e-bay fake Windows 7 – e-bay epic failure.

6th January 2011.

Following some lengthy discussion, e-bay, in their wisdom, decided that the best solution was to send the counterfeit item back to the seller before they could issue a refund. My comment of it is a fake, fell on deaf ears.

7^th January 2011.

Using the shipping address and postage label provided to me by e-bay, via e-mail, I reluctantly packaged the FAKE item and popped it in a post box.

28^th January 2011.

Customer support comments:

“You returned the item without authorisation from the seller or eBay and did not provide tracking information.

 

 

Fake Windows 7 Disk with de-laminated holographic sticker.

In Summary:

I used the eBay resolution centre to initially report my problems with the item to the seller (as instructed to do so by e-Bay).

When I realised it was a fake I eventually got to speak to someone in eBay customer service on 0800 358 6551 (keep pressing the hash key to speak to a person – not that they are able to do anything unscripted) on 5th and 6th January.

I strongly protested eBays’ suggestion of sending the item (which I was 99% convinced was FAKE) back to the seller; I asked if perhaps I should send it to Microsoft for analysis?? – but I was told 100% for definite that I HAD to send it back to the seller!

eBay promptly e-mailed me a printable return label, which I stuck to the item and very reluctantly posted back to the seller.

To now get an e-mail like this…

16th March 2011

Hello Chris,

Thank you for contacting eBay Customer Support about the software (item# 130462671782) you bought from “j-brown-2007” which was not as described. I’m sorry to hear that this transaction didn’t go well as expected.

I have reviewed all the information provided to this claim and I have found out that the reason why we closed this case without issuing a refund is because we failed to confirm the delivery of the item with the tracking number provided to the case. We have asked you to return the item in exchange for a full refund after you escalated the case to us. I have checked the status of the tracking number and unfortunately,  we cannot confirm the delivery of the item. Please be advised that we placed your claim on hold for 10 days after we have sent you a pepaid shipping label for you to return it to your trading partner. However, it seems that the item was not sent back to the seller. In this case, I strongly suggest that you communicate with your seller to come up with an amicable resolution for this claim.

In the meantime, if we can be of any other help please give us a call on 0800 358 6551 to speak to a member of our Customer Support team.

8:00 am – 10:00 pm. Mondays – Fridays
9:00 am – 6:00 pm. Saturdays & Sundays

For faster service, please use a PIN verification. To get it, please log in to your eBay account and click on “Contact us”. (this does not work – see above)

I trust that this information helps and I wish you all the best on eBay in the future.

Kind regards,

Barbara Greason
eBay Customer Support

Well, what really annoyed me is after contacting eBay about the recent e-mail they sent – eBay now say I need to provide proof that the item was FAKE! What a bunch of idiots.

So if you have any illegal merchandise you want to get rid of – I highly recommend eBay – they will also protect you.

18th March 2011

THIS EBAY SELLER SOLD A DOZEN OR TWO MORE UNWANTED COPIES OF WINDOWS 7 PROFESSIONAL & WINDOWS 7 ULTIMATE BETWEEN NOVEMBER 2010 and 2011. IF YOU HAVE BEEN UNFORTUNATE ENOUGH TO BE AMONG THESE UNLUCKY FEW YOU WILL SOON FIND (IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY) THAT MICROSOFT HAVE ‘BLACKLISTED’ YOUR SERIAL AND YOUR COPY WILL GET FLAGGED AS NO LONGER GENUINE THE NEXT TIME YOU UPDATE!