eBay to cancel customer service e-mail

eBay is quietly canceling a much-used e-mail address, which has some members worried.

Next month, the online auction giant will close its direct e-mail link to SafeHarbor, its department that responds to questions about suspicious activity on the site or specific fraud complaints. Instead, eBay will direct members to an online form, which categorizes their problems and links to related help pages.

The company has not posted a notice about the change on its announcements board; instead it is notifying customers who send e-mail to the [e-mail] address.

"On May 15, 2002, this e-mail address will no longer be available," the company said in an automated reply to a member who e-mailed the SafeHarbor address. "Instead, all SafeHarbor queries should be sent using our online Contact Rules & Safety Web form."

But here's the rub. Some members fear that because of the way the form is set up, eBay is limiting members' ability to report fraud or rules violations.

"It's incredibly disgraceful that they're doing this. They keep shutting down your means of getting in contact with them," said Rosalinda Baldwin, editor of the Auction Guild, a newsletter that covers the online auction industry.

eBay does not list its phone number on its site and recently moved to curtail some of the discussions on its message boards.

eBay representatives did not return calls seeking comment, but a customer service representative, contacted through the company's online chat service, said the new form was meant to help organize customer inquiries.

"We have found that it is very hard to take the e-mails sent in to this address and answer them in a timely fashion. By using the Web form, the e-mails automatically go to the same area, and the Web form also allows us to make sure the e-mails get sent to the appropriate department right away instead of having to rely on a representative to get them there," she said.

eBay is the latest company to try to streamline its customer service operations. Many companies try to categorize the complaints and questions they receive from customers in order to track them and deal with them most efficiently. And, as they have been pressed to post profits, many Web companies such as Amazon.com have cut back on customer service departments or removed toll-free service numbers from their Web pages.

Like Amazon, eBay does not list a customer service number on its Web site, and members have complained about the difficulty of reaching the company.

For some members, those concerns have become more pressing in recent months. eBay has acknowledged that a growing number of member accounts have been hijacked and used to set up fraudulent auctions. Affected customers often want answers immediately and don't want to wait for an e-mail response.

Members only?
One of the problems with the new form is that for most purposes, customers using it will have to be members of the site and log in to eBay. That could mean that members who have been suspended by eBay or who have had their accounts hijacked may not be able to use the form to report problems.

Baldwin notes that a person who had some property stolen from him and placed for auction on eBay would have no way to contact the company about the problem through its form, except by registering on eBay.

"But what if you don't want to become a member? There has to be a way to contact them without you being a registered member," she said.

Around the time the SafeHarbor e-mail address is cancelled, eBay will have a "workaround" in place that will allow non-members as well as members who have problems accessing their account to contact eBay, the company's customer service representative said. She did not know exactly when the workaround would be in place.

But members point out other problems with using the form. Alan, a Los Angeles resident, said he often reports suspicious activity to eBay. Alan, who asked that his last name not be used, noted that the form has a limited number of categories that members can choose from and doesn't allow members to select more than one violation at a time.

"It's wonderfully simple if you're reporting a single violation," he said. "But most of the time you're trying to report multiple infractions at once."

Additionally, by e-mailing SafeHarbor directly, he's able to keep a copy of his messages and therefore has documentation of past fraud cases. The new form won't allow him to have that same documentation, because it doesn't send a copy of a filed complaint back to the sender, he said.

Another restriction
Alan sees the move to cancel the SafeHarbor addresses as being related to eBay's recent move to restrict posts on its discussion boards. One of eBay's new posting rules forbids members from discussing specific fraud incidents or suspicious auctions.

"To me, it is clear that what is happening is a two-pronged attack: Discussion of fraud is being stifled on the boards, while reporting of fraud is being made more difficult," Alan said. "The inevitable result will be greater ignorance among the membership and the public at large about the amount of fraud on eBay, while the fraud will be allowed to spread unchecked."

But member Laurie Jefferson said eBay's move to use the Web form instead of directing all complaints to the SafeHarbor e-mail address could improve customer service. Jefferson, who lives outside of Boston and has been an eBay member for about a year, said she has often received replies from SafeHarbor that have nothing to do with the inquiries she has sent.

