Feedback removed without explanation

[soupdela]

I'm a bit bemused and annoyed because I left some negative feedback for a seller on ebay and then found it had been removed without them telling me about it. I found when I got the item that I had been massively overcharged on the P&P so I emailed the seller and politely said that the item was fine but I was unhappy about the postage. The seller came back and said that as I knew what the postage was when I bid I had no cause for complaint. The seller wasn't rude but it was obvious he had no intention of refunding or even apologising so I left negative feedback clearly stating why ie the p&p charges. I stuck to all the feedback rules: factual, non-abusive, not revealing seller's id etc. A couple of weeks later I noticed that my negative feedback had been removed from the seller leaving them back at 100% When I queried it with ebay they said that my feedback broke their policy rules but they couldn't tell me how as that would be a breach of privacy. Now I feel as though I am guilty of doing something wrong even though I was the one ripped off and I only left honest feedback. Anyone enlighten me?

well, really he is right, you did know the costs first. Unless he was say doing a buy it now of 99p and £20 postage, where he IS beaking the rules then tbh, i think negative is a bit harsh for excessive P&P that's what the stars are for too. mostly we all have some kind of rough idea what things cost to post i would think and can decide before we buy something wether we are willing to pay that or not......I guess!

There was a time when feedback was really hard to get removed but I believe things have changed a bit.
As with all the reports you can make on ebay, they don't really get looked at, they just automatically get button-pressed. So, I'm curious with this, as if as you say you kept to the rules then if feedback removeable is so simple then it changes the game somewhat. I don't suppose you can recall your exact wording can you?

I don't really get not revealing the sellers id bit, surely anyone reading his feedback would see his id?? Seeing as they would be reading his feedback?

Hi maxybrown - Iknow what you mean about postage costs and as I say that's what the seller used as an excuse but i pointed out that until I received the item I didn't actually know whether that was a fair rate or not. I agree that negative feedback is a bit harsh and I he had been at all apologetic about it I would prob have just left neutral but it was the dismissive way he dealt with it made me suspect that he is topping up his money in this way all the time and as a frequent buyer on ebay it gets up my nose. My exact wording sixlost was 'Item OK but overcharged on P&P'. Nothing too terrible there surely??

You should report him if you think he is making his money up on postage as that means he is avoiding paying more fees therefore ebay won't be happy.

Doesn't sound like they'd be too interested tho' since it was ebay that must have ruled that feedback should be removed even though it stated exactly the reason why?

Sorry that last sounds a bit garbled - what I meant was even though I stated exactly the reason why I was leaving neg.

I think because you didn't report him for it first, it obviously isn't excessive as in £20 charged and cost £1 to send and that is why they introduced the star system, so you can mark him down on that. If the stars get low enough they suspend or hold your money back etc. Plus he got in first as it were.

As far as I know there were no rules broken in that FB. This makes me think that a request for removal just gets auto-removed. Interesting.
Did you get any messages or emails regarding the removal during the 2 weeks?

No, I had no contact from Ebay at all even tho' I understood that the procedure for removing negative feedback that didn't break the rules was for the seller to request Ebay to contact the buyer and ask if they wanted to change their feedback.

I've had an update now: according to Ebay they checked the email I sent to the buyer in which I said that I was aware that overcharging on P&P was a problem and because of this it was my responsibility to check whether the P&P was reasonable before I paid it! Isn't this just a licence for unscrupulous sellers to rip people off? Considering Ebay is always trying to present itself as a properly regulated marketplace I'm finding this really offputting.