Neg removed as a result of extortion judgment

Way long, but the bottom line is this:

4:38:48 PM Roanna C.
Thank you for patiently waiting, I have escalated this issue and we have decided to remove the Feedback off of your account since I now have enough evidence to consider this for extortion.


Initial Question/Comment: US Feedback
2:34:55 PM System
Cerina M. has joined this session!
2:34:55 PM System
Connected with Cerina M.
2:35:05 PM Cerina M.
Hello and thank you for contacting eBay Trust and Safety Live Help, my name is Cerina M. How may I help you Eric?
2:35:36 PM happywookiee
Hello. I had a customer leave me bad feedback after threatening that she would if I did not make this transaction right by her. I offered her a full refund for the return, even though I had stated in my listing no returns, and offered to take care of any damages through UPS (which I had paid extra for, upgrading her package from parcel post to insured UPS). She did not want to return the item to me, nor did she want me to fill out a claim with UPS. She just wanted money. In an earlier email she had let me know that she was planning on giving me bad feedback.
2:36:46 PM Cerina M.
I am sorry to hear that this transaction caused your receiving of negative Feedback.
2:37:10 PM happywookiee
I have tried very hard to make my customers happy on Ebay. I have a good track record and it’s very important to me. How can I continue selling on Ebay if my buyers don’t have confidence in me? This is very upsetting because I have done everything Ebay says to do in this situation, but nothing could please her.
2:37:38 PM Cerina M.
To clarify, the buyer does not accept any resolution you have offered and requested a refund without returning the item, is this correct?
2:38:06 PM happywookiee
Correct, please see our emails through ebay to verify.
2:38:33 PM Cerina M.
I understand how frustrating it is to receive a negative Feedback when you feel it's undeserved.
2:39:03 PM happywookiee
Is there anything that Ebay can do?
2:39:23 PM Cerina M.
Let me review the transaction to see if the Feedback could qualify for removal. Aside from this though, do you have any other concern you want to address?
2:39:56 PM happywookiee
She purchased 3 lots from me that day. I have a feeling she will give me bad feedback 2 more times.
2:40:43 PM Cerina M.
Can you provide me the item numbers for all the transaction?
2:42:26 PM happywookiee
***************(Blocked by author of thread)
2:42:39 PM happywookiee
Thank you for looking into this.
2:43:19 PM Cerina M.
You're welcome Eric. Please give me 2-3 minutes to review the transaction to see what can be done.
2:43:32 PM happywookiee
Sure. Thanks.
2:52:25 PM Cerina M.
Thank you for patiently waiting Eric.
2:52:34 PM happywookiee
No problem
2:52:40 PM Cerina M.
I do apologize for the long wait.
2:55:00 PM Cerina M.
I have reviewed the transaction and the email message you have exchanged with the buyer and I see that the buyer was not happy because there was a missing part on the item.
2:55:34 PM happywookiee
The customer stated that a small piece was missing from a used toy set. Although the pictures in my listing showed the piece was missing and my description said pieces were missing, she said that didn’t matter. In no way was this lot misrepresented. She also stated that some pieces were damaged during UPS shipment. I explained to her that I had purchased insurance and would be happy to fill out the claim for her and she still refused.
2:57:06 PM Cerina M.
I understand that you would like to maintain your perfect rating Eric as it reflects your reputation as a seller on eBay. I would like to remind you though that Feedback is a member-to-member system, it is a way to show how the buyer felt the transaction went.
2:58:14 PM Cerina M.
We've looked carefully into your situation. After reviewing the Feedback and the circumstances surrounding the transactions, we've determined that the negative Feedback did not meet our requirements for removal. The comment and the Feedback is the buyer's opinion towards the outcome of the transaction.
2:58:39 PM happywookiee
From my emails, you can see that I was not unreasonable,and offered a refund or to fill out a UPS claim. Was there something more I could do? I felt this person was looking for something to be unhappy about to get money back.
3:00:16 PM Cerina M.
In situations like this what you could have offered the buyer is to file a claim with eBay, that way we could intervene on the investigation if the item was really received not as described and could have given you options on what you can do to resolve the issue.
3:01:41 PM Cerina M.
Since this is your first negative Feedback, I would understand how you feel Eric. I can see that you have been an eBay member since June of 2005, and you've been an exceptional member with us for over 5 years. Your status shows how much you are dedicated to maintaining a strong and successful business with eBay. As such, we appreciate your effort in taking the time in reporting this kind of behavior to us.
3:02:50 PM Cerina M.
You have the option to post a reply on the Feedback comment the buyer left, your reply will appear under the comment and this will be seen by other members and potential buyers that will review your account.
3:02:57 PM happywookiee
The lot was not misrepersented, so why can she do this, and destroy my reputation?
3:04:27 PM Cerina M.
