Suspended from eBay! it can happen to you too

UNDERTAKER

2010-02-15T23:15:00.001-08:00

UNDERTAKER

ולסיום אנדרטייקר עם התאורה האופיינית... :)

Epilogue

2008-07-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

This blog was created in order to publish one mans' attempt to reason with a company that judged him for doing no harm.

My story doesn't have a happy ending, but maybe other people will do better.

This blog came to show that support centers don't always do their job as "SUPPORT" centers, but come to offend clients and hit them where it hurts - the fact that most people are unable to publish their private details for any reason, and the fact that people don't have the time to deal with it.

My story spreads over a month + few days, with no results since I've been rejected by generic messages with every attempt I've made to settle this.

eBay will probably respond to my final message somehow , but I don't think I'll post anymore.

This failure of mine to end this matter successfully, feels like I can't prove that I am who I am, even though every evidence has been given to the "judge" (in my case - eBay).

I'm hurt by this matter and I strongly asvise you to watch every move you do in that site, since you can be suspended too for no logical reason (nor you will get an explanation from eBay later).

For the eBay people reading this - thanks for making me feel like a criminal, like a nobody and like an indecent person, for trying to buy items through the net - a step I didn't want to do in the first place but was convinced by my friend that there's no harm in it.

Well, the harm is that apperantly my cyver personality, thanks to you, is a stanied no good crook. And noone can give me a reason as to why is that.

I wish you to feel just like you've made me feel and may you will also be judged - wrongly - with no chance of redemption.

Thanks for nothing.

And to the readers I say again - watch your steps at the site, and once suspended, do yourself a favor and give up, it just doesn't worth the trouble.

Best regards,

Itamar.

July 25th - It's over, but it's not a happy ending.

2008-07-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

I've addressed eBay again, since they seem to ignore me unless I bug them.

Hi,

Have you reviewd my account?

Few hours later I've received the oh-so-familiar answer:

Thank you again for your email. I appreciate that you're eager to have
your account "itamar050" reinstated, so please allow me to assist you
further with this concern.

Before we can review your account we also need proof of your address. We
usually ask for a photocopy of a bank statement or utility bill (mobile
phone bills aren't eligible) to prove your address.

If you don't have a bank statement or utility bill showing your current
address, we'll accept a copy of one of the following documents, as long
as you haven't already used it as proof of your name:

- Local Authority council tax bill (valid for the current year)
- Both parts of a current UK photocard driving licence
- Building society or credit union statement showing current address
- Recent mortgage statement from a recognised lender
- Local Council rent card or tenancy agreement with address showing
- Notification letter from the Benefits Agency confirming the rights to
benefit

Clearly print your User ID on all documents so we can quickly match them
with your account.

Thank you for your cooperation. We look forward to your response so that
we can resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Kind regards,
eBay Trust & Safety

I've replied:

I'm not a UK resident.
Look, we've been through this and again you're sendinf me these exact same messages over and over again.

I have an authorized and verified PayPal account, if it's of any use.

Please review my account and keep me posted since you're not answering me unless I'm writing back to you, and that's not very professional.

I don't think any of you really wants to help me there, since if you would try to help me you would've reinstate my account long ago, since everything you need is in your hands - address, name, phone number, username and even my picture.

Please review y account right this time and write me back.

Itamar.

And received the answer that made me give up on the whole deal, since this war seems to be doomed to failure since I've first tried settling this whole deal:

Hello Itamar,

Thank you for your reply to our email with regard to the suspension of
your eBay account "itamar050". I'd like to explain why we aren't
prepared to consider your account for reinstatement at this time.

As always, the safety of the eBay marketplace and our members' security
are our top concerns. We require eBay members to always provide valid
and complete contact information. This enables effective communication
between eBay members and between eBay and its members.

If we are unsure about the accuracy or authenticity of a member's
contact information, we will often require the member to provide
documents to verify such information. As explained in our previous
email, we are asking you to send us copies of documents that will
confirm some of the contact information you've given us. I'm afraid we
won't consider your account for reinstatement until we receive the
requested documents.

Please refer to our previous email for information regarding your
suspension and the documents we require in order to review your account
for reinstatement.

Rest assured that we treat your personal information with the utmost
care and that we observe all necessary data protection requirements. Our
customer support staff will review your documents purely for the
purposes of internal administration. We always destroy documents after
we've reviewed them.

We look forward to receiving your documentation so that we can resolve
this matter as soon as possible for you.

Kind regards,
eBay Trust & Safety

This is my final reply to eBay:

Hi,

Well, I'm glad that you don't consider my account for reinstatement even though you're holding my personal ID and drivers license at hand, with all of my details printed on them + translation.
I'm glad to have a VALIDATE and verified PayPal account, that you don't seem to find helpful even though it's been charged with my card in order to verify it.

I do not wish to continue with this matter.
I wish my account to be deleted - all of my details removed from your site and my documents shredded and disposed of.
I'm asking for a proof that you've destroyed my documents so I can be calm about the whereabouts of my personal details.

I will not do any business through your site, I do not wish to be treated like a criminal - a feeling which you've made me feel for the past month.

I require a proof that my account and details have been removed from your database permanently, and that my documents were disposed of properly (throwing them to a garbage can isn't proper disposal.).

I'm waiting for a reply confirming these stages were made, and I hope that I'll never have to use your discriminating services ever again.

Here's a blog I've created for this matter, it will be published for my friends and the world to see, hopefully it'll help people avoid your site.
http://itamarvsebay.blogspot.com/

Take care and notify me once my account has been removed.

Itamar.

July 21st- the end is near

2008-07-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

After 7 days without news, eBay finally replied, by sending me this message.

Right after reading it, I've faxed them my papers again. Sounds like the end is near huh? No, it isn't...Or is it....

Hello,

Thank you for your email regarding the documents you sent to us. I'd
like to assist you about the suspension of your account "itamar050".

I understand you're upset we haven't received your documents yet. This
could be because they didn't come through clearly enough on the fax
machine, you didn't print your User ID or email address on them.

As it's been more than 10 days since you sent your document to us, I
recommend you send your proof of address again.

To ensure we can match your document quickly with your account, please
print your User ID and email address in block capitals on each page.

Please do not worry as when we receive the documents, rest assured that
we'll review your account and send you an email regarding the outcome.

