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Fraud air conditioning (repeated pattern)
Summary: nitrolas reports that he was affected by a scam when buying an air conditioner, in which there were supposedly technical problems on eBay. He asks what the best course of action is, since he only ordered recently. perfect-sally recommends waiting until the delivery date has passed before reporting an item as not received. However, nitrolas was already able to get a quick refund through eBay customer service, which was viewed positively by the other participants. The customer service’s quick response is praised, as eBay apparently recognized a fraudulent business.
Hello, I’ve also been caught up in the current scam wave around air conditioners. Item: 377311797678
Scheme: Payment via PayPal, then €2 refund from the seller, then the following text:
"Dear customer, due to ongoing system disruptions at eBay, we are currently unable to process shipments of goods through our account. There are currently widespread technical problems on the eBay platform. Please submit a refund request to your payment service provider or credit card bank for 'goods not received'. As soon as you have submitted this request, we will refund you the full amount immediately. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us. We are always happy to assist you."
I only ordered less than 24 hours ago, but logically the item will not arrive. What’s the best way for me to handle this now? Going through PayPal is probably exactly the mistake you shouldn’t make. So what’s the best way via eBay? I can’t return the item yet because not enough time has passed.
miriam@ebay
Hello @nitrolas and thanks for your report here via the Community! I'm glad we were able to clarify the situation for you in the meantime. The seller account and the described procedure have been reported to our security department, and we are continuously working to protect our platform from abusive activities.
Best regards
Miriam
perfect-sally
MentorJul 17, 2026 at 5:44 AMYou have to wait until the delivery date has passed before reporting an item not received. And yes, if you involve PayPal, eBay is out.
nitrolas
OP3 weeks agoeBay customer service even took care of that even faster. Today, the day after the order, the refund came through already after a phone call with customer service.
perfect-sally
Mentor3 weeks agoOh, wonder of wonders. Presumably eBay realized that this is shady business and reacted immediately.
That’s actually not really eBay’s style, but good for the customers who got ripped off.
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
Mentor3 weeks ago@perfect-sally
Hi Thomas,
you keep wondering these past few days - shaking your head
Best regards from the Baltic Sea
Peter
voli-maus
Mentor3 weeks agoWow, it's great that customer service realized so quickly that something was fishy here and that you got your money back, @nitrolas .