively prior to this incident and had never had an issue with them. My previous Feedback Rating with eBay was 100%. I have obviously been a good customer of theirs and have been very disappointed with their treatment of me. My frustration is exacerbated by the inability to contact anyone personally. My only contact to date has been via email or fax."

Investigator got in touch with an eBay Australia representative who was quick to get onto the problem. She told Investigator that eBay Australia won't comment publicly on a particular case, but the customer support team is looking into the problem and will try to find a resolution. We hope to hear back from Jamie about his progress.

Here to Help

We welcome consumer complainst and questions, and we'll do our best to help find a solution for all parties involved. If you're the victim of poor sales, dodgy service or any other kind of dispute, we need to hear about it. if you'd like to help, email us here at investigator@pcauthority.com.au

Please note that the companies or individuals mentioned here are menat to illustrate the typical problems that an ordianary customer could face. If a company is mentioned here, it should not be taken as an indication that incidents described are typical of that particular company.

Please don't use the PC Authority or The Investigator names as leverage to get more than you are entitled to.