Here's our contact details again:

Faxing from the UK: 0207 681 2348
Faxing from outside the UK: 0044 207 681 2348

Postal address (photocopies only):

eBay Trust & Safety
Attn: Suspension Appeals
P.O. Box 9473
Dublin 15
Ireland

To get your documents to us here in Ireland as quickly as possible,
please ensure you pay the correct postage.

Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with the
utmost care. We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.

I would just like to remind you that the reinstatement of your account
relies on the documents you will send to us. Please rest assured that
your account will be evaluated and placed on high priority once these
documents are received and verified. I'm optimistic that you will get
this matter resolved.

We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to your documentation so
that we can resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Kind regards,
eBay Trust & Safety

So, as I've written at the begining of the post - I've faxed them the papers shortly after receiving this message, and replied the email with:

Hi,

I've just faxed over my documents again (2 minutes ago)

Please be advised and approve that you did receive them.

Thanks in advance,

itamar.

About an hour later, I've received a message from eBay again, saying:

Hello,

Thank you for sending us your proof of name. I appreciate you taking the
time to resolve the suspension of your account "itamar050".

As you were already informed, we also need proof of your address before
we can review your account for reinstatement.

We usually ask for a photocopy of a bank statement or utility bill
(mobile phone bills aren't eligible) to prove your address.

If you don't have a bank statement or utility bill showing your current
address, we'll accept a copy of one of the following documents, as long
as you haven't already used it as proof of your name:

- Local Authority council tax bill (valid for the current year)
- Both parts of a current UK photocard driving licence
- Building society or credit union statement showing current address
- Recent mortgage statement from a recognised lender
- Local Council rent card or tenancy agreement with address showing
- Notification letter from the Benefits Agency confirming the rights to
benefit

Clearly print your User ID on all documents so we can quickly match them
with your account.

You can always refer to our previous email for information on where to
send the documents.

Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with the
utmost care. We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.

Thank you for your cooperation. We look forward to receiving your
documentation so that we can resolve this matter as we're eager to have
you back on eBay.

Kind regards,
eBay Trust & Safety

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

You have received a 1 page fax at 2008-07-21 16:27:40 WET.
* The reference number for this fax is
lon2_did11-1216657537-

2076812348-49.
Please visit https://www.efaxcorporate.com/corp/twa/page/customerSupport
if you have any questions regarding this message or your service. You
may also e-mail our corporate support department at
corporatesupport@mail.efax.com.
Thank you for using the eFax Corporate service!
(c) 2008 j2 Global Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
eFax Corporate(r) is a registered trademark of j2 Global Communications,
Inc.

As you can see, at the bottom of the message, there is a confirmation that my fax went through and got to them, so they can't tell me again that my fax didn't arrive.
After receiving this answer I wrote back:

Hi,

This is the second time I'm faxing my details over to you.

I'm not going to send anymore information to you, since everything you want to know appears in the documents you've just received.

Review these documents right and slve this issue, since I've done everything you wanted me to do so far.

I've been getting the same messages from you for the past month and I don't want this story to go on anymore.

Waiting for your ruling.

Itamar.

And silence fell for 4 more days...

July 20th - Man it's quiet...

2008-07-20T00:15:00.000-07:00

Hi again,

I havn't heard from eBay in 6 days.
I've emailed them yesterday -

Hi,
It's been 4 days without a reply from you guys.
Any news regarding my matter?

Itamar.

But I'm yet to recieve any answer...

Frankly, i think of giving up, since this whole fight just doesn't worth it, but I hope that a solution will be found.

Will keep updating a soon as there's news.

Itamar.

July 14th - part II

2008-07-20T00:09:00.000-07:00

In this reply eBay had sent me account details that WERE NOT MINE! Hence, they have VIOLATED THEYRE PRIVACY POLICY themselves!

Hello,

Thank you for writing back to us regarding the suspension of your
account -=Censored by my in order to keep the poor guy's details somewhat confidential (Itamar)=-
I understand you'd like to know the status of your
appeal after sending your documents to us, and I'm happy to assist you
with this.

Unfortunately we haven't received the documents yet. This could be
because they didn't come through clearly enough on the fax machine, you
didn't print your User ID or email address on them, or they got lost in
the post.

As it's been more than 10 days since you sent your documents to us, I
recommend you send them again.

To ensure we can match your documents quickly with your account, please
print your User ID and email address in block capitals on each page.
Please do send them to the address or fax number we previously stated.

When we receive the documents we'll review your account and send you an
email regarding the outcome.

Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with the
utmost care. We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.

We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to your response so that
we can resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Kind regards,
eBay Trust & Safety

I have quickly replied, sinced I feared that if I'd gotten another guy's details, eBay may have sent my details to someone else!

Hi,

As i'm in constant touch with you regarding the attempt to try and have my eBay account reinstated, I'm used to get these generic messages that say the same all the time.

However, this message is NOT addressed to me, my username is "itamar050" and not "XXXXX (censored by me, of course :) )".
If this is the way you treat your users details and if that's the way you're keeping this information "confidential", I hate to imagine who got an e-mail with MY details in it.

How dare you speak of "privacy policies" while you yourself are distributing other users' details over the internet!

I demand an explanation for this error, since I've been promised that user detaiils are confidential and are used by ebay employees only.
I also want a phone numver to which I can call in order to speak to a human being for a change, instead of these automatically generated messages of your.

Thanks and looking forward to your quick reply,

Itamar.

Well, eBay didn't take long to respond, however without referring the mistake they've made:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting us again regarding the suspension of your
account "itamar050". I appreciate that you feel this matter could be
resolved quicker over the phone, so please allow me to assist you.

Please be informed that we value you as an eBay member that's why we're
focusing on providing the best possible support to our members like you
through email rather phone. This will ensure that our communication
between you is consistent, and enables us to keep a precise record of
all communication between us and our members.

I understand your concern regarding the documents that you sent. As
stated in our previous email we already received your driving license.
I've checked once again our records and confirmed that we haven't
received a proof of your address. This could be because the fax arrived
blurry or dark, there were missing pages, or because we couldn't see
your User ID.

We highly recommend you resend your proof of address.

Please refer to our previous email for information about where to fax or
post the documents.

Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with the
utmost care. We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Kind regards,
eBay Trust & Safety

I've decided to send them a reply in a format they may understand, so i wrote it in they're kind of message format:

Hello,

Thank you for contactng me again with another "copy & paste" message.
I got the same exact messages from you for the past 3 weeks.

I don't understand where emails can replace a phone call regarding to a "consistent" communication. The matter can be solved with one phone call.

As stated in the previous mail(s), you have my proof of address in your hands but you're choosing to ignore it over and over again, since if you can see my drivers lisence, you can also see the translation I've written on the top of the page which inclides my address, name, ebay username and cellphone number.

Moreover - regrading your so called "privacy policy" and regarding the fact that you are from the "trust and safety" department, I'm still waiting for an explanation about why I've got an email with anither users' details. I wonder what user got an email notifying him about my details.
By the way, it's good to know that there are other people stuck in my position, but since they're probably not a victim of racism and discrimination on your part - their matter is probably solved by now.

I'm looking forward to a reply saying you've reviewd ALL THE DETAILS IN THE DOCUMENTS IVE SENT TO YOU and finally see that you have all the proof you need.
If the next reply from you will not contain a human reply or anything that will imply that someone actually tries to solve my matter - I will ask my account to be deleted and all of my details disposed of + a proof that my documents were destroyed.

Standing by for updates,

Itamar.

That was my last commuication with eBay for the past 6 days, didn't hear from them yet.

Will keep updating as soon as they will reply.

july 14th - I get that "I give up" feelin'.

2008-07-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

eBay had sent me another thoughtful reply, especially regarding what I've wrote them last time.
Kidding, it's the same automated reply...

Hello Itamar,

Thank you for writing back to us regarding the suspension of your
account "itamar050". I realise this may be frustrating for you but
please know that I m here to help you.

Itamar, I understand you already faxed the document we requested, and we
appreciate your eagerness to have your account reinstated. I'm more than
happy to assist you.

Unfortunately we haven't reviewed your documents yet. As stated in our
previous email, we ask you to allow at least three to five days for us
to review your account after we receive your documents. [At present I'm
afraid we have a slight backlog, which is causing delays.]

If your documents didn't come through clearly on the fax machine or you
didn't print your User ID or email address on them, it will take longer
for us to review them, and we may not be able to match them with your
account.

If you haven't heard from us three days after faxing your documents,
it's possible that they didn't come through so I recommend you send them
again.

To ensure we can match your documents quickly with your account, please
print your User ID and email address in block capitals on each page.

When we receive the documents we'll review your account and send you an
email regarding the outcome. We'll send you an email whatever the
outcome of the review.

Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with the
utmost care. We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.

We appreciate your cooperation and look forward in receiving your
document so that we can resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Kind regards,
eBay Trust & Safety

Funny thing, I've seen about 10-12 names of different represantatives that write back in the exact same way. Funny ha?

So I wrote this, trying to appeal to someone's fellings again:

It's been 2 weeks since I've sent my documents, you told me yoiu had them already so where's the delay?
I really want to know if I"m being delayed on purpose on account of my israeli origin, since there are no other options I cacn think of that are causing such a long delay in this matter.

I've got this reply back. Now here's where things got funny! So I'll post that in a different post.

July 13th - A sign of life

2008-07-19T23:51:00.000-07:00

After 7 days without news, i've emailed eBay again:

Hi,
Didn't hear from you for a week now, is there any news regarding my matter?

Surprisingly, I got an answer shortly after that:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting us again. I appreciate the chance to further
assist you regarding the suspension of your account "itamar050".

To treat this matter with utmost importance, I've personally checked our
records and can confirm that we had received you proof of name. However,
before we can review your account we also need proof of your address.

We usually ask for a photocopy of a bank statement or utility bill
(mobile phone bills aren't eligible) to prove your address.

If you don't have a bank statement or utility bill showing your current
address, we'll accept a copy of one of the following documents, as long
as you haven't already used it as proof of your name:

- Local Authority council tax bill (valid for the current year)
- Both parts of a current UK photocard driving licence
- Building society or credit union statement showing current address
- Recent mortgage statement from a recognised lender
- Local Council rent card or tenancy agreement with address showing
- Notification letter from the Benefits Agency confirming the rights to
benefit

Clearly print your User ID on all documents so we can quickly match them
with your account.

Here's our contact details again:

Fax number: +44 (0)20 7681 2348

Postal address (photocopies only):

eBay Trust & Safety
Attn: Suspension Appeals
P.O. Box 9473
Dublin 15
Ireland

To get your documents to us here in Ireland as quickly as possible,
please ensure you pay the correct postage.

Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with the
utmost care. We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.

We appreciate your cooperation and look forward in receiving your
documents so that we can resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Kind regards,
eBay Trust & Safety

Again with faxing the already faxed documents....I was pissed, I quickly replied:

Is ANYBODY ever reads the responses I've sent for the past 2 WEEKS??
You have my proof of address in your hands, on the same fax you're holding!
Attached is a PDF of the fax you have there, which shows all the details you need - again.

Let me know that you've recieved and reviewd this..

Itamar.

To this message I've attached, as written, a PDF with the scanned certificates and translation which they asked for, exactly as I've sent via fax.
However.....

Hello Itamar,

Thank you for writing back to us regarding the suspension of your
account "itamar050". I'd like to give you more information.

I'm afraid we don't accept email attachments for security reasons. Any
attachments sent to us are automatically deleted by our email system.

Please send us the documents via fax. Alternatively you may wish to post
photocopies to us. Clearly print your User ID on all documents so we can
quickly match them with your account.

Here's our contact details again:

Fax number: +44 (0)20 7681 2348

Postal address (photocopies only):

eBay Trust & Safety
Attn: Suspension Appeals
P.O. Box 9473
Dublin 15
Ireland

To get your documents to us here in Ireland as quickly as possible,
please ensure you pay the correct postage.

Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with the
utmost care. We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.

We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to your response so that
we can resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Kind regards,
eBay Trust & Safety

I was rejected on the threshhold, with the excuse that they don't recieve files.
Mad as I was, I blamed their contempt and disregard to my matter, on my origin:

Hi,
I've faxed you the exact certificates as they appear on the file you "don't accept", you have all of your proof IN YOUR HANDS yet you choose to ignore them.
Is this done to me because I'm Israeli? Because I belong to a nations that speaks the Hebrew language?
If so - please state that you don't want to deal with me and I will understand.

