Open Letter to eBay: Your policies protect criminals, and you profit from it.

Dear eBay,

I have reported a crime to you. Not only are you ignoring this, and refusing to take ation as a company, you are also withholding the information I require to pursue the matter legally myself. Pointing me to your 5000 word legalese user agreement may or may not cover you legally but it makes not one bit of difference to the ethical and moral issues here.

You have a system that allows criminals to prosper with no possibility for redress for their victims. The simple recipe for the criminal is as follows:

1. Ensure your postal address is not your residential address and, ideally, use an incomplete name (e.g. A Smith, rather than Mrs. Annabel Smith).

2. Buy something on eBay, preferably expensive and easy to sell.

3. When it arrives, report it as 'not as described' and wait for the seller to accept a return.

4. Send back an empty box.

5. eBay gives you, the criminal, a full refund, essentially completing the theft on your behalf.

6. The seller can't make a small claims court claim against you because they don't have your full details, and eBay will help you get away with your crime by refusing to give the seller your contact details.

7. eBay will also charge the seller their normal fees, hence profiting from your crime. Apparently, that's OK if you're an international tax-avoiding mega-corporation.

So, eBay, if what you are telling me is that this is how your business is intended to operate, then we're done here. If, however, anyone in your organization has the smallest chance of thinking this is an immoral way to act, then please pass this case on to them for their consideration