Ebay problem

Change your password before you do anything else

There should be a contact phone number/ email address in the help section

It could possibly be a scam.

A few years ago I had the opposite problem. Apparently I was a "seller" and I had not sent the goods. I was receiving phone calls from whom I thought was EBay and I kept repeating that I hadn't sold anything. I tried everything to find a number for EBay with no success. I eventually received about 6 letters all headed in red about further legal action if I did not repay EBay a total of £6000+. I contacted the police, who could take no action, and it was very stressful. It was just before Xmas too. The criminals knew that buyers would provably expect to wait longer for the goods. I kept telling them to follow the money that buyers had sent fir the goods. It certainly wasn't in my account. I couldn't seem to stop things. All these phone calls were from a debt collecting agency working on behalf of EBay who had had to reimburse the sellers. It took ages to piece information together. I had changed my email address and the old one had been hacked. There were over 500 emails from disgruntled buyers asking for their goods. The point I want to make to you is that EBay don't want people ringing them so don't make it easy. I advise you to persevere and report it to police or Ebay fraud, but I can't remember how I contacted them. It was a nightmare! Good luck.

Do you use PayPal? They are fairly easy to get in touch with, and they can access information about what's going on with eBay. It might be a starting point.

Can you screenshot your bought items menu to prove you didn't buy the item.?
I had a seller insist I hadn't paid. I screen shot my PayPal page to prove I had paid. It turned out the seller owed PayPal money and they took the money I paid for the item, to clear the debt.

If you click on the email address of the sender you can see the full email address and check if it is a scam or not. I hope you get this sorted out.
My problems have always been when selling. I sold a camera in full working order and then two months later the buyer complained it was faulty! In the end I had to offer to refund some of his money when I knew there was nothing wrong at all. When you are honest you assume everyone else is too.

A few years ago I made a note of a phone number for Ebay, with the comment 'by invitation only'. It might be worth you giving it a try.
020 8080 2105

Lots of thanks - that is all really helpful. I will try ringing when little GS has left - I feel that he (at age 2) would not enhance the conversation!!

I had a problem when someone hacked into my eBay account and had posted very expensive motorcycles for sale under my name I got lots of emails asking to come and test drive the bikes! I found the eBay number on the help page under “ someone is using my account” or something similar . I changed my eBay password. They were really helpful on the phone and closed down all the rogue posts immediately.

Did you actually phone that number, shysal?

I would be very wary of phoning any number that's not provided by a direct e-Bay link. You could be charged a massive amount just for making the call or it could be a scam.

If you go to the bottom of the eBay page and click on Contact Us, there are various options including a billing one. Use the phone link on there if you wish to speak to somebody.

I ignore all e-mails about invoices. I don't open them and go direct to my PayPal account where any issues would be highlighted. If you don't owe any money there is nothing to worry about.

Hi there

I tried the contact us route and just got sent round and round in circles, with no option to email and actually ask the question I needed to ask - I was given lots of options for what I might want to ask, but no option to ask the real question!

Try going to their facebook page and putting a comment there.
Companies don't like that. It is the only way that I got Currys to sort our my washing machine that was delivered not working.
They will ask you to PM them or contact them privately. Do that but keep the conversation going on the public page too.
You could also report it to the Police's online fraud site - and tell ebay that you have done that. You have to show that you are treating their error seriously and throw it back at them.

The link is www.facebook.com/eBay.co.uk

Luckygirl
I have always found E bay helpful .Ask for a COPY of the alleged order.How did you intend paying for the alleged order ?as from my experience NO orders I have placed through ebay were accepted without a payment. ie your bank or paypal.You can also contact your bank to see if a transaction has taken place using your card.
Sounds fishy but get copies of any orders and payments in the days surrounding this issue.That will be your proof.

This is the contact number I use for Ebay and they have always resolved my issues.02080802164. Good luck

Sounds like a scam, ignore it.check your PayPal too.

An elderly gentleman I knew had a similar problem and he didn't even have a computer or a clue about using eBay! He was very distressed by the whole thing as the alleged seller kept phoning! He ended up having to have the caller ID system on his phone. Not nice if you know you haven't ordered and as OPs have said, you usually have to pay when you buy. Have you checked your eBay messages?

Luckygirl I had a problem with a seller earlier this year that didn't fit any of the reasons for contacting eBay. The way I got around the problem was to choose an option on the help page and tell them the problem. The person who takes the details of the problem will arrange for someone else to get in touch with you.

I have had several emails from purported eBay sellers saying I hadn't paid for an item - they are scams.
They look as if they have come from ebay but they have not. You can spot them as they often don't get user names quite right and may contain different seller names other than the one in the email address.
I either ignore them or forward them to ebay and/or paypal.
Send to [email protected] -- you usually get an acknowledgement and thanks back from paypal.
If I do buy anything I always pay immediately by paypal so I have established this as my way of dealing with ebay plus I have the electronic trail, all transaction details in my paypal a/c etc.

There is another excellent phone number for eBay - here it is: 0800 358 6551.
I have used this several times - you will be sent a "one time code" to identify yourself, and you will need your eBay username, plus it is always a good idea to use the phone which is linked to your Account.

I suspect ebay here; possibly another account very similar to yours and easy to get confused. The seller will have your details only if you made contact, which you did not. Check your ebay account for dates and times. Ask the seller for the address he used to send the item. Somewhere a small detail will emerge that gives you a clue to how this happened and how to resilve it.
Pity it was not Amazon; no problem there.

Are you sure the messages are actually from ebay?

1. Do NOT follow any links in the messages you have received. If the emails are not from ebay, they will take you to a sham site.
2. Sign into ebay normally, and check your account. Has this unknown purchase actually been through your account?

I've had a few emails like this, they have always been scams.

I do agree it is a good thing to post complaints on a company's Facebook, which I did with Curry's regarding an electric hob. They kept suggesting I contacted them privately but I kept it public until I was satisfied. I won't go into details about my complaint but was told by them thatt their staff can't be expected to know about what they sell. So "We start with you" is actually quite true: it is up to the customer to know the amswer to any questions they may have as their staff haven't a clue and are only interested in making a sale.