Otherwise - look at the documents you have in your hands, the photocopies of my certificates, and see for yourself that I have sent you EVERYTHING you've asked me to fax over.

Looking forward to your reply,

Itamar.

Didn't help, naturally....and the war rages on.

July 6th - It's getting quiet.....too quiet.....

2008-07-19T23:40:00.000-07:00

Yet again i'm posting anither nice reply from my pals at eBay, who doesn't even care to read wht I'm writing them. however In this one I've got anither proof that my documents are in their hands:

Hello Itamar,

Thank you for your email and for faxing the information we requested. I
appreciate the chance to assist you further regarding the suspension of
your account "itamar050".

Itamar, to treat this matter with utmost importance, I've personally
checked our records and unfortunately, as far as I can determine, we
haven't received a fax that we could match with your account. This could
be because the fax arrived unclear.

We recommend you re-fax the documents.

Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with the
utmost care. We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.

We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to receiving your
documents so that we can resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Kind regards,
eBay Trust & Safety

I was starting to get mad at this point, I've sent eBay this reply, suggesting another way to end this issue:

I've received several replies saying you've got my fax and that you're waiting for proof of address.
You're uncoordinated anong yourselves. Please match the data that every representative sent me.

As far as I can determine from the answers i get, the status is: You've got the fax, thanks.A day later - You didn't get the fax. You did get the fax but it's unclear, you only got the drivers license (which is impossible since both certificates appear on the same page), you need hebrew to english translation, there is no data regrading my account, there is info regarding my account but it doesn't match my details.

These are all answers I received from your center.

Please give me your phone number, I wan't to solve this personally over the phone.
Also - please contact Angelica T. from your online support center, i've been on an online support session with her and she saw that I'm not an abuser and that I didn't do nothing wrong.

I will send you the documents again via email as a PDF file. I don't have any access to a fax machine anytime soon.
Wether you will accept files or not - I'm going to send it to you as a PDF.

My cellphone is XXXXXXX (I live in Israel).

Would love to speak to someone instead of emailing these repeating messges.

Itamar.

Well...the next reply I've got was.....nothing!
haven't heard from eBay for 7 days (until July 13th).

July 5th - The circle of eBay...or life...or something like it.

2008-07-19T23:30:00.000-07:00

So I didn't recieve any annoying replies the previous day, but I did recieve one on July 5th.
As expected it was no dofferent then the other ones I've recieved.
It said:

Hello Itamar,

Thank you for writing back to us regarding the suspension of your
account "itamar050". I understand you're anxious to have your account
reinstated.

As explained in our previous emails, your account was suspended for
breaching our Abusing eBay policy.

It is our policy never to explain exactly what gave us cause for concern
about a particular account, as this could help users intent on breaching
our policies to avoid detection. We suspended your account as a
precautionary measure.

With regard to the documents you submitted, I can confirm that we have
only received your driver's license as proof of your name. This could be
because the fax arrived blurry or dark, there were missing pages, or
because we couldn't see your User ID.

I also understand that you don't have the documents written in English.
For this reason, we ask you to submit the proof of address translated in
English before we can review your account. Please refer to our previous
emails for the list of documents you can use.

Itamar, please be assured that we treat your personal information with
the utmost care and that we observe all necessary data protection
requirements. Our customer support staff will review your documents
purely for the purposes of internal administration. We always destroy
documents after we've reviewed them.

Thank you for your cooperation. We look forward to your response so that
we can resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Kind regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

My comment to that was:

Hi,

Look, I'm starting to lose patience here....
It's not possible that you only got my drivers license since both my ID and driver license are printed on the same page.
The page contains as following:
Drivers license - front and back (front side -Hebrew, back side - English, only front side contains address) and an Israeli identification card (the certificate on right side of the page, upper picture is the ID itself, bottom picture is the extra that comes with the ID containing address, status and citizenship type)

On the top part of the page is the following text: "this fax has been send to you regarding the suspension of my account. thanks, Itamar." and right below it is a translation of all of my details -
Fname, Lname, eBay username, ADDRESS, CITY, STATE, and cellphone.

You're holding all of the information that you've required for me in your hands. Please review it right this time and reinstate my account.

Last night I was on an online support session with Angelica T. who said she'll try and help me since she's convinced I'm not an abuser, I wish you to address her and ask her for an opinion on this matter.
I'm sending this email because she is the first person who really tried helping me and not just send me robotic messages.

I hope that this matter will come to conclusion soon,

Itamar.

At this point, I felt very frustrated, since the promise of assitance I got from the representative at the online session, didn't help what so ever.

But of course that it doesn't end here...

July 4th - Happy independence day to America, Raging battle for Itamar.

2008-07-19T22:38:00.000-07:00

So, as you read at the previous post, I've got one hhuman answer so far, that made me keep trying and get my account reinstated.

However, a day after, at July 4th, I've recieved the oh so familiar message from eBay:

Hello Itamar,

Thank you for your email regarding the documents you sent to us. I
understand that you'd like to get back on eBay as soon as possible.

I can imagine how deeply dissapointing this situation must have been for
you, I know that you tried your best to send the documents to have your
account "itamar050" reviewed for reinstatement and we really do
appreciate your effort.

Unfortunately, I have doubled checked your account and we haven't
received proof of your address. This could be because they didn't come
through clearly enough on the fax machine, you didn't print your User ID
or email address on them.

As it's been more than 10 days since you sent your documents to us, I
recommend you send them again.

To ensure we can match your documents quickly with your account, please
print your User ID and email address in block capitals on each page.

When we receive the documents we'll review your account and send you an
email regarding the outcome.

Here's our contact details again:

Fax number: +44 (0)20 7681 2348

Postal address (photocopies only):

eBay Trust & Safety
Attn: Suspension Appeals
P.O. Box 9473
Dublin 15
Ireland

To get your documents to us here in Ireland as quickly as possible,
please ensure you pay the correct postage.

Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with the
utmost care. We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.

We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to your response so that
we can resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Kind regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

So, with the feeling that I'm starting to lose my temper, I've replied with this:

My address, as I said, is printed on my ID as well as on my driver license, so if yo ustill have those and you can read Hebrew - you'll be able to see it there.
What about the suggestions I've made? Are any of those acceptable?