"I've found that I rarely get the answers I'm looking for, no matter what I'm reporting or questioning or what the case might be," Jefferson said.

Troubling

Hi
I am writing this in hopes that many eyes may read this. In reference to eBay's customer service and support, and many other entities or

constituants surrounding the "auction giant".
I am currently, (but may not be for long), a seller and buyer on eBay since 2001. I am but one person merely stating my unbiased opinion that

parallels a great many others either affiliated or unaffiliated with eBay by means of membership but not employment. I wouldn't be writing this on

such a respectible website if I hadn't more than 1 "complaint" about eBay. I wouldn't be writing this if, for the last several weeks, hadn't been very

troubled about my recent experiences concerning eBay. I simply feel a consortium of my "rights" have been violated due to weaknesses and

contradictiveness as per eBay's policy(s).

eBay's customer service has lately become the focus of many eBay members on a "not-so-appealing" perspective. My general opinion is that

normally, if a professional company wants to remain loyal and retain the merit of it's customers, then do not make it any more difficult to

communicate with them. I have read ALL of eBay's policies and found many references that clearly contradictary. This is not a case of me personally

trying to cover up some wrong doing, it is a matter of an ongoing process of prejudice and an attitude of circumventing a big companies mistakes (on

eBay's part). I also do believe that ANY business, both profit or non profit, has the right to operate there web presence in any matter they please and

whoever don't agree, go elsewhere. BUT, with mounting fear among countless users of eBay, and with respect to the fact that many sellers rely on

this auction "venue" for a living, and with given, obvious notices to the relevance of what this reply is mainly about, I sincerely hope that eBay may

take a long look at revamping/correcting the "awkwardness" of what was once, reliable company policy.

ebay freud beware

Recently I had my bank account hacked and they spent $2,200 out of it before I got my next statement and noticed it. Trying to find out how or who it was narrowed down to 3 places...ebay, paypal or citi bank. They are the top 3 that are being hit due to the largest volume. I was able to check out my bank and paypal they are doing all they can to catch the person and my funds are reimbursed. I couldn't get any contact with ebay except auto form letters which had nothing to do with my problem. I was issued a new bank card and the one they used was cancelled immediately. I called my internet service and had my emails voided immediately, they issed me another one for my main account and I opened a second one for my main email use. I did not want to use my #1 main email account at all so it was not given out or used. I downloaded a new email program, I updated my ebay with the new email addy which was the #2 email addy, the only one I will use from now on. I tried to contact them about the freud on my checking account and got nothing but running around in circles. Meanwhile I start getting daily ebay status email for some person named Mike WITH my #1 main email addy on it that I never game out or ever wanted to use!?! I am hot!
I emailed ebay, bounced the status email to mike back every time it comes in...they send form letters that say "you have checked Send email notifications on all your current bids"? I went in and unchecked that, I still get the letters for this mike on something I never bid on or would bid on? I got three today already. I have put the sender, header, domain on my junk mail list, made filters to stop it and they still come in. I want to know howww ebay got my main email addy? I updated specifically to give them my new #2 addy so they wouldn't have our main one? I have been at this for a week now. I just got a
number for ebay (888-749-3229)which I will try on Monday with hopes I don't get the perpetual on hold routine/or hangup, to top off my efforts. I am mad and going to close out my ebay account. I buy off ebay and hate to do it. But our security is the most important thing in our life not purchases that lead to destruction of our bank account. Ebay had our bank account number in our info but they won't have it any more. Isn't there any authorities we can turn to for ebay freud and deceptions? Isn't it illegal to run a business the way they are that can empty their customers bank accounts? I will keep you posted on what happens as it progresses. Mitzi

