The two eBay members filed a claim against the company on Friday, alleging that eBay failed to address problems with a billing tool that overcharged individuals selling items on its site. In the suit brought in California Superior Court, eBay members Robert Cerreta and Nancy Spaulding contend that the online auction host double-billed their user accounts after launching a new payment processing system in February.
According to the complaint, Cerreta and Spaulding, who hail from Florida and Ohio respectively, were charged twice the amount they actually owed eBay for handling auctions of goods they sold using the site. The eBay users assert that the funds were then inappropriately drawn from bank accounts and credit cards they had registered with the company. In addition, the two customers said that eBay threatened to suspend their user accounts over the disputed charges.
eBay representatives did not immediately return calls regarding the lawsuit, but company executives have already apologised publicly for the billing issue. In mid-June, eBay General Manager Jeff Jordan told attendees at its user conference that the company had discovered the double-billing issue, fixed the problem and was in the process of addressing credit issues that resulted from the gaffe. Jordan acknowledged in a speech that eBay had let its customers down and promised that the company would be more careful in launching one of its next technological improvements, a new search tool.
The billing problem was first aired in the company's own online user forums. eBay's billing team eventually posted to the discussion area, pledging to fix the issue and help its customers address any mistakes.
While neither Cerreta nor Spaulding was charged large amounts of money as a result of the glitch -- each was overcharged about $20 (£10.86) -- the customers maintain that eBay's payment system also rounds up its totals for sellers without telling them it does so. For instance, they said, eBay now rounds a bill of $30.78 up to $30.80. Despite the fact that the system tacks on only a few cents to each transaction, the customers said the additional charges add up over time.
In the suit, Spaulding also said she was threatened with jail when she attempted to protest outside the user conference, which was held in New Orleans. A copy of the lawsuit has been published on the Web site of the law firm that the two eBay members are using, Fazio & Micheletti of San Mateo, California.
eBay's PayPal payment processing business recently reached a settlement with customers who accused the company of illegally freezing their funds. As a result, PayPal said it would pay a total of $9.25m to settle the federal class-action suit, $3.4m of which would go to paying its customers' legal fees. PayPal admitted no wrongdoing in settling the claims, which were filed in 2002 as part of two federal class-action suits that also alleged other customer-service deficiencies.
Talkback
They were still double charging on listing that I put in last night (July 6, 2004). Although they have replied to emails saying they would credit the account, no credit has been forcoming and they obviously are still not correcting the issue. The claim that it has been corrected is completely false.
end of july and i got triple charged by ebay, where do i sign up for this class action suit
I've had similar problems with gamelink. This is the problem with e-commerce. If you order problems online you have little leverage with firms such as these two. What's the worse that can happen to them? After you take them to court, they refund your money?
Tell them that they were lucky - gamelink is essentially ssaying that even if there is a flaw in their billing system, they'll offer store creidt.
I'm told that gamelink is owned by Ilan Buninovitz -- should I sue him directly? Or is he protected by the corporation?
Hi, I'm outside the US but wish to pursue Ebay for allowing libel to be published against me even though facts are and always were in their hands which should have prevented them allowing this in the first place. Can you possibly point me towards any help on this matter. I feel that ebay is now too big and those who purport to run the organisation have lost control to the sellers who pay them most (the highest turnover) I have full detail of this matter should you wish me to send.
I have also been over charge and when I queried it by email they replied saying 'Ebay now considers this case closed.' They will not return my emails and when my bank gave me the EMEA Branch Support Ebay telephone number of +44 (0)1202 343491 there is just a recorded message saying you have to email ebay!
Does anyone have a solution?
you guys need to come up with a big team to go against and sue ebay,,they make tons of money off us,,but they allow others to use their company to rip us off even wayyyyyyyyy more. we need to amke a site where everyone can be able to go on and file a claim against them.
i got ripped off a few times,,,cant stand this anymore,,i believe millons out there feel the same,,,,,they allow anyone to sell,,selling stolen item broken items etc...any kind of things,,,sellers using them will claim new,,once you recieve its either broken or an empty box,,,,guess what,,,when you try to file a claim against that auction or seller,,,the seller flee got off of ebay,,,now what? we lose money biggest ripp off in USA.