We do not investigate the truthfulness of a Feedback Eric. Since that is an opinion we do have control over that. To keep the Feedback system as open and honest as possible, we only remove Feedback in a few, very limited cases. You can find more about situations when we'll remove Feedback here:
Link
3:04:44 PM Cerina M.
*opinion we do not have control
3:06:50 PM Cerina M.
Post a professional reply on the comment the buyer left. That will, more likely than not, come off as more credible than the actual comment they left you. If you think you can still work things out with the buyer, you can make use of the Feedback revision request.
3:07:09 PM happywookiee
I am disappointed that Ebay caters to the buyer only. Ebay needs to support their sellers, especially ones with good reputations.
3:08:27 PM Cerina M.
This doesn't mean we agree with the Feedback or think you deserve it Eric. If eBay got directly involved and removed the Feedback, then our opinion would replace that of the buyer's. Feedback is based on transactions between members. Because eBay wasn't involved in the actual transaction, we can't take sides.
3:08:56 PM happywookiee
But she was trying to extort money from me.
3:10:24 PM happywookiee
This is feedback extortion, because she let me know that she would be giving me bad feedback, and that she would not return the lot. She wanted money.
3:10:57 PM Cerina M.
Reading the emails, the buyer have requested for the missing part. It was you who made the offer of refunding the buyer. It seems that the buyer got upset that you were not able to provide the missing part when you advised that you will look for it and send it to her.
3:13:09 PM happywookiee
I told her I would look for it. I made no promises that I would find it. I offered her a full refund, because she was unhappy. She wanted money. I offered her $10. This was not enough for her so I offered her a refund for the whole lot again.
3:15:26 PM happywookiee
Of course I made the offer to refund the buyer. This is what Ebay encourages us to do.
3:16:38 PM happywookiee
You have not addressed the fact that she wanted money, without having to make a return, and threatened to give me bad feedback. This is extortion.
3:18:29 PM Cerina M.
If the buyer would wanted money, why would she choose to leave the Feedback instead of accepting your offer Eric? Extortion happens when the buyer had initiated the request for additional amount in order to provide good Feedback. Aside from that, the buyer stated that she would leave a bad Feedback because of you not responding to her emails. When leaving feedback, we encourage our members to be open and honest. Even if a member leaves Feedback that is unfair, untruthful, or harmful to a member's reputation, we can't remove it as under a federal law called the Communications Decency Act, we're not legally responsible for comments posted on eBay, even if they're untrue.
3:19:52 PM Cerina M.
We've looked carefully into your situation Eric. After reviewing the Feedback and the circumstances surrounding the transactions, we've determined that the negative Feedback did not meet our requirements for removal.
3:20:13 PM happywookiee
Again, my offer was to return the lot and get a refund. She refused because she wanted both the lot and money. She left bad feedback the moment she knew I was not going to send her money without a return.
3:20:47 PM happywookiee
This is extortion. I need to speak to a manager.
3:22:44 PM Cerina M.
We follow the same guidelines on removing Feedback Eric. The Feedback that was left to you is the buyer's opinion on the outcome of your transaction and the item they received. We cannot remove this negative Feedback.
3:23:22 PM happywookiee
Again, this was extortion. I need to speak to a manager.
3:25:49 PM Cerina M.
Extortion is when the buyer initiated the request for refunds or additional amount in exchange for good Feedback, in your case, it was you who offered the refund Eric.
3:27:29 PM happywookiee
I offered a refund for the return of the lot. She stated it would be to hard for her to find the pieces...she is the one who first stated she wanted something else, without having to return the lot.
3:31:33 PM happywookiee
Extortion is trying to obtain something (in this case money) while threatening to hurt my good standing in Ebay. It does not matter if I tried to please her first with a refund. She let me know she was keeping my goods and wanted more. This is extortion because she had already threatened my feedback.
3:32:46 PM happywookiee
I tried to bend to her and offer her $10. She said $15 would "start the process". It was clear to me she intended to play games with me.
3:33:59 PM happywookiee
Also, although you have said that Ebay does not take sides, you're arguments are clearly in favor of the buyer. I need to speak to a manager.
3:35:05 PM Cerina M.
Okay then. Please remain on this chat while I look for my manager.
3:45:01 PM Cerina M.
Thank you for waiting Eric. The next person that you will be chatting with will be my manager. Please stay connected.
3:45:11 PM System
You are being transferred to another Agent. Please stand by...
3:45:12 PM System
Cerina M. has left this session!
3:45:12 PM System
Roanna C. has joined this session!
3:45:12 PM System
Connected with Roanna C.
3:46:57 PM Roanna C.
Thank you for contacting eBay Trust and Safety, My name is Roana C., one of the account supervisors. Please give me a moment to review what you have typed.
