Account suspended: getting the cold shoulder from eBay

This week we've heard from a reader about a problem with eBay. Benny had a problem with the payment of his sellers fees. He writes that "When I sent an email to customer support, I am not getting a reply anymore. I don't think i can re-use that account, even though I have made the payment. When I send an email, they still ignore me as well."

It's not the first time that Investigator has heard from a reader who has had their account suspended and found that any correspondence and attempts to sort out the problem are met with automated email replies and little or no assistance.

Investigator is aware of several cases where the user was proven to be in the right but it took our intervention to get the cases re-examined and their account re-instated. In one case, a reader requested an investigation that was conducted and the results given without any input from the account holder.

Investigator has asked eBay to look into the matter and see if Benny's problem can be resolved. Investigator spoke to an eBay rep who said that the live help service is available to all users to resolve problems, such as account suspensions. It can be found here.

The company has expanded both its buyer and seller phone support, but this is available for high volume users. The rep explained that "volume solutions" are needed for dispute resolution and that unfortunately some users with disputes will be overlooked with such a large user base.

Investigator appreciates that the online auction site has a significant number of users and the volume of correspondence relating to complaints must be vast. But hiding behind automated responses and conducting investigations without input from users is hardly fair.

The issue is even more relevant when it comes to people who run an eBay business, as this may be their sole source of income and the business could be left in jeopardy if they don't have the appropriate channels for dispute resolution.

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