eBay has decided I like tabletop gaming, which is almost right (I've been looking at PC games).
It's therefore trying to sell me what it thinks are essential assets for tabletop gaming - folding chairs. *headddesk*
Keep working on that AI, guys.
After I'd peeled myself off the ceiling given the untimely coincidence, I checked and yep, I was locked out of my account. Fortunately eBay has resetting your password well automated, so I was able to reset it and log back in again, just in time to see the item I wanted go for a third more than I was prepared to pay - I'm not too upset at losing it, there was a bunch of stuff I already have in the package, and the item I actually wanted, a set of out-of-print wargames rules, will eventually get an ebook version, so I'd restricted my bid to what that will go for when eventually realeased.
I still haven't forgiven eBay for the wheelchair fiasco, but praise where praise is due, they got it right here.
OTOH I may just leave Paypal disconnected for a while (and I'll be paying close attention to my next Paypal statement).
* Definitely not a false-positive misidentification of me, I hadn't done anything yet.
Thanks to ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
legionseagle for some useful advice which may have added to eBay-girl's sense of "Oh, god, this is going to go on for hours and I want to get home".
legionseagle !), and I'm going to CC Medway Trading Standards on the email.Latest email to eBay:
Please note that this item was not returned because the eBay Resolutions Team were engaged in responding to my contention that the item should be picked up from my home address as a Reasonable Adjustment under the Equality Act 2010 given my physical inability to deliver the item to the Post Office as a wheelchair user. I have yet to have an answer to this. Naturally I have not posted the item as I am still waiting for eBay to respond as to whether they were willing to pick up the item and was told the issue was on hold pending this. Even were eBay to decide they would not pick up the item it is only reasonable that the clock on the return be stopped between raising the complaint and the resolution in order that I then be given the chance to attempt to make some arrangement for return. Instead I am informed that as the item has not been returned no refund will now be issued.
Additionally I was informed by the Resolution Team, email dated 9th March, that my complaint was on hold to the 12th and I need take no action. Naturally I presumed that the clock on the return was stopped by this email. Note that this email was accompanied by a set of questions that were utterly nonsensical and a statement that a further email would be forthcoming in relation to them. No such email was received, nor could I respond to the email of the 9th to point out the inconsistencies, apparently due to the Hold status. On the 12th a further email was received, extending the Hold to the 16th, again I was told that no action was needed on my part. Then suddenly I am told that the claim has been resolved and that no refund will be issued as I have not returned the item.
But for the Hold status I would have escalated the complaint myself. Further, the Hold status has prevented me from outlining to eBay the inconsistencies and utterly nonsensical nature of the communications I have been recieving.
Ultimately I have not returned the item because eBay have been telling me since the 9th that the issue was on hold and I need do nothing until a decision was reached. I have done precisely what eBay have asked me to do and have now been told that no refund will be issued as a result of my following your instructions.
Unless eBay either a) reopen the case and answer the original question regarding provision of a reasonable adjustment (a matter they are legally required to respond to in writing under UK law, see the Equality Act 2010), or b) reset the clock on the return to give me at least the 5 days that the complaint was on hold to attempt to arrange a return, then I will have no alternative than to place the issue in the hands of Trading Standards.
Yours,
David Gillon
@WTBDavidG trying to resolve this for you. I suggest that you continue to work w/ us by responding to the email we sent you. "
As a friend who saw the tweet commented, that sounds awfully like a veiled threat - it was in response to one where I said they had me on the point of contacting Trading Standards. As for responding to the email, I've asked for clarification of which one. {Crickets}
By email:
Hello dwgillon,
 |
|
Hello David,
We are getting in touch from eBay Customer Service about the wheelchair (item blah) that you purchased from “*****”. I understand you have already posted the item back and provided us tracking information. Allow me to explain why we’re contacting you.