[bharline]

ebat fraud

I am sorry to hear what happened to you with your bank account, I can imagine how upsetting that must have been! One thing I do know though, is that eBay and PayPal are both safe and secure sites to place any information. Your bank account details are not even displayed on your account (You should even chec k in there) those numbers are not stored there they are other servers. Now do think back near the time this happened. Did eBay or PayPal send you an email that asked for your bank numbers for verification, or anything like that? Anything that had a link that had you sign in to it? That was most likely the case and these emails sent out look very vrey real. They target large sites suchj as eBay and PayPal because so many people use them. I have recieved plently of them on email addresses that are not even linked to eBay or PayPal. This has got to be what happened to you. They are spoof emails made be people that want you to enter your personal details into their sites whcih gfoes directly to them. They copy eBay's or PayPal's site using the logos and everything. Even the other eamil you spoke about that was most likley a spoof (about the item you supposidly bid on) So in reality eBay did not get your main email address because the email was not from eBay. Their customer service should have known this. Next time you get a suspisous email just forward it to [e-mail] or [e-mail] they will tell you if it is real or not also Check this out: http://pages.ebay.com/education/spooftutorial/index.html

[kcbrookie4]

Class action law suit

As of today i recieved a bill from Ebay for $33.38. When i signed up for my Ebay account I was not notified of how the PayPal agreement REALLY was. (If you go to PayPalSucks.com, there is information set up to let you see how it really works.) Back to my story, I was sent a bill from the I.C. System, INC. notfiying me that if i did not pay the $33.38 my credit would be damaged. I never had bought one thing from Ebay, i tried to sell two dresses which did not sell for the price i was asking for, so there should not have been a fee. I still can not figure out what I am being charged for. I have tried to contact Ebay...but they seem to "accidentally" hide their customer service number. So therefore I am wanting to take whatever action is needed to get the result that I deserve. I am wanting to file a class action law against Ebay..and possibly PayPal..but to do so I need those who have experienced what I have to join with me to get our money back and to not let the Ebay system and PayPal system get the best of us and many others. I need those who are WANTING to help sign a petition and make a difference. If you would be interested in helping yourself and me...please feel free to contact me at [e-mail]. If you do not want to help, that is perfectly ok...just be careful about Ebay and their PayPal system.
Thanks...
Casie

[JeanneMeier]

eBAY taking money at will

I signed up with ebay and then signed up for their seller manager service, which was not compatible with my operating system, so I canceled it the same day (they have a 30 free trial by the way). Four months later they're still debiting my bank account for it, and the last two times, after they promised to credit me for the charges, the debit bounced and they charged me a $15 penalty fee. The debits bounced because my bank got tired of the crap and closed my bank account. I did nothing wrong here! The last time they tried to debit the outrageous balance was two days after they "fixed" the problem. That debit bounced, I complained and the same day they suspended me - no email, no phone call, no notice, nothing - they just slammed my account. They're forcing me to pay their $15 penalty charges - penalty charges because the money that they should not have taken wasn't available. Of course no one actually responds to the 37 emails that I have sent, (at best I get a 'canned' email) and they don't have a phone number.

Anyway, keep my name, sign me up, here I am. I am mad, very, very mad.

[msureb55]