3:59:56 PM happywookiee
While I have been waiting for you, I reviewed feedback she has left for others. Please check this out. Negative feedback left for others by ************(blocked by author of thread) says that she wants a refund without returning the item. This is a repeat of the exact same scam. I know that she may not seem like the usual extortionist, but it is clear that this is something she does and has done to other Ebay sellers. This is an unfair and wrong practice and should not be allowed.
4:02:33 PM Roanna C.
Sorry to keep you waiting. I have checked all the details of your Feedback Extortion claim and comment clearly shows that the buyer is not satisfied with the item since there was a missing part.
4:03:25 PM happywookiee
No, please read the listing. The listing stated parts were missing.
4:03:58 PM Roanna C.
For us to consider this a Feedback Extortion issue, there must be an evidence in the messages sent through the Email Forwarding System of eBay, which I did not find in your inbox.
4:04:35 PM happywookiee
I am about to give you a negative feedback as you are not responding to my e-mail and I am unhappy with the missing and broken pieces of this listing.
-From one of her emails
4:05:17 PM happywookiee
She has done this to others...please do not allow this!
4:06:50 PM happywookiee
She did not want to return my item, but wanted money instead. She had done this to others...please see her feedback profile.
4:08:28 PM Roanna C.
I understand that this buyer has given another seller a Negative Feedback, however, please understand that our decisions on removing a Feedback is based on a specific Feedback guideline and most of all we only jump into the situation if there is a violation
4:09:33 PM happywookiee
She does not come out and say, give me money or else....she let me know that my feedback was on the line if I did not do what she wanted. She also let me know that she would not return my lot! She wanted money. There was no way to resolve this unless i just gave her money. This is extortion.
4:09:40 PM Roanna C.
We want to certainly look into the Feedback she left others but that would not guarantee that we can also have the negative feedback removed from your account.
4:10:17 PM Roanna C.
How did she told you about this? Is this through eBay?
4:11:52 PM happywookiee
Yes, she stated she would not return it (it would be to hard) but we should resolve it in another way. How else? I offered her $10 to get her to cease, but again she stated $15 would "begin the process"
4:14:07 PM happywookiee
In that moment I knew that she was letting me know that I "owed her" and that she wouldn't drop this. If she had stated $15 would be fine and she would let it go , I would've paid! She was kinda holding this over my head!
4:14:16 PM Roanna C.
Unfortunately, I have not seen any of these messages in the Email Forwarding System. I could have considered this as an extortion but we are missing an important evidence in taking action.
4:15:18 PM happywookiee
I am planning to search for a complete jumbo jet soon. Im sure its gone up since its closer to christmas now. I strongly believe $15 would be a reasonable amount to start this process (along with dealing with the damages).
4:15:28 PM happywookiee
That was from her email
4:16:44 PM happywookiee
It would be difficult to return the lot to you as it already took me hours sorting them when it arrived as the three lots were combined together (hundreds to thousand pieces).
There must be some other resolution to these concerns. I'm frustrated about this and would like to move on in a positive way.

From one of her first emails
4:17:48 PM happywookiee
You can clearly see from this email she was leaving me with no options. Pay her money was the only choice.
4:19:37 PM happywookiee
Also you can understand that one little piece in a lot of hundreds to thousands (in her words) should not be such a huge problem! Also it was pictured and stated missing! I feel she was looking for something to be unhappy about.
4:21:02 PM Roanna C.
All right. Please give me 2 to 3 minutes to further review what else we can do here. just wanna make sure I did not miss anything on this case.
4:21:12 PM happywookiee
Thank you.
4:38:48 PM Roanna C.
Thank you for patiently waiting, I have escalated this issue and we have decided to remove the Feedback off of your account since I now have enough evidence to consider this for extortion.
4:39:06 PM happywookiee
Thank you. She purchased 3 lots from me that day. I have a feeling she will give me bad feedback 2 more times, is there anyway to stop her from doing this?
4:41:49 PM Roanna C.
The Feedback should be removed from your account within 24 hours and I would also advise you to add this buyer's id to your blocked bidder/buyer list so just to make sure that you won't have any future trouble with them.
4:42:28 PM happywookiee
Thank you so much....I really appreciate it. Will she be able to leave me negative feedback on the other 2 lots?
4:46:27 PM happywookiee
Are you still there?
4:47:03 PM Roanna C.
Your welcome. As for the 2 remaining transactions, we cannot assure you that she will not be able to leave feedback for the other two.
4:47:35 PM Roanna C.
Sorry to keep your waiting. I'm still on the he process of removing the Feedback.
4:47:58 PM happywookiee
What should I do then? Will I be able to have it removed due to the nature of this case? Can I contact you directly again?
5:06:20 PM Roanna C.
Feedback has been removed.
5:07:10 PM happywookiee
Thanks so much! Will the other 2 be removed if she decides to use those against me as well?
5:09:25 PM Roanna C.
If that would be the case then the Feedback should be removed.
5:09:52 PM happywookiee
oh, Thank you!!!!
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