eBay Cashback: Part 6

Seeing that I'm not getting anywhere with Customer Support, I send off an email to eBay and PayPal management.

Hello,

Is there anyone at eBay Customer Support or PayPal Customer Support who will 1) read my email, 2) understand & comprehend the issue I am writing about, 3) know the terms and conditions of the promotion I am writing about, and 4) have the authority to make something happen?

I have had at least 3 email exchanges with PayPal Customer Support and another 2 email exchanges with eBay Customer Support. None of these email exchanges have been informative or helpful. Of the 5 exchanges, I've received:

• 2 template responses that clearly showed that the customer support representative didn't bother to fully read my email
• 1 response that answered a question I did not even ask
• 1 response that said PayPal "don't have any option on our end if you were eligible for any cashback for your recent transaction for $600.00"
• the email below which is clearly wrong in telling me my $600 eBay purchase exceeded the terms of the promotion when eBay's terms and conditions (at http://pages.ebay.com/cashbackoffer/terms.html) clearly state, "The maximum amount of Cashback Rewards per qualifying purchase is $200.00 USD."
  

Here is a recap of my issue:

• On June 2X, 2009 I made an eBay purchase of $600 (Item number:XYZ) using the 8% Microsoft/Live.com/Bing Cashback promotion.
• The eBay transaction is well over 48 hours and I still do not see Cashback in the amount of $48 for that $600 purchase (UniqueTransaction ID #XYZ).
• I have a Microsoft/Live.com/Bing Cashback account. I have made numerous eBay purchases before AND after the transaction in question using the Cashback promotion. For each of those other purchases, I always received the appropriate Cashback amount.

Every transaction has been fine except for this one. Why is it so difficult to get it rectified? I am part of your eBay Bucks loyalty program and have been using the eBay Bucks and the Cashback that I have received for further eBay purchases. (You're welcome to check my eBay and PayPal history to verify my purchases and activities.)

At this point, all I want is the amount due to me - which is $48 as I came through a 8% Microsoft/Live.com/Bing Cashback promotion for a $600 eBay purchase. Can someone who has the authority at PayPal or eBay make this happen?

Please advise as my patience is wearing thin.

Regards,
Me

Here are the email addresses I used in trying to get to eBay and PayPal senior management:

• John Donohoe - jdonahoe@ebay.com, john.donahoe@ebay.com
• Stephanie Tilenius - stilenius@ebay.com, stephanie.tilenius@ebay.com,
  
• Scott Thompson - sthompson@paypal.com, scott.thompson@paypal.com
• Barry Herstein - bherstein@paypal.com, barry.herstein@paypal.com

It worked, because the next response I received was from the Executive Office of eBay. Unfortunately, I was again denied:

From: executiveoffice@paypal.com
Subject: Your Recent Inquiry ([Deleted]) :ppk1
To: "Me" <me@me.com>
Date: Monday, July 13, 2009, 10:29 PM

Dear Me,

My name is Stephanie and I work for the office of Executive Escalations. Your concerns were recently forwarded to our office. Please allow me to explain further. I have reviewed your Account, specifically Transaction Id Number XYZ. As mentioned in previous emails, this eBay auction was not eligible for the Microsoft cash back promotion. I apologize for any confusion caused by this matter. You can contact Microsoft directly for more information:


https://support.search.live.com/default.aspx?productkey=cashbackso&mkt=en-us
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at executiveoffice@paypal.com.

Sincerely,
Stephanie
Executive Escalations
PayPal, an eBay Company

Again, I'm told my purchase isn't eligible; however, there's no explanation as to why. If you're going to deny me my inquiry as least tell me why and point me to the policy that states that specifically. What total BULLSHIT! And, she attempts to punt me off to Microsoft to boot.

You know I wasn't going to let this stand, so I write back:

Dear Stephanie,

Thank you for the reply.

I'm at a lost for why this transaction is not eligible. I did a search for iPhone using Bing.com and the 'sponsored' link appeared on top of the search results page saying 8% Cashback (see attached file).



Clicking on the link brought me to eBay and when I got to the item page, the Cashback 8% icon was still on the top of the page and I proceeded with the purchase. It was clearly there, so I do not know why my purchase is being classified as not eligible.

If eBay is unwilling to provide Cashback at least provide me the reason with the supporting documentation. Merely telling me it's not eligible and pointing me to another company is NOT customer service/support. Please refer me to the specific page on either eBay, PayPal or Microsoft which specifically states that the purchase is not eligible.

Regards,
Me

PS - Why have my 5 email exchanges with eBay and PayPal been so wildly different? I would think that eBay would want more uniform and helpful customer support.

If by now you're thinking I'm a fool for expecting a response back, you'd be right. I didn't get a response. So I write back a few days later with the following:

Stephanie,

I'd like to continue following up on this matter.

You had mentioned that the item in question in not eligible for Microsoft Cashback. However, when I searched through Bing.com and clicked on two iPhone 3GS listings on eBay, the Cashback offer comes up for both items. (See the attached 2 files)



Please explain how the Cashback applies to these two items, but not to my purchase (as I had searched through Bing.com, had the Cashback icon display for the listing and made the purchase). I am very curious.

Please advise.

Regards,
Me

Of course, I'm still waiting.

If there's anyone out there who feel that I am in the right to pursue the $48 Cashback and can help me with eBay, please post in the comments. I know that $48 isn't a huge amount, but it's the principal of the matter now. eBay can't be allowed to treat us like shit and get away with it.

And if it turns out I am wrong and the purchase wasn't eligible, I will apologize for these posts and retract them. All I need to see is proof from eBay why my purchase wasn't eligible. I don't think that's too much to ask.