But of course that i got no answer to my suggestions, after all, eBay makes the rules, I have to obey.

No further replies were recieved that day.

Later on I've initiated an online session with an eBay representative, and after alot of effort i've manged to convince her that I didn't do anything wrong.
She suggested things similar to my suggestions to the trust&safety team, and I told her that I've mad the same suggestions and got turned down.

After a while she checked my account and saw that there's nothing unusual or suspicious with my account activity, as well as the fact that it was barely used.

She promised that shee would try to solve some of this matter on my behalf, after I told her that my geographical location doesn't allow me to solve this matter personally by phone or by going to the eBay office with the required documents (that were, of course, faxed to them) in person.

I went to sleep feeling that things are finally starting to work out.

Now...there's a Waylon Jennings song that I like...it's called "Wrong". I shouldn't have thought otherwise.

July 3rd - The empire strikes back!

2008-07-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

After 5 days with no reply, I've contacted eBay again:

Hi,
I would like to know if there's any progress in this matter since I didn't get any response from you in the past 5 days.
BR,
Itamar.

Shortly after sending the message I've received this reply:

Hello Itamar,

Thank you for your email regarding the documents you sent to us.

Iappreciate the chance to assist you further regarding the suspension ofyour account "itamar050".

To treat this matter with utmost importance, I've personally checked our records and unfortunately we haven't received the documents yet.
This could be because they didn't come through clearly enough on the faxmachine, you didn't print your User ID or email address on them, or theygot lost in the post.

As it's been more than 10 days since you sent your documents to us, I recommend you send them again.

Itamar, When we receive the documents we'll review your account and sendyou an email regarding the outcome.

Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with theutmost care.

We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.
We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to receiving your documents so that we can resolve this matter as soon as possible.

regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

My reply to that was:

Hi,

Look, I'll say again...
I've quoted an e-mail from your support saying that you DID receive the documents, so where are they?

I'm starting to worry about this whole deal and I wish I didn't sign in to your site in the first place.
I'm attaching the message again, saying my documents came through and that you need more (a bank statement which contains proof of address, but as I said i will not send my bank information to you after you lost my personal identification documents.

Please let me know that you've found my documents since my privacy is at stake here.
Were you in my position perhaps you'd understand, but I get the feeling nobody understands my matter or my feeling regarding sending personal documents overseas without the option to know where they are exactly.

(-Note: Here I've attached the same message I've quoted before, I won't attach it again)

I'm looking forward to your reply as fast as possible,

Itamar.

Thought it was over? No... I've recieved yet another reply from eBay:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting us again regarding your account "itamar050".

I'd like to clarify the situation for you.
Firstly, I apologise if our previous correspondence was not clear about the documents that you have sent us.
I understand you are worried aboutit because it contains your personal details and your privacy is atstake.
I've personally checked your records and I can confirm that wealready reviewed your proof of name.
With regard your concern if your documents were properly destroyed and disposed of after it was acceptedand reviewed, please be assured that we observe all necessary data protection requirements.
We treat your personal information with utmostcare and that our customer support staff will review your documentspurely for the purposes of internal administration.

We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.
I hope this information helps to ease your concerns.
Secondly, I understand you'd like more precise information about why we suspended your account.
In order to safeguard our community, I'm afraidwe're not allowed to divulge specific information about what led us totake action.
By revealing this, we could help members intent onbreaching the policy to avoid detection.
As what was explained in our previous emails, as a precaution, we suspend an account if it gives us cause for concern.
From experience we know that certain items and actions are more associated with fraudulentactivity on eBay than others.

Please be reminded we're not accusing you of fraudulent behaviour.
Our top priority is to ensure that eBay remains a safe and reputable place to buy and sell.
For this reason, we requested for documents that will allow us to verify information that you have given us.Finally, I'm afraid we can't consider your account for reinstatementuntil we receive your proof of address.

I understand your apprehension of sending us a bank statement for it contains more sensitive information. However, there are a lot of alternative documents that you can send to us a side from bank statement if you are still in doubt.
It was outlined in our previous email and also included in your recent email where you quoted the response of one of our customer supportagents.

You can always refer to this list to assist you how to appeal your suspension.
I acknowledge your explanation and appreciate you taking the time tos hare your insights. However, please be reminded that we have a standard process to follow before we can reinstate your account.

We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to receiving your proofof address so that we can resolve this matter as soon as possible for you.

Kind regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

So, again i've replied:

Hi (Represantataive's name has been crossed out by me. -Itamar),

Thanks for your reply, now I'm assured that my documents got to the right hand..

Now I can be calm about them.
However - my proof of address was in your hands, it is printed on the photocopy of my Israeli identification card as well as driver license..
And as I've mentioned before - every document that I'll send to you, as well the ones I've already sent, will be written in Hebrew, since it's the native language here.

Bank statements, credit card bills, ID's, military ex-veteran card, social security and everything else I have is written in Hebrew.

I have an idea which might work if you're willing to try it - why won't you send to my address a letter with a certain code or something like it, and once it arrives to my house , I'll write you the code and so we'll manage to verify, in a low-tech way, that my address is correct?

Another idea is that you'll let me buy something cheap (a data cable or a pin) from your shops (not auctions) using my billing information as provided to you, and confirm that I got the package to the address I've provided.

I know that these ideas sound a little odd but that's the best I can come up with..
I hope you'll find it as good and some what practical ideas, since I know from the last 3 weeks experience with the eBay support team, that any documents I'll send will not be understood because of hte language issue.

I'm also willing to try and solve this by phone if it can be done....

I really want to end this whole "Itamar tries to prove that he lives where he lives" saga, since I didn't sign up to eBay in order to get suspended or trade emails with a support center.

I've signed up in order to use the site like any other people (that includes some of my friends).
I would send you my army recommendations of I though it would do any good to show that I'm not any kind of hazardous person in anyway...
But that's a document I don't want to risk sending anywhere outside the country.
I appreciate your response since it's the most personal and informative one I've received yet.

Thanks again =-name crossed out again=-

BR,

Itamar.

That's for this session.
i really thought that I've finally gotten through to someone there but....again....wrong...

june 27th - Did you ever try to talk to a big brick wall? Well, my wall is eBay

2008-07-16T14:36:00.000-07:00

After this session, eBay's support team has "disappeard" for a week, leaving me quite mad and got me thinking that nobody actually tries to help me there.

eBays reply to my last message:

Hello Itamar,

Thank you for your email regarding the documents you sent to us.

