SHOPPING ON EBAY AND CONSUMER PROTECTION

For the first time, a ruling by the Milan Justice of the Peace has determined that eBay must reimburse users for scams they have fallen victim to while using the e-commerce platform’s services.

About 150 people had bought cell phones at rock-bottom prices from a seller on eBay, but the phones were never delivered.

Some of them had completed the purchase after—without their knowledge—the seller had already been reported to eBay by other users.

The judge was the first to correctly apply Law 70 of 2003, which states that the service provider is liable for damages if it fails to take action immediately after being made aware of the issue. In this case, it took eBay three months to close the scammer’s account.

In dozens of previous cases, the company has consistently been found not liable because it was determined that users were required to file a formal complaint via certified mail. However, the Milan judge ruled that the standard reporting tool provided on eBay’s website is sufficient.

For its part, eBay has announced that it will appeal, noting that the judge merely ordered a refund but did not award the damages sought, and that the judge made clear that eBay cannot be held liable for users’ activities.