Scammed by eBay Seller

Lend user on 20/04/2016 - 18:01
Last edited 20/04/2016 - 18:01

Hi Guys, Long story short.
Bought brand new LG G4 from 'reputable' eBay seller.
Boot looped after 6 months. (Phone continuously reboots itself. It's a known issue)
Sent to eBay Seller for repair.
They said they needed to send it to HK.
Would take 4-6 weeks.
Bought a new Xiao Mi Note 2 to tide me over.
Fast forward 8 weeks.
Finally get the phone back.
Boot it up and it's got someone's Gmail account and a bunch of other random apps.
Serial number is different.
Quality glass screen protector I had on it is now some shitty plastic one.
Random scratches on case etc.
99% sure it's not my original phone.
Email them and say, hey, I don't think it's my phone. It's got someone else's gmail account, serial numbers diff and scratched etc.
They reply: "mainboard has been replaced therefore the serial number has been changed. for the screen protector they need to remove it when service the phone as it's a major service, for the gmail account please delete as its a refurbished OEM parts used for testing only."

Which I know in my gut is complete bullshit. Are they in their rights to send me a refurbished phone? Do I actually have a right to be angry about this?

Ultimately I'm not happy how this has played out. I've been without a phone for 2 months, have had to spend more money to buy another phone and in the end got back a phone that isn't even mine. I don't even know if this phone is free of the boot looping issue. I've kept all the data/temp files etc intact in case there's some way I can prove conclusively that they have just swapped my phone completely.

I'm past the 6 month period so can't lodge a dispute with Paypal. Should I engage the ACCC? What else can I do?

Story not that short after all. Sorry.

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Comments

  • spackbace on 20/04/2016 - 18:06
    +3

    Paypal can't do anything as you say
    ACCC can't do anything as it sounds like you bought a grey import.

    Kinda the reason I'll never put a deal up for a grey import device unless it's cheap cheap (memory card cheap). Not worth the hassle if something does go wrong.

    • end user on 21/04/2016 - 00:06

      They operate in Australia. They have an Australian Bank account. The phone was sent from a Sydney address. For all intents and purposes, these guys should fall under the jurisdiction of the ACCC right?

      • spackbace on 21/04/2016 - 00:09
        +2

        Just say the store so we can properly help.

  • plasmoske on 20/04/2016 - 18:29
    +12

    Name and shame.

  • [Deactivated] on 20/04/2016 - 18:30
    -1

    You weren't entirely scammed, at least you got a phone back. Leave nasty feedback, sell the phone, move on.

  • PVA on 20/04/2016 - 18:33

    sons G3 had boot loop problems, cheapy repair store said to buy a new battery (they didnt have one in stock).Did that and problem was fixed.

  • KaTst3R on 20/04/2016 - 18:43

    I will be more worried if it is a stolen phone only to use it for another month before the IMEI got blocked.

    • whooah1979 on 20/04/2016 - 22:21

      the IMEI got blocked.

      the owner can't block the imei if they're from overseas and doesn't know that the phone is in oz.

  • locosam on 20/04/2016 - 20:31

    I wouldn't say it's a scam but not the most honest seller. I had a similar issue with warranty where the seller wouldn't cover it after 6 months even though it had 12 month warranty. Luckily it was only something cheap.

    PayPal and eBay couldn't do anything, and directed me to a website to complain.

    I learnt my lesson, rather than save a few bucks, go with the reputable seller. There are plenty of good eBay sellers based in China.

  • Sshanaz on 20/04/2016 - 21:49

    If you paid via credit card, you could still lodge chargeback request with your bank.

  • CyberMurning on 20/04/2016 - 22:08

    Not dwi eglobal qd kogan right? How did you know it is reputable?

    • end user on 20/04/2016 - 23:46

      No, not the big, big players, but still 99% positive feedback, 15000+ transactions, eBay premium service member etc.
      The thing I realise now is that the feedbacks are all up to the point you get your product. The 99% positive feedback doesn't reflect the after sales service/support of the seller.

  • whooah1979 on 20/04/2016 - 22:17

    is the imei on the replacement the same as the one you returned?

    • end user on 20/04/2016 - 23:58

      IMEI is different. But apparently the IMEI is stored on the mainboard, which is what was changed as part of the repair.

      • wombok2 on 21/04/2016 - 01:43
        +2

        I can conform IMEI are stored on the motherboard. Once you replace the board, the IMEI will be different.

        If your IMEI matches the exterior IMEI, then you have a completely different phone.

        If your IMEI doesn't match the exterior IMEI, then you have same phone with different board.

        Does the box's IMEI match the IMEI on the phone at least?

        • end user on 21/04/2016 - 16:22

          Didn't come back in an OEM box, just generic cardboard packaging.

  • geek001 on 21/04/2016 - 08:55

    I don't get it. What is the problem here? Phone has problem after 6 months. Seller replaced it with another 6 months old(probably) phone. Is it working fine now?

    Just do a factory reset and put your account back on the phone. Check that your replacement phone works fine by using all its functions. It is probably another returned phone but given you mentioned they didn't even reset it before they sent it out to you, I have doubts as to the quality of the repair to the replacement phone.

    • end user on 21/04/2016 - 16:35
      +2

      The main problem is I expected them to repair my phone, not give me a 2nd hand one that's in a noticeably poorer condition.

      If you brought your car in for a warranty repair and then the mechanic returned you a completely different car in worse condition but says to you, "don't worry, its a different car but it doesn't have the problem you originally needed fixed" would you feel good about it?

      • geek001 on 21/04/2016 - 16:48
        +1

        Ok, I see your problem. Unfortunately, I don't think there is much you can do outside of the Paypal dispute window. I guess that is the risk you take dealing with overseas sellers. At least they fixed the phone for you. Usually when I buy something from grey importers I am expecting next to no support from them outside of the Paypal dispute window as sometimes the postage to them can exceed the value of the item.

        If I were you, I would:

        1. Factory reset the phone and put my details back onto the "new" phone.
        2. Buy a nice cover for the phone to cover up the scratches.
        3. Buy another nice glass protector to replace the sh*tty one.
        4. Go watch Frozen or listen to some zen music and get on with my life. :)
        • end user on 21/04/2016 - 16:56

          Good advice. Let me stew on it a few days and see if I'm still angry.

  • Save 50 Cent on 23/04/2016 - 14:41
    +1

    The word 'scam' is used on Ozbargain more than 'Gone wrong' on Youtube. When you buy a cheap item from overseas, don't expect customer service as if you're at an Apple store. You were not scammed. It's just not the best customer service from a seller that makes a very small margin of profit.

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