I appreciate you taking the time to fax the documents we require to reinstate your account "itamar050".
As stated in our previous email, we ask you to allow at least three daysfor us to review your account after we receive your documents.

Unfortunately we haven't reviewed your documents yet.
If your documents didn't come through clearly on the fax machine or you didn't print your User ID or email address on them, it will take longerfor us to review them, and we may not be able to match them with youraccount.

If you haven't heard from us three days after faxing your documents (or10 days after posting), it's possible that they didn't come through so Irecommend you send them again.

You can refer to our previous email for our contact details.
Our customer support staff will review your documents purely for the purposes of internal administration.

Rest assured we observe all necessary data protection requirements.
always treat member'spersonal information with the utmost care.

We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.
We appreciate your efforts to resolve the issue, however we can'tc onsider your account for reinstatement until we receive the requested documents.

When we receive the documents we'll review your account and send you an email regarding the outcome.
We'll send you an email whatever the outcome of the review.

I trust this information helps to ease your concerns.

We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to receive your documents so that we canresolve this matter as soon as possible for you.

Kind regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

My reply to that:

Hi,
I'm sorry, but I think you've got this response all wrong.

You've told me that you DID receive my documents.
How come now you're telling me to send them again??

I hereby attach the email I've received from you, saying you've got my documents and wishing for more details.
This whole matter starts to feel like a burden to me, since I've never done anything wrong, yet I'm being carried out as though I did.

I've cooperated with you until this point and received your answers every time which were all the same.
I wish that you double check and look for my documents and see to it that they are destroyed.

Moreover - I want proof - by photo through email, that my papers have been shredded and disposed of.

Here's the full message I've got from your support:

Hello,Thank you for sending us your proof of name.
I appreciate that you'reeager to resolve your account "itamar050" suspension.
we can review your account we also need proof of your address.
Iapologise if we didn't make this clear enough in earlier emails.
We usually ask for a photocopy of a bank statement or utility bill(mobile phone bills aren't eligible) to prove your address.
If you don't have a bank statement or utility bill showing your currentaddress, we'll accept a copy of one of the following documents, as longas you haven't already used it as proof of your name:
- Local Authority council tax bill (valid for the current year)
- Both parts of a current UK photocard driving licence
- Building society or credit union statement showing current address
- Recent mortgage statement from a recognised lender
-Local Council rent card or tenancy agreement with address showing
- Notification letter from the Benefits Agency confirming the rights tobenefit
Clearly print your User ID on all documents so we can quickly match themwith your account.
Here's our contact details again:
Fax number: +44 (0)20 7681 2348
Postal address (photocopies only):eBay Trust & SafetyAttn: Suspension Appeals
P.O. Box 9473Dublin 15Ireland
To get your documents to us here in Ireland as quickly as possible,please ensure you pay the correct postage.
Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with theutmost care.
We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.
We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to your response so thatwe can resolve this matter as soon as possible.
We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.
Kind regards,
eBay Trust & Safety

I hope that you'll see to it that the whole issue will come to conclusion.
Thanks.

Itamar.

So, as I've said at the begining f this long post - eBay haven't replied for 5 days, until I've contacted them again.

June 26th - The plot thickens!

2008-07-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here I was, waiting for some respone saying my docs had arrived when eventually, at June 26, I've recieved the following messages:

Hello Itamar,

Thank you for your reply to our email regarding the suspension of your account "itamar050".

I understand that you already faxed us the documents we requested.

I've checked our records and I can confirm that we haven't reviewed yourdocuments yet.

As stated in our previous email, we ask you to allow at least three days for us to review your account after we receive yourdocuments.

I would just like to remind you that the reinstatement of your accountrelies on the documents you will send to us.

Rest assured that youra ccount will be evaluated and placed on high priority once these documents are received and verified.

We'll then contact you via emailregarding the outcome.

I trust this information has helped ease your concerns.

We look forwardto receiving your documents so that we can resolve this matter as soonas possible for you.

Kind regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

As I don't remember asking about my account's evaluation, but only about the faxs' arrival, I've replied:

Hi,

I just wanted to know if you've received the fax, so I can be calm knowing it's there.

I do remember that there's a 3 day period (at least) before I'll receive an answer regarding my account, but again - I just want to know that the papers got through to you..

Thanks again,

Itamar.

Now here is where the problems began - internal coordination problems with the eBay trust and faety department's workers will cause me, from this point on, to get to the brink of feeling abused by eBay, for laughing purposes, since every reply from this point on seems as though it's meant to drive me crazy.

Here's the second reply I've received that evening:

Hello,

Thank you for sending us your proof of name.

I appreciate that you're eager to resolve your account "itamar050" suspension.

Before we can review your account we also need proof of your address.
I apologise if we didn't make this clear enough in earlier emails.

We usually ask for a photocopy of a bank statement or utility bill(mobile phone bills aren't eligible) to prove your address.

If you don't have a bank statement or utility bill showing your current address, we'll accept a copy of one of the following documents, as long as you haven't already used it as proof of your name:
- Local Authority council tax bill (valid for the current year)
- Both parts of a current UK photocard driving licence
- Building society or credit union statement showing current address
- Recent mortgage statement from a recognised lender
- Local Council rent card or tenancy agreement with address showing
- Notification letter from the Benefits Agency confirming the rights tobenefit

Clearly print your User ID on all documents so we can quickly match them with your account.

Here's our contact details again:

Fax number: +44 (0)20 7681 2348
Postal address (photocopies only):eBay Trust & SafetyAttn: Suspension Appeals
P.O. Box 9473Dublin 15Ireland

To get your documents to us here in Ireland as quickly as possible,please ensure you pay the correct postage.

Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with the utmost care.

We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.
We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to your response so thatwe can resolve this matter as soon as possible.

We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

Kind regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

So i've replied by trying to clarify the kind of documents I've send them:

Hi

as I've said before - My details are in hebrew, I've sent you a copy of my Identification card as well as my driver license.

On both of them my address is printed - in Hebrew.

I've asked before if it would b a problem and got no answer, therfore assumed it was ok.

I've written down my details , username, phone number, address and name on the paper that was sent to you.

