ebay issues

So the other day I get a phone call - automated.
I hate these.
It said "Hi, this is ebay calling, if you are expecting this call please push 1"

Since I'm not expecting the call I wait for further instructions, and am disconnected. Nice.

not 20 seconds later the phone rings again, and I hear
"Hi this is ebay calling; if you are expecting this call please push 2"

Again, I wait, for further instructions and get disconnected.

20 seconds later I get another call:
"Hi this is ebay calling; if you are expecting this call, please push 9"
At this point I start to get suspicious of such calls, and there's no way I'm going to be pushing anything, so I wait, and while I'm waiting ANOTHER call comes in so I answer it:
"Hi this is ebay calling; if you are expecting this call, please push 7"

This time I hung up. I am not wasting my time, and yet, ebay felt it necessary to waste mine another 30 seconds later when I got another call:
"Hi this is ebay calling; if you are expecting this call, please push 5"

Now I don't want to be harrassed all day by some automatic phone dialer on crack, so I promptly took my phone off the hook, and shot an email to ebay security, asking them to address this problem, in case it was a scam - thought they should be aware of it.

Now this is where it's going to get fun. Following is going to be the exchange of emails that have gone back and forth between myself and ebay 'security".
Please do not laugh - This is all very real. I have not edited anything except my email address for the purposes of some random blog reader who may stumble across this.

Here is my original email:
Message: I've been getting automated phone calls (5 today) that say "Hi,
this is ebay calling - if you are expecting this call press 1" - Each
time it calls it is asking for a different number to be pushed if you
are expecting them. I've been ignoring them, but they are annoying. They
are all coming from 1-847-750-2415, or 1-847-709-0211 - Is this some
sort of scam, or is their a glitch in Ebays automated phone calling
system.


Here is response #1 - from someone named Shaun:
Hello Jennifer,

Thank you for writing to eBay.I appreciate the chance to assist you
with about a phone a phone call from ebay. What a great question and I
would be happy to help you with this question.Yes this is a real call
from ebay. What we need you to do is answer the call because what we are
doing is a verification process that lets us know that this account
belongs to you. If you don't respond to these calls your account could
possibly put on hold. If your having issues with your account then this
might be the reason why this is happening. This is not a fake or a scam.
Please pick up the phone the next time as this will only help you in the
future. Like I mentioned before that this was a verification process
only.
As always, my goal is to help you with your questions as quickly and
accurately as possible. I appreciate your patience and understanding
regarding this matter and wish you continued success on eBay.

Kind regards,

Shaun XXXX
eBay Customer Support

Hmmmmm this concerns me slightly, so I email back:
Thanks for answering my email
The problem I have with this type of call is that I was not in fact expecting a call from ebay (let alone 5)
so it would not make sense for me to push a button to verify that I *AM* expecting a call now would it?.
Since I did not push a button, I was automatically disconnected.
Now you are saying my account could be put on hold because I didn't push a button to verify that I was expecting a call (when I was not expecting a call).
How is this a verification process? Wouldn't it be more prudent to message someone on their ebay account (which I checked immediately while on the phone) to inform them that they may be getting a call, and to verify it.
The way the message is worded does not leave any options available for someone who is not expecting a call, and who may be somewhat distrustful of telephone solicitation.

If my account is put on hold because of my unwillingness to blindly push buttons I will be very upset.
A verification process only works when both parties are aware of what is going on.


Got another response - This time from someone named Clara:

Hello Jennifer,

Thank you for writing in to us at eBay Customer Support. My name is
Clara and I'll be assisting you today.

Jennifer, I'm sorry to learn about the circumstances with your account.
I've checked into the correspondence but it looks like the email address
"coolchick@blahblah.com" isn't attached to the account in question. The previous
email correspondence doesn't have any account information either for us
to be able to figure out what's going on.

I apologize for the delay but please kindly get back to us *from* the
registered email address to your eBay account. We'll be able to check
into your account troubles a bit further and help rectify the problems.

I appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this matter and
look forward to your response so that we can resolve this matter as soon
as possible for you.

Regards,

Clara C. K.
eBay Customer Support

Hello - now they want to look into my account - There's no issue with my account, I'm trying to tell them about how lame their automatic verification system is, and how it doesn't really verify anything, except that calling repeatedly and giving random instructions will make people like me suspicious.

So I write back:
What account in question?
Is there now an account in question?
Geez, you people are incredible. I email you about a possible
phishing scam, and you end up questioning my account. Unbelievable.
the address I registered with is probably supercoolchick@blahblah.com - it
directly forwards to coolchick@blahblah.com which is where I'm getting the
mail. I honestly don't remember what email I used to register with
ebay since it was years ago. I log on with my screenname and a
password. I get all my correspondence from ebay at this address, so I
presumed it was the one I had used. I got a copy of the customer
support survey at this address as well as on My ebay messages, which
do not indicate that my account is doing anything out of the ordinary.

I have no way of getting back to you *from* the address
supercoolchick@blahblah.com since it exists only to forward mail to
coolchick@blahblah.com. I own the domain, and therefore I can have as many
cyber-addresses at that extension as I want, and they all come to one
physical location - directed to myself or my husband.
There was never any problem with my account - but rather a concern
with the manner in which your 'verification' process by automated
phone call is conducted.
If I am not expecting a phone call from you - why would your
automated system ask for verification using the words "If you are
expecting this call press 1". I'm not expecting a call, so obviously,
I'm not going to push the button. Can you not see where the confusion
lies?
You are creating a problem with the way the automatic verification
system is worded. Now that I've inquired about it, I am only more
confused at what you are expecting people to do when faced with a
verification call that they are not expecting to get.
The responses I've been getting from my simple inquiry have now made
me wonder why I bothered in the first place.

I now get a response from yet another representative:
Hello Jennifer,

Thank you for writing in to us at eBay Customer Support, my name is
Vincent and I'll be assisting you today with regards to your account.

We'd be happy to address your concerns. Unfortunately, we were unable to
locate an eBay account registered to coolchick@blahblah.com. It's possible that
you didn't send us your email from the email address that we currently
have on file for you.

To protect the privacy of all our members, we ask that you respond to
this email from the email address registered on your eBay account. This
also help us with addressing your concern much more easier for you.
We hope that this assures you that your confidential billing information
isn't being shared with anyone else without your permission.

If you require any additional assistance at all, please feel free to use
our Live Help feature for a more immediate response. You'll be able to
chat with an eBay agent in real-time. You'll find Live Help icon link
on our main page to the right or from the site below

https://cschatlb-na.corp.ebay.com/chat.asp?profile=43

I hope I was able to address your question today. Again, thank you for
writing to us at eBay and feel free to write back to us if you need more
assistance

Best Wishes ,

Vincent Y.
eBay Customer Support

I am now annoyed - so I shoot back:
Please do me the courtesy of actually reading my emails to you before replying.

Will definitely update.
Oh and just to have fun, I logged into my ebay account and changed my registered address to coolchick@blahblah.com
Maybe they'll find me now....I don't know.