Credit Card Chargebacks
Someone wrote about last week's Newsflash article about American Express honoring chargebacks for purchases made using PayPal
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y03/m10/i03/s01
Greetings!
It pleased me to see that American Express customers were taking a stand on getting their money back after not receiving goods paid through PayPal.
I had a fraud experience about a year ago where I wasn't so lucky with my bank, US Bank, as they did not want to honor my loss through paying with my credit card through Western Union. Their position was that the transaction was successful with Western Union, even though the person I ordered from failed to send me the item.
I even contacted US Bank before I made the deal to make sure that I would be protected, as it was the first time I had ever attempted to purchase something overseas. The lady I talked to assured me that any purchase made with my card would be protected. With this assurance, I went a head a made the purchase, knowing that if something went wrong, I would get my money back.
Unfortunately, this employee was unaware of this "third party elimination" that ultimately cost me almost $1200.
Connie
********
eBay Customer Service
In my last editorial, I stated that eBay should improve its customer service.
http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y203/m09/abu0103/s01
Here are some responses.
What happened to eBay's "Live Help"? I have searched the site everywhere and can't find it. I emailed eBay and asked them, but have gotten no response. Help!
E
===
Dear Ina:
I'm not one to respond to editorials but this one got to me - not your points but eBay itself. I too was pleased with the Live Chat help and used it a couple of times. Then, bingo, it wasn't there. I inquired and it took a couple of inquiries but here is a copy of the email I got in return finally:
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to write to us with your concerns. I am happy to assist you further. You've asked a good question! The Live chat icon will not always appear on the ebay home page, but will often appear in other areas of the site that deal with selling, registering, and bidding. To access live help directly, you can go to this link:
http://pages.ebay.com/help/basics/n-livehelpemail.html
It is my pleasure to assist you. Thank you for choosing eBay.
Regards,
eBay Customer Support
Well, that link that is mentioned is disabled too. So what's the purpose of having a Live Chat help if they are just going to wave it around and see if you can catch it ??
Now, their email help is good and response is fairly quick but sometimes I just don't get it and I want to talk to someone !
Thanks for letting me blow off a little steam.
Elizabeth
===
Ina:
Enjoyed your article about eBay customer service. A few weeks ago I could not list my auctions thru Sellers Basic. I emailed their support, and got an answer 2 days later. Unfortunately their suggestions did not fix my problem, so I had to email again. This time it took 2.5 days for a response. This fix did not take either...the short of it is I was down and out of eBay for a week.
Compare this service to my internet provider (Earthlink). They are always a phone call away, ready to deal with the most complex (or most idiotic) issues. You may have to wait on hold for 10 minutes +, but the service is there.
If you are upset with Earthlink you can switch to any of dozens of other providers. If you are upset with eBay, you have no where else to go! They are the only (major) game in town in on-line auctions. Maybe the service is not there because it doesn't have to be, since there is so little competition.
Best Regards,
Steve (PowerSeller)
===
What a pity that Ebay were worse than useless when I complained about one of their vendors who failed to deliver the item I had purchased. It is not only buyers who cause problems.
Arnold
===
One of our readers is not impressed with Live Chat: "It is presented as an efficient, convenient, precise way to get a corporation's help with problems. It is, in fact, a clever way for a corporation to set two of its human enemies at each other's throats while wasting their time." Here's a link to his "rant on live chat support":
http://myst-technology.com/mysmartchannels/public/item/10677
******************
If you agree or disagree with other readers, feel free to jump into the forums and speak your mind. That's what the forums are there for:
http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/index.php