I said that I was concerned about my privacy and that I don't feel comfortable to send you my personal documents, now you're asking me for another and more sensitive information?

My bank statement is also in Hebrew and is sent to me via email every month.

If I was to provide this information - it would be via email only and again - in Hebrew with my translation .

Moreover - I've got a paypal account, if that's of any help.

I feel that my matter is taking too long and that even after I've sent you personal documents (the only certificate that I didn't send is my army ID card, and I don't think that I will send it too since it has nothing to do with this matter) , I still don't see any progress.

You've told me that there's a 3 day waiting period before I will receive an answer regarding my suspension.

I've provided the information required, and I will wait 3 days for your decision, but I don't feel comfortable to reveal more personal (not mentioning secret and sensitive) information regarding my bank aacount (It's more then enough that my picture, ID number and address are hanging around overseas.)

Good day and best regards,

Itamar.

June 25th - Radio silence

2008-07-16T14:12:00.000-07:00

As i've faxed my documents, I've waited for some kind of confirmation that the fax had arrived, after no such confirmation was sent to me, I've sent eBay this message:

Hi,
I've faxed you the photocopy of my I.D and driver license.

Can you confirm that you've gotten them?

Thanks,

Itamar.

A reply arrived at the next day.

june 23rd - It's starting!

2008-07-16T13:52:00.000-07:00

A day after the previous mail 've sent, I've recieved a reply saying eBay doesn't accept attachments:

Hello Itamar,

Thank you for writing back to us regarding the suspension of youraccount "itamar050".

I'd like to give you more information.

I'm afraid we don't accept email attachments for security reasons.
Any attachments sent to us are automatically deleted by our email system.

Please send us the documents via fax.
Alternatively you may wish to postphotocopies to us.

Clearly print your User ID on all documents so we can quickly match them with your account.

Here's our contact details again:
Fax number: +44 (0)20 7681 2348
Postal address (photocopies only):eBay Trust & SafetyAttn: Suspension Appeals
P.O. Box 9473Dublin 15 Ireland

To get your documents to us here in Ireland as quickly as possible, please ensure you pay the correct postage.Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with theutmost care.

We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.

We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to your response so thatwe can resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Kind regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

See a pattern here? Yeah , it seems just like the first message I've recieved!
Anyway, I've replied like this:

Hello again,

I will fax you the information which you've asked for tonight (at about 23:00 GMT+2) or tomorrow (same approximate time).

I hope that by that the whole matter can come to an end.

I would like to say that I'm uncomfortable to send my personal private information + photos of my personal identification cards (that contains my picture and address) overseas.

Personally - I don't trust faxes (they get lost, not printed right and are visible to everyone that walks by), since I'm very concerned with my privacy and I can't tell who picks up the fax once it's delivered.

I would also like to know if this suspension will now cause me to be "suspension prone", so my account can be suspended whenever I contact a seller.

Last thing - I want some kind of proof that the fax has been shredded after it's been reviewed and after my details are verified.

Thanks again,

Itamar.

I've received another reply that night, that made my decision to send them that fax and get this thing over with:

Hello Itamar,

Thank you for writing back to us regarding the suspension of youraccount "itamar050".

I can understand you're concerned about sendingpersonal documents to us.

Please be assured that we treat your personal information with theutmost care and that we observe all necessary data protection requirements.

Our customer support staff will review your documents purely for the purposes of internal administration.

The safety of the eBay marketplace and our members' security are our top concerns.
Also, I'd like you to know that we always destroy your documents afterwe've reviewed them.

I hope this information helps to ease your concerns.

We look forward toreceiving your documentation so that we can resolve this matter as soon as possible for you.

Kind regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

So, I went on ahead and faxed them the photocopied of my ID and driver license , as they've asked me too, at the following day.

June 22nd - part II

2008-07-16T13:43:00.001-07:00

A reply from eBay's support center arrived few hours after my reply, saying:

Hello Itamar,

Thank you for contacting us again regarding the suspension of youraccount "itamar050".

I appreciate that you feel this matter could be resolved quicker over the phone, so please allow me to assist you.
Please be informed that we value you as an eBay member that's why we're focusing on providing the best possible support to our members like yout hrough email rather phone.

This will ensure that our communication between you is consistent, and enables us to keep a precise record of all communication between us and our members.

As stated in the last email we sent you, we know from experience that certain items and actions are more associated with fraudulent activityon eBay than others.

We reserve the right to suspend a member's accountand ask for further information if we have cause for concern.It's our policy never to share exactly what gave us reason to suspend anaccount as this could tell a fraudulent member how to avoid suspensionin the future.

Rest assured that we're not accusing you of fraudulent behaviour.

As it's our top priority to ensure that eBay remains a safe and reputableplace to buy and sell, we'd like to confirm some of the informationyou've given us.

Please appreciate that this level of security isdesigned to protect you as you buy and sell on eBay.

You can resolve this matter quickly by sending us the information werequested in our previous email.We look forward to receiving your identification documents and reviewing your account as soon as possible.

Kind regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

Again - I replied instantly:

Hi again,

My personal information (-I.D and drivers license) are in hebrew, I will send you photocopies with translation in my handwriting on the side of the photo, if that's ok.

Furthermore- How can I send you a fax from Israel?
Is it possible to send you the photocopies via email? (PDF format)

Thanks again,

Itamar.

At this point, I was willing to cooperate in order to settle my matter quicly.
As you can see, eBay states that "This will ensure that our communication between you is consistent, and enables us to keep a precise record of all communication between us and our members."

A satetement that if were true - this whole issue couldv'e been solved by now without me starting this blog.

But I'm here, and if you're reading this so are you :)

Stay tuned!

P.s
A day after this e-mail, I've received a survey from ebay regarding my opinion about their service.
As it was the begining of this saga, I filled it up with good marks since I have recieved 2 replies at 1 evening, even though they weren't too informative.

June 22 - eBays' first reply

2008-07-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

My suspenesion took place at june 19th, 2008.
As seen in the previous post, I've replied to eBay immediately, trying to solve this issue.
eBay's reply arrived 3 days later, on June 22nd, 2008, saying:

Hello,

Thank you for writing to us regarding the suspension of your account"itamar050".

I appreciate the chance to assist you with this matter.

Why did we suspend your account?
From experience we know that certain items and actions are moreassociated with fraudulent activity on eBay than others.

