posted on July 15, 2004 07:58:17 AM new
Cerreta v eBay, Inc.
Amount At Issue: $25,000,000 Category: Technology
Date Added to Site: 7/12/2004 Stage: Filing
CASE OVERVIEW
eBay Allegedly Double-Charged Auctioneers
A national class action has been filed against eBay, Inc., on behalf of eBay auctioneers who allege that they were charged twice the amount they actually owed eBay after the online auction house launched a new payment processing system in February 2004. The action alleges that the company violated California consumer protection laws when it overcharged these and other individuals who sell items on its site. The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
According to the complaint, Robert Cerreta and Nancy Spaulding, who hail from Florida and Ohio, respectively, were charged twice the amount they actually owed eBay for handling auctions of goods they were selling. The eBay users assert that the funds were then inappropriately drawn from bank accounts and credit cards they had registered with the company. In addition, the two customers said that eBay threatened to suspend their user accounts over the disputed charges.
Company executives have already apologized publicly for the billing issue. In mid-June, General Manager Jeff Jordan told attendees at the company's user conference that eBay had discovered the double-billing issue, fixed the problem and was in the process of addressing credit issues that had resulted from the mistake. Jordan acknowledged in a speech that eBay had let its customers down, and he promised that the company would be more careful in launching a new search tool that is one of the company's forthcoming technological improvements.
The billing problem first surfaced on the company's own online user forums. eBay's billing team eventually posted messages to the discussion area, pledging to fix the issue and help customers address any mistakes. While Cerreta and Spaulding allege that they were overcharged only about $20, they also maintain that eBay's payment system rounds up the dollar amounts it charges sellers without telling them, in violation of their user agreements.
posted on July 15, 2004 11:53:10 AM new
Sue, Sue Sue as that is the American way. If they win and If everyone that was over charged gets compensated there won't be much to spread around. It's the lawyers that win not the plaintiff. You know those lawyers they are out to make a buck and they don't care who they hurt.
I wonder if after they filed that lawsuit how many seller were refunded the amount. I think eBay was doing their best to refund. I know I got mine,
[ edited by Libra63 on Jul 15, 2004 11:55 AM ]
posted on July 15, 2004 12:32:52 PM new
My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."
Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."
Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.
Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."
Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"
Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.
I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.
And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."
He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-#*!@ that named you "Sue.'"
I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!
