Is it possible to sue EBAY????

[RoniDeutch]

I have an online business on ebay and have been supporting myself through law school with it. a few days ago, i received an email that my account had been suspended b/c it was associated somehow with another person who had been suspended. this is NOT true and i dont even know who this person is. well, they cancelled $3,000.00 worth of auctions on me.

I emailed to appeal the supsension. I've received no response. I tried to find a phone number to call them. they state that "since ebay wants to promote an online community, we do not have a call center". well, i searched and searched and found a call center number. I called two days in a row. i was on hold for 29 minutes the first day and no one picked up. the message would say i have a minute to wait and then it would shoot up to 29 minutes. i tried again today and it did the same thing. i dont think they even have people to answer the phones.

I am now sitting on $3,000.00 in merchandise that i cant sell b/c of these retards. i cant get ahold of anyone and no one has thus returned my emails. there must be legal recourse for this. how can they NOT have a call center or deal with customer service issues appropriately. furthermore, how could they cancel an innocent person's account for a FALSE REASON!!

Any suggestions?

[racheles05]

As you know as a law student, law students are probably not the best people to ask about the law. I'd recommend consulting with an attorney (since the initial consultation is normally free). However, you might want to look at the terms you agreed to before you joined eBay. Most of whatever default rules there are have probably been contracted away.

What happened really sucks, by the way.

[rezipsa]

As you know as a law student, law students are probably not the best people to ask about the law. I'd recommend consulting with an attorney (since the initial consultation is normally free). However, you might want to look at the terms you agreed to before you joined eBay. Most of whatever default rules there are have probably been contracted away.

What happened really sucks, by the way.

I agree that you should talk to an attorney.
You may have an argument on the terms of your agreement with eBay (unconsciousable) but I guarantee you that eBay has several attorneys on staff and have gone through this situation before. 

[racheles05]

Oh, one more thing. Is there any way that you can contact the individual buyers and sell your stuff that way? Also, perhaps there's another website you could try like Craigslist. This doesn't help your legal situation, but it might help you financially.

Good luck!

[ALIBABA]

I just went online to Ebay's site and there's a thing called Live Help that is some sort of chat with Ebay.  I have never used it, and don't know if this will help you at all, but perhaps it's worth a try.

Good luck.

[RoniDeutch]

i tried the live help. i ended up in a huge argument with them b/c they are worthless and cant provide any information on account suspensions. i managed to find the number to the head of the dept. that is responsible for cancelling my username. i left a voice mail. lets see if they call back.

[DutchessA]

That sucks...their home offices are in San Jose (I lived there until I moved for school).  Call 411 get a number for there home office, call and raise holy hell!!!  Someone there will have to be able to help you...

Okay...I found it for you...

E Bay Inc
2145 Hamilton Ave
San Jose, CA
(408) 558-7400

Good Luck...

[eray01]

I'd do some Westlaw research to get the corporate information for E-bay. Contact them through the info you find there. I've had good luck getting corporations to respnd to me by calling the office of the CEO and explaining my problem. If worse comes to worse, call their office of general counsel and talk to them. Tell them you'd like to avoid having to involve an attorney, but you have a significant amount of  money involved and are getting no help from anyone you are contacting.

The problem with hiring an attorney without exhausting other options first is the attorney's fees are going to eat up the three grand you are trying to recover.

Is time of the essence here?

[catamount6178]

I'd say do some more research to find a better phone number. I work at a hospital and contact insurance companies all day, and have become quite adept at finding alternate phone numbers to companies that either do not offer telephone customer service, or have long hold times. Start with Google, try to find individual names at the Ebay HQ. Try contacting the post office or city hall in the city where they are located. Basically try to find a back door.

The Hammer is right- look in Westlaw. Try to find out contact information from their legal services, risk management, or private attorneys that represent them.

A lawsuit is premature at this point.

[RoniDeutch]

i have called every number i could find. the same thing...they wont let you talk to anyone unless you have a first and last name. they do all this on purpose. shouldnt the better business bureau be involved in this? i am about ready to fly out to san jose and knock their door down. i have never been so frustrated in my life. i just want to cry. i dont know how im going to pay my bills without my business. i have run this business for 5 years and have 100% positive feedback on there. all my customers are emailing me and saying im a fraud b/c my account has been suspended. this is HORRIBLE.