Buy my own birthday gift. Get permanently banned TWICE in one day (Amazon & eBay). WTF is wrong with these bots?
So, my blood is literally boiling right now, and I need to vent about the absolute joke that is the automated security systems of both Amazon and eBay.
A bit of context: I live in Ukraine, and my birthday is coming up. I wanted to treat myself to a physical board game (Epic Spell Wars). The problem? There is absolutely ZERO localization for this game in my country. You simply cannot buy it locally anywhere. My only option was to buy it from a US seller and use a well-known, legal mail forwarding service to get it shipped across the ocean to me.
First, I went to Amazon. I actually had an old account there that I hadn't logged into in ages. I finally logged back in, added the game to my cart, and tried to check out. BAM. Instant permanent ban. Thankfully, Amazon at least had the decency not to charge my card before nuking my account.
I figured it was some weird glitch, they hate mail forwarders, or they just didn't like that my account had been dormant for so long. So, I went to eBay instead. Created a brand new account, filled in my real details, and linked my officially verified Visa credit card. No shady business, just a normal guy trying to get himself a birthday present.
I hit 'Pay'. The transaction goes through successfully, and the $51.81 is instantly deducted from my bank account.
And literally a second later? BAM. PERMANENTLY SUSPENDED on eBay too.
I didn't even get to breathe! They took my money, locked me out of my account, and completely canceled my birthday gift.
I immediately appealed to eBay customer support with the official bank receipt proving the card is mine and the transaction is legit. What do I get? A generic, copy-pasted bot response from some rep named "Lal S." telling me my account shows "activity patterns inconsistent with our policies" and that they are "unable to share specific details."
WHAT REVIEW PROCESS?! Your broken AI just robbed me! Do your algorithms just ban anyone from overseas who uses a freight forwarder and automatically treat them like a criminal without any human review?
Now I'm just sitting here in total limbo. My ass is on fire from the frustration. I have no game, my money is gone, I can't contact the seller because my account is locked, and eBay support is hiding behind bot templates. What a ridiculously "successful" day.
Has anyone else dealt with this absolute BS? I'm going to call my bank tomorrow to initiate a chargeback because I'm not wasting weeks arguing with a brick wall, but seriously... what a miserable way to treat people.
Fuck this automated garbage.So, my blood is literally boiling right now, and I need to vent about the absolute joke that is the automated security systems of both Amazon and eBay.
A bit of context: I live in Ukraine, and my birthday is coming up. I wanted to treat myself to a physical board game (Epic Spell Wars). The problem? There is absolutely ZERO localization for this game in my country. You simply cannot buy it locally anywhere. My only option was to buy it from a US seller and use a well-known, legal mail forwarding service to get it shipped across the ocean to me.
First, I went to Amazon. I actually had an old account there that I hadn't logged into in ages. I finally logged back in, added the game to my cart, and tried to check out. BAM. Instant permanent ban. Thankfully, Amazon at least had the decency not to charge my card before nuking my account.
I figured it was some weird glitch, they hate mail forwarders, or they just didn't like that my account had been dormant for so long. So, I went to eBay instead. Created a brand new account, filled in my real details, and linked my officially verified Visa credit card. No shady business, just a normal guy trying to get himself a birthday present.
I hit 'Pay'. The transaction goes through successfully, and the $51.81 is instantly deducted from my bank account.
And literally a second later? BAM. PERMANENTLY SUSPENDED on eBay too.
I didn't even get to breathe! They took my money, locked me out of my account, and completely canceled my birthday gift.
I immediately appealed to eBay customer support with the official bank receipt proving the card is mine and the transaction is legit. What do I get? A generic, copy-pasted bot response from some rep named "Lal S." telling me my account shows "activity patterns inconsistent with our policies" and that they are "unable to share specific details."
WHAT REVIEW PROCESS?! Your broken AI just robbed me! Do your algorithms just ban anyone from overseas who uses a freight forwarder and automatically treat them like a criminal without any human review?
Now I'm just sitting here in total limbo. My ass is on fire from the frustration. I have no game, my money is gone, I can't contact the seller because my account is locked, and eBay support is hiding behind bot templates. What a ridiculously "successful" day.
Has anyone else dealt with this absolute BS? I'm going to call my bank tomorrow to initiate a chargeback because I'm not wasting weeks arguing with a brick wall, but seriously... what a miserable way to treat people.
Fuck this automated garbage.
TL;DR: I just wanted to buy a board game for my birthday. Instead, I got instantly and permanently banned by both Amazon and eBay's automated systems on the exact same day, and now my money is held hostage by the bank for almost two weeks.