It’s the end of an era for eBay UK this week, as Garreth Griffith steps down as Head of Trust and Safety. Garreth told us “I leave eBay with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I am sad to leave behind a wonderful team of colleagues who have worked hard to create a better eBay experience for our Community. On the other hand, I am not going far – just over to PayPal – where I will have the opportunity to help develop an even more secure product to protect people’s money.”
Garreth’s time at eBay has seen some major improvements to T&S operations within the company and stronger working relationships with law enforcement organisations, as well as ground-breaking industry initiatives like Get Safe Online. There have been big upgrades in the behind-the-scenes technology which protects members, and in education programmes which help them to help themselves. And there are some new initiatives which are yet to roll out.
Garreth’s replacement is Richard Ambrose, who will be familiar to many eBayers from his appearances on various BBC programmes as well as on the eBay message boards. Richard told us, “I’m really looking forward to making eBay.co.uk an even safer place for people to trade, and to involving the eBay community even more deeply in this effort. We promise to be unstinting in our efforts to protect our members from those who try to defraud them.”
We wish both Garreth and Richard every success in their new positions, and we’re looking forward to seeing another entry on the Trust and Safety Blog 😉
5 Responses
Well this is the best news I have read in long time.
Garreth Griffith will not be missed, I’m sure there are plenty of other sellers in high risk category’s who will agree, personally I think wee Gareth Gates would of done a better job!
Let’s hope Richard can bring new ideas and motivation to Trust & Safety and give some of the CS staff some guidance that they so desperately need.
Actually he will be missed, not only is Garreth a really nice person if you ever get the privilege of meeting him, but he’s worked tirelessly over the last few years. If you think he could have done a better job maybe consider what would have happened if he’d not been here – things could be a lot worse!
I for one will miss him, although I’m looking forward to Richard taking things forward from where Garreth left off.
I think someone needs to point out: eBay heads of trust & safety don’t scam people, *scammers* scam people. 🙁
*******
********SCAM WARNING********** Would users please take a look at the ebay user “******” and tell me wether you think this is a scam going on? Reported to ebay but they probably wont do anything.
Sorry to post this on a comment, i didnt know what else to do, but anyway, i would value peoples thoughts on the user i mention, i.e. ******
Comment edited to remove eBay User ID. Please note this is not the forum to report specific eBay users.
fao: Richard Ambrose – Head of Trust and Safety
subject: Bad Practise, Incorrect eBay Systems Proceedure Implimentation a.k.a. eBay.co.uk
Sir,
quite frankly your the eBay system and procedure you have inherited, in place stinks and does a disservice to current existing and previous clients/eBay users. I write from experience of having to go through the ordeal and implimentation of eBay’s Trust & Safety policy & Proceedure and thus a reciepient of the failings you have, currently in place!
History:
I was a eBay user/client for more than 3 years (having a 98% rating) and quite happy when suddenly, due to a combination of a period of ill health, lack of broadband/internet access and my two debit cards expiring within a 1.5 month period I found myself: –
1 – Suspended/deactivated from eBay and;
2 – Suspended/deactivated from PayPay and;
3 – it took almost 3 weeks for both my banks to supply me with new Debit Cards and pin numbers and;
4 – the eBay information you had/have in place was /is a minefield to navigate around and;
5 – When eventually I managed to get through to a eBay staff via a Chat room facility, even he struggled, had to ask another internal eBay staff and eventually discovered and supplied me with a link, which provided me with information but no email address, to contact Trust and Safety and;
6 – When I eventually went back to the same eBay Chat facility the same man later supplied me with an email address for T&S however;
7 – when I emailed to explain my sistuation and request advice and help, it took eBay T&S a further month to reply back to request for assitance and not supplying me with the addresses of Sellers (which I had bid/won on/was awaiting on) and;
8 – a further 3.5 weeks later and endless emails to T&S later I was supplied email address of Sellers and;
9 – in the meantime many of the Sellers had relisted, which did not reslove or assist me under your T&S policy and;
10 – I was unable to access and setup my new Debit Cards via PayPal and;
11 – When I used another Visa card, via PayPal the system would not let me pay for my items however;
12 – I was able to pay some Sellers, for my items via their own PayPal account/systems, which was external of eBay and;
13 – Many of the email addresses which T&S supplied at the time were not operational, applicable or Sellers old email addresses and I was penalised by eBay.co.uk for this as they could NOT would NOT clear the Unpaid transactions and;
14 – many Sellers emailed me to inform me that, as my ‘account was deactivated via eBay.co.uk’ they too were unable to clear my ‘Unpaid Strike’ and;
15 – this was even though I had been able to pay them (Sellers) via their own external business PayPal facility and;
16 – to date, more than one year on, I am still Suspended/Deactivate and unable to resolve and use the eBay facility!
Whilst one can understand the need for protection for both Sellers & Buyers and many of the systems were in place for these reasons, Policy, Proceedures and Systems need to periodically checked and issues should be able to be resolved and new procedures should be introduced by a responsible organisation/companies/service facility. This is the basis upon which commerce has evolved throught generations, decades, had it not been so we would still be all living in caves….
My hope is that now that you are in charge, you will ‘grasp the bull by the horns’ and introduce and put in place a better system for current and future clients/ eBay users.
I am respectfully requesting you to take charge of concerns and problems experienced, highlighted and to reactivate my eBay account or at the very least permit me to open a new account and hopefully introduce better practises proceedures for all current, future eBay users.
Jon L. Dandiker
[email protected]