As aprecaution, we suspend an account if it gives us cause for concern.
We then ask for more information from the member before we reinstate theaccount.

Please understand we're not accusing you of fraudulent behaviour.

Ourtop priority is to ensure that eBay remains a safe and reputable placeto buy and sell, so we'd like to confirm some of the information you'vegiven us.

An account suspension in these circumstances is covered in the eBay UserAgreement under the heading "Abusing eBay".

You can read the entire UserAgreement by copying the following link into a new browser window: http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/user-agreement.html

Here's what you should do now:
send us all of the following information and we'll review youraccount:

1) Proof of name and address
2) Confirmation of your up-to-date contact details- Proof of name and address

Please send us copies of BOTH of the following:- government-issued photo identification (passport or driver's licence)- evidence of address (bank statement or utility bill)

You must send us PHOTOCOPIES, not originals as we can't return yourdocuments.
Clearly print your User ID on both documents so we can matchthem with your account quickly.- Confirmation of your up-to-date contact details

Please print the following information on the cover sheet of your letteror

fax:__________
User ID:
Email address:
Full name:
Full Address:
Contact phone number:__________

Please send us the information requested to the fax number or addressbelow.

Faxing from the UK: 020 7681 2348
Faxing from outside the UK: +44 20 7681 2348

Postal address:
eBay Trust & SafetyAttn: Suspension Appeals
P.O. Box 9473Dublin 15 Ireland

To get your documents to us here in Ireland as quickly as possible,please ensure you pay the correct postage.

Please be assured that eBay treats your personal information with theutmost care.

We always destroy documents after we've reviewed them.

What happens next?
Please allow three days for us to review your account after we have received your documents. We'll then contact you via email.

Your account will remain suspended until we receive and review these documents.
We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to your response so thatwe can resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Kind regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

Again, without wasting time, I've replied eBay, asking for more info regarding the suspension:

Hello again,

I still don't understand why my account has been suspended - other then asking sellers for shipment and payment options, I didn't violate any security related section...

Is it possible to contact someone via online support? (Chat, phone...)
Frankly - I don't think that all the trouble of faxing you my personal info (which is an absurd since I'm using my personal details and personal credit card to pay for things that I want to buy, not that I ever got the chance to..) in order to use a website.

I would like to know more about this suspension.

Thanks in advance and best regards,

Itamar.

As I've had my experience with suuport teams, and as I myself am a former member of a support team, I thought that someone will actually asist my to solve this matter, since I am a client in need of help form the company's part.

I was so wrong....

see what happens next at the next post.

Itamar.

Once upon a time...

2008-07-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

This is the begining of my story.
I was a registered eBay user for about a week. I also signed up to paypal and was approved.
Once Paypal approved my card, I've entered eBay in order to by something and give my eBay and paypal account their first run.

I've been using my account for teo days, in which I've managed to watch some items in my account and ask some sellers about shipment to Israel, and for payment options (wanted to find out whether they want a payment via paypal or by sending money).

As i've sent a question regarding shipment and payment options to the second seller that night (seems like a legitimate thing to do if you want to by something overseas) I've recieved this email:

Dear itamar050,
We regret to inform you that your eBay account has been suspended due to concerns we have for the safety of the eBay community.

To appeal your suspension, please reply to this email.

Why have we suspended your account?

The section of our User Agreement headed "Abusing eBay" states that we may suspend an eBay account if we believe that the user is creating problems or possible financial loss or legal liabilities.

We may also suspend an eBay account if the user has breached the User Agreement or if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information that the user provides to us.You can read our User Agreement by copying the following link into a new browser window:http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/user-agreement.html

During your suspension you are prohibited from using eBay in any way, including registering new accounts. We have ended your open listings.Please be advised that this suspension does not relieve you of your obligation to pay any fees that you may owe to eBay.

Thank you for your cooperation.
Regards,

eBay Trust & Safety

Well, good for me, I'm a dangerous person HA HA HA...
anyway..I've replied with this answer, and that's the begining of my long and so far endless session with eBay:

Hello,

My name is Itamar Avidani,

I'm a registered user and I've just received this message saying my account has been suspended.

In my opinion - I was suspended due to similar messages I've sent to sellers regarding shipment information and payment options.

I did not abuse any user and did not spam anyone with multiple messages.

The message I've sent to users is:
"Hi,Would like to know if shipment to Israel is available. If it is, what would be the cost?Also - is it possible to pay via paypal?Thanks in advance!Itamar"

I would thank you if you would relief the suspension, since I'm a new user that didn't get the chance to fully experiment with the site.

Besides today I've contacted one more seller, which was kind enough and supplied the information regarding shipment costs and payment options.

I didn't get to win one item yet and once I've tried to get into working with the site - you've sent me this suspension message + a "feedback removal" message.

I would be grateful if you could remove the suspension and the negative feedback which you've given me, since there's an item I want to get and it's auction ends in less then an hour.

Thanks in advance,

itamar.

As you can see, i was innocent enough to believe that someone actually sits there at the eBay support center, who'll read my mail and check my account, see if I'm telling the truth about being a new user and will remove my suspension....well, the truth is this is , as I said, the begining of the true "neverending story".

More about that - at the next post.

itamar.

Introductions by me

2008-07-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

My name is Itamar Avidani, and like many others - I was suspended from eBay.
My suspension has been blocking my account for almost a month now, in which I've been trading e-mails with the eBay support center.

The conclusion I got to is that eBay is run by robots that send generic messages that has one purpose - to drive you mad and make you give up on your account.

On this blog I will post the entire support session, which goes for almost a month.

Every post in this blog will show an email session with ebay and will be categorized by dates.

At some point I've turned to online sessions, which will also be posted here, that lead me nowhere (big surprise..).

Some notes:
first of all - names of eBay represantatives that supposedly replied to my emails have been erased due to privacy reasons (unlike eBay, I have a reasonable privacy policy - a human one).

second - at some point ebay had sent me the details of another user - his name is also crossed out for the same reasons (I hope that he's doing better then me in thhe war agains ebay).

As you'll see from the posts - eBay makes you feel as though you're being trialed, and instead of the assumption that you're innocent until proven guilty - at eBay it's guilty until proven innocent.

Well anyway, that's my 2 cents for now, so let's head for the posts.

Itamar.