I have been double billed this week. Ebay doesnt give me any facility to claim this. Im totally unprotected since Paypal can operate in my country, but they dont have a phisical office here. (They have one in the U.K. and they can opperate in Spain as part of the European Union)
Im going to see if my bank can do something for me.
Imagine how much money is getting Paypal from users that never look at the statement.
Good luck
P.S. ---> Americans, Fight back Paypal, you guys can.
Having recently been wrongly suspended by ebay, for the umpteenth time, I have decided to have a look out for any Uk Class Action Law Suits against ebay for similar wrong doings. In my serach, I have found LOADS of people all unfairly suffering at the hands of ebay.
I have found a few other useful links & one in particular wanting to hear from anyone wanting to sue ebay. Check the link out at:
: http://www.auctions-united.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=68&sid=0a844fb05394a25d801ff3b204225ca9
If anyone knows of any other links/law suits etc please let me know.
I am in the process of suing ebay in the UK for £5000 due to inadequate investigation into my supposed shill bidding. They will not contend it because it could set a president which could cost million in restructuring and employment. Like the banks they pay up and back down. Will not attend court. If they do not attend, they have lost.
I too have been shafted by ebay, quite a few times over the last 5 years. In total I have amassed over 20,000 feedback and still I get suspended through incompetence. I have been shouting for years at the conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to steal angle but have had no luck in getting anyone to take any notice so I am pretty much dealing with it myself and I have started a one man war. At the moment I am nothing more than a slight prick of a thorn in their side however as each day goes by I manage to raise just an incy bit more awareness.
Like all you people I have my own story and part of it is here:
http://auctions-united.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=348#348
I was selling the cheapest Apple ipods on ebay. I only sold two of them, the 4GB nano for 132.00 and the 60GB video for 237.00 both in black and white (please don't email and ask for any as I am now out of business). Like other people I was suspended for no real reason (section 8, their get out of jail free card which suspends a person if they believe something might be wrong even though they won't tell you)
I went down and over 100 of my customers got burned. As you will already know the phone goes bananas, the emails don't stop and buyers who know no different/better because ebays suspension email makes a seller look like a crook, start using threatening behaviour either over the phone or by turning up at the house. Anyone that has been suspended knows that the stress ,aggravation, threats from buyers, and overload on administration through emails and telephone calls caused by ebays suspension of the account can be almost impossible to deal with.
If it hasn't happened already, there WILL be deaths through this, there will be people that just can't cope and they will top themselves, maybe when innocent everyday human beings around the world start killing themselves because they can't cope with the unlawful and wrongful 'mistaken' suspensions......maybe then the authorities around the world will sit up and take notice and maybe do something about it.
At the moment ebay are paying government departments like SOCA upwards of 100.000 (one hundred thousand english pounds) to be able to use logos like the 'get safe online' logo they have.
SOCA is run by
Steve Edwards
Stephen Edwards M.B.E.
E-crime Liaison
Serious Organised Crime Agency
PO Box 10101
London
E14 9NF
+44 (0)870 241 0549
www.soca.gov.org
I have corresponded with MR Edwards and pointed out to him that the worlds biggest fraudster (ripping off innocent mebers of the public) ebay are paying them 100.000 to help them catch online fraudsters. A bit like the Mafia donating money to crime fighting. MR Edwards in all his wisdom was not interested in seeing or hearing one shred of proof against ebay, rather he could only pat both ebay and paypal on the back for all the good work they are doing. In my country we call people like that little 'Tommy Tankers'
I don't want to bore you as we all have millions of words to say I am sure. The owner of the site I have posted on has started a forum for anyone interested in a class action law suit against ebay here:
http://auctions-united.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=78
I have the facility to record conversations anywhere in the world and have recorded 3 conversations with ebay so far.
Here are the 3 voice recordings
1) The original voice recording with Malcolm at ebay power seller support, you will not believe the incompetence, lies and the drivel that comes out of this guys mouth. He states categorically umpteen times that ebay customer support WILL tell me what the suspension was actually for and as you can see from the conversation in the link (my story) above they refused to answer those questions. I copied the entire conversation with myself and Mandy Rogers from the ebay suspensions team and have posted it here:
http://auctions-united.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=68
The conversation with Malcolm is here:
www.auctions-united.com/audio/malcolmjune22.mp3
2) The