Upon checking on your account, I can see here that you provided a tracking number (blah) to your seller regarding this item, and we commend you for doing so. As it is important that we have tracking information so we can verify the status of the delivery. Allow me to clarify things for your benefit but first, I have provided in this email the details of the tracking information:
Tracking number: blah
Tracking courier: https://www.royalmail.com/track-your-item
Tracking Result: That item number isn't recognised
We now are currently investigating the case filed for the above complaint and in order for us to make the appropriate resolution, please reply to this email within the next 3 days, attaching a copy of your postal receipt that contains the delivery address. All documents sent to eBay must comply with these guidelines:
<details>
I assure you that once we have verified that the item is delivered to your buyer’s address, we will go ahead and close the case in your favour."
Dear eBay, you can't track the parcel because I haven't posted it because you haven't gotten back to me about my not physically being able to take it to the Post Office to post it.
Email in response:
"
Hello David,
Thank you for writing back to eBay Customer Service about the item “Quickie Gpv Mobility Wheelchair” you purchased (item blah) that you wish to return. I’m sorry to know your situation as you cannot able to return the item. I can imagine how difficult it is for you with your condition. Please know that we truly value the business that you bring to eBay. Let me assist you with this.
Upon review, I can see that you provided tracking number. I am sorry to know if there was a misunderstanding with the return issue. We have seen in your case details that you printed shipping label on 28th of February 2016 and provided tracking number. This is the reason why we asked you to provide proof of postage as the tracking number has no result upon tracking it online.
To clarify this, it seemed that the item has not yet posted as you mentioned that you cannot able to bring it to the post office due to your condition. I’m sorry to know that. Therefore, I suggest that you ask for assistance from your family or friends. You may call them if they are not near your location. It is very important that the item will be returned for your refund."
Seriously, WTF, let's patronise the hell out of the customer because he is disabled and clearly incapable of realising he can call his family to come running from the other end of the country to post it for him? Incidentally no, they can't. And let's 'clarify' what he told us by repeating it as though he didn't know it? This response was timestamped 3AM UK time, so clearly comes from a call centre elsewhere, which may explain some of the language. Doubly frustrating, it ignores everything I've raised with them.
I'm utterly seething, and if they decide to rule out the refund because I haven't posted it on the 11th, when they also have it on hold til the 12th, and didn't get back to me until the 9th, and still haven't reached a decision on having Royal Mail pick it up, I'll be incandescent. I'm away from home from first thing in the morning until late Sunday, I fully expect to be on the phone to Trading Standards on Monday morning.
Aaaaarghh!!!!
Wrapped up the eBay chair last night (bubblewrap and clingfilm), and damn-near killed myself just getting it from the lounge to the hall (having necessarily bubble-wrapped and clingfilmed the wheels in place). My god, that's an awkward package - only practical grip was to pick it up by the footplate and dangle it in front of me. God knows how eBay expect me to get it to the Post Office, my facetious 'balanced on my head' actually looks like the most practical method available!
I filled in the eBay Customer Service feedback form immediately afterwards. I snarked.
Current situation with eBay and picking up the return is the US eBay twitter team have prevailed on the UK side to look into it again. UK eBay's initial response was 'didn't the vendor say they would pick it up in message X', to which my reply was "message X actually says 'OMG you're three hours drive away, I can't do that'" and I'm waiting for a response. I was particularly unhappy with the eBay phone operator's ''But who looks after you? Who gets your groceries?' Seriously?
Equally unimpressed by 'Put me through to your complaints department." "We don't have one" (Yet then gave me an address at the end of the conversation).
Sunday evening I got a return email saying "Whoa, I just realised that's too far to drive" and "We'll have to do return by mail, but I can't afford the postage right now, it'll be a few weeks."
Grrrrrrr!!!!!
They have confirmed they're accepting a return in the ebay system, and say that the money is now locked up with ebay rather than with them, but I can't get at it 'til the whole return process goes through. I think they're probably being genuine (it's a 3 hour drive each way), but it's slightly eyebrow-raising that the offer to drive over disappeared the instant the potential of me buying the other chair disappeared off the table (slight tactical error there, clearly). If they take long enough I may have to escalate the ebay problem resolution process just to cover myself. I need to check the effective dates on that.