Customer DISSERVICEs

It's not surprising that they want to eliminate a line of communication for eBay victims. They're probably up to their eyesball or beyond with all the complaints they get with the louse services they offer(?). They make so many claims and promises as well as concerns for the claimants ease of mind. Well, that's all brass -all nonsense
They couldn't care less about the grief they cause their members with the nonsensical and absurd, canned and stupid email responses. I will list examples and losses to me by idiots that all start their emails with "I have read and thoroughly researched your paoplem...." to the end of the message with "we understand your frustration", and " according to our rules/procedures" you're screwed ! I was swindled out of 1/2 of an order from a seller in Washington state for two 1 Oz Canadian Gold Maple Leads. Eventually I got one, with a note that the other one would follow in a couple of days.Well, it didn't and believing that I was dealing with an honest person, I gave him every chance to come up with the remaining coin (valued @$460.). By the time I got nervous, I contacted eBay and was told that the time for reporting this had expired. I was given a list of options, including a Postal Service Fraud or how to contact the BBB in his area. The jerk has a business in the Seattle area. P.O.fraud was out because it was an internet sale and the BBB didn't have him listed under any of the names, IDs, or addresses. Result: $460.00 LOST to an eBay crook. NO RECOURSE! In July of this year, I made a purchase of coins, from a (disreputable) dealer who advertises "Huge Collection of Old Coins-Treasure Hunt Coins". As a result, I won five units, 50 coins, and paid $8.00 for S/H with a total of $52.95 for fifty soiled, common and nearly worthless collectibles. Not a single coin was over a dime and face value was $1.34 for all fifty coins. That averages out to $1.04 per coin and these included some 23 wheat pennies. He's still at his scheme and eBay doesn't see anything wrong. I gave him a Negative Feedback and he retaliated in kind. I wasn't aware that this slug routinely pays Square Trade to try and get his Negatives removed. S/T is supposed to contact the victim and offer 'mediation'. I was not contacted, so they advised eBay to remove my Negatiove from his record, AND THEY DID. His is still on my record and will stay there. He now has 16 Negatives this month, over a hundred and sixty combined Negatives and Neutrals for the year as well as OVER 150 Negatives that he has been able to get removed from his record. After repeated complaints about him from ME AND OTHERS, eBay just doesn't see any FRAUD in his advertising or FEEDBACK ABUSE on his part. The Dispute process is as phony as the Feedback system, Even if this slug only gives some nonsense reply to the dispute, eBay will graciously REMOVE THE DISPUTE AND ALL RECORD OF IT after 90 days. I have over three hundred sale purchases and only two with unwarranted Negative Feedbacks. Nearly sixty messages from the various non-help entities all claiming no recourse, no fairness, not their responsibility and both they and S/T claim the other sets the rules and nothing can be done. The other major problem I've had with eBay was an item from a seller in China. I had seen three other items from China in the previous four weeks and they were withdrawn by eBay with no real explanation. I was very interested in this particular sale so I asked eBay if this was a registered Member and if the item was legit or not. I got no answer for three days,so according to his Feedback he had 16 Positives. I went ahead and bid, eventually won and before I sent payment I asked eBay again if they saw any kind of problem with this seller or the item. I finally got a response to my first enquiry. They informed me that he was a registered member in good standing. Not being able to make a bank wire transfer I went to my bank on a Tuesday afternoon, got a Cashier's Check and mailed it to China. By the time I got home and on line, I went to eBay, and you can see this coming, right? eBay HAD REMOVED THE ITEM and all means of communicating with him. I got right back to Customer unservice and they told me that they couldn't give me ANY information, because of the Seller's PRIVACY RIGHTS. This was ALL FOUR DAYS AFTER THE SALE WAS COMPLETED. I was eventually able to go through the system with the item number and I learned that he had been registered all along, but with his third member ID, BUT IT WAS CONTINOUS. I contacted the seller to say I had sent the Payment In Full and he responded with a thank you. I waited two weeks and contacted him again and he told me that my check had arrived and he had taken to the bank. He further said that as soon as he got the money from the bank, he would sent my coin. Two and a half weeks later, my coin arrived and I was not only relieved, but delighted with my purchase as well. All this time, eBay did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and OFFERED NO CHOICES about the whole issue. I'm so glad that I was dealing with an honest man and that he kept his word. A HELLOFA lot more than I can say for eBay's phony Customer unSupport System. I said before that I had over 300 good sales and only two undeserved blemishes on my record, but there will be NO MORE of ANY KIND UNTIL/IF I SEE A COMPLETE revamping of their policies and they quit protecting crooks and allowing victims to be FURTHER PUNISHED by their tormentors. I haven't bought a single item since I started feuding over this crook and his tactics.I've told them repeatedly that I no longer have any FAITH, TRUST or RESPECT for eBay.check my record if you want, you'll see where I'm coming from.
msureb55

[alfdeo]

Ebay Customer Service

Being frustrated by Ebay's dismal customer service relating to a suspected bootleg CD I received from a seller,I decided to close my account. Following is the response from Ebay. Can you imaging - 180 days to close an account?!

"We have started the process to close your account. The process may take up to 180 days. Once your account has been closed, we will send an email to your registered email address.

We value your membership in the eBay Community, and we wish we could convince you to stay. A customer support representative may contact you to see if there's anything we can do to address your concerns."

People need to be aware of the risks involved in doing business on Ebay, and to realise that the company does not seem to practice any form of meaningful customer service. Just try to phone, or use the on-line facility - I dare you.