Dispute process: Seller is no longer part of eBay?

[got_stiffed]

Hi,

Topic says it all, if in the middle of a dispute the seller is suspended or drops off the eBay radar, does eBay still entertain claims?

Secondly, how sound is the verification process? The phone number of the seller as on eBay records, is of the Hathway cable service. Earlier there would be a phone verification to enure sellers were genuine.

Regards

My user name is prophetic: I really did get stiffed.

[mastersniper1]

This dispute can be filed between 10 and 60 days after the end date of the listing. Although the seller is currently not a registered user on eBay, he or she will still be able to respond to the dispute and you may be able to resolve your transaction by communicating with the seller in this manner. If your seller is unresponsive, you may also be eligible to file a claim under eBay's Standard Purchase Protection Program once you have initiated a dispute. Please note that the status of a seller does not affect the outcome of your claim. If you would like to read more about the guidelines for the eligibility and coverage of eBay's Standard Purchase Protection Programme, you may wish to visit the following link:

http://pages.ebay.in/help/tp/esppp-coverage-eligibility.html

[got_stiffed]

Hey!

Thanks for that - except that the dispute process states that once 10 days pass from the filing of the dispute, we should be eligible for filing for a claim - this has not been my experience. It is still unselectable.

I guess it's time to file that formal complaint to the cops - there's no way eBay is gonna catch somebody who's intentionally given a fake phone number as part of his details, and is uncontactable, and sitting in a city thousands of kilometers away...

I will however have to regrettably pull eBay into the complaint, as they are very uncooperative. It's been a week since I asked for the seller's details - to no avail, obviously there's a cover-up operation going on here. Thank God we save all our mails from eBay, and thank God the seller also cheated a bunch of others, who have managed to slip me whatever little information they have so I can pursue my case successfully.

Thanks mastersniper, for taking the time out to read so far(if you have). You have probably nothing to do with it and are probably the only one reading this...

Later

[sapana@ebay.com]

Hi got_stiffed,

I am sorry to hear about your experience!

On your questions:

Will eBay entertain your claim even if seller is suspended?
Yes, a buyer is eligible for eBay Buyer Protection process, irrespective of seller's registeration status.

Unable to file a claim:
I am surprised to hear that you are unable to escalate your claim. May I suggest you to write to eBay Customer Support to check on the same. They will be able to guide you on next steps. http://pages.ebay.in/help/contact_us/_base/index.html

Lodging a police complaint:
I will encourage you to do the same. eBay works closely with Law enforcement agencies against fraudsters.

Hope the above answers help.

Warm Regards,
Sapana