On the more positive side of things I've finally found my draft letter to Wheelvhair Services from last year - guess the one file that didn't get transferred off the old laptop, and I'll be updating that to try and get a proper assessment, and hopefully a better chair, from them. I gave my GP the heads-up I was doing that on Friday. A plus-side of the whole ebay chair fiasco is I can now claim in the letter to have been able to 'borrow' a rigid framed chair for several weeks, and that even when it doesn't fit to the point of being painful it's a far better chair for me than the clown chair they dumped on my doorstep.
Well, good news, the GPV vendor says 'whoops' and of course they'll accept a return. I'm not sure they appreciate yet that they're picking up the cost of the return, but we'll see.
They claim the other GPV they're selling is genuinely 16", and am I interested? Now I reckon the GPV was close to being what I'm looking for as a short term main chair, long term spare, the only issues were not fitting in it (bit of a killer that) and needing to tune the tippiness. So I'm potentially interested (and it does seem to be in slightly better nick than the current one). I need to check a few things - I want a picture with a ruler against it for one! But unlike the 14" it's a folding high back and forward folding, rather than backward folding as on the clown chair. Because I have issues with the width of a standard back throwing my shoulders out I've mostly been using the clown chair with the back folded (also keeps handles away from overly helpful strangers), but clearly that's not workable with a back that folds forward onto the seat. Long term aim is to get a chair with a good Jay back (which costs more than I paid for this chair) which is narrrow enough not to interfere, plus properly supportive (I've tried Kaberett's so I know this for sure), but this promotes that from long term aspirational to short term need to look into it now.
So I've got a question. How much effort is it to replace a wheelchair back with a rigid one (I'm going to go see if I can hunt up a GPV manual online in a minute). And are there any decent rigid backs on the market for less than the £450+ a Jay back will cost me? (Because sticking a £450 or £550 back on a £200 chair doesn't strike me as necessarily entirely sensible).
Test 1: The Cobbles of Death
I needed to get my hair cut, so I parked in my usual spot behind Rochester cathedral and headed into town, the first c200m is pretty much exclusively brick paved road, frequently cut with cobbles (they had the 'brilliant' idea of using cobbles to mark where they've found evidence of the Roman walls, and I'm using the road because the pavement is worse, 'antique' stone slabs with lots of nooks and crannies to catch castors, where it isn't too narrow, or up a 12" kerb). In the clown chair the vibration from the brickwork isn't quite unbearable, but it's definitely getting there, in the GPV the road is almost a non-issue, just a slight rumble, the cobbles were possibly more awkward than usual, but that was partly down to the over-tippiness of the chair in it's current set-up, which is trying to wheelie any chance it gets. The ideal approach is probably to wheelie over the cobbles, but the current tippiness is just too unstable for me to be confident doing that. I did have to stop after about 50m and yank my jacket up above the waist, it was constantly being rubbed by the wheels otherwise.
The path up to my front door has two steps and the kerb at the edge of the drive (plus the typical lipped front door you get from double glazing companies). Getting the GPV down them was a pain. With more practise I might be able to wheelie it, but I went out with crutches and pushing the chair (awkward as it's low-backed and doesn't have push handles). Pushing it forwards probably explains why the paint on the footbar is completely missing, with the castors set towards the rear of their position range the footbar hits first if you just let it roll, tipping it is slightly better. Coming home I had a look at trying to wheelie up the kerb, but chickened out and pushed it in. I really should look at getting the path replaced with a ramp and a kerb cut, but I need to check the building regs on slope and rise height. it may be just too high to do in a straight run.
And once in the house I went pretty much straight to bed and slept for six hours (which was more to do with not sleeping well last night than anything else).
Conclusions: The plan is to spend as much of today as possible in it to see whether its tolerable or not, I'll head out in it later to run some errands and evaluate it outside, but I didn't get a great deal of sleep so I'm going to have to go and take a nap before anything else.
It's never simple, is it?
timeasmymeasure
