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Date Published : Thursday, July 31, 2008
It could be "months" before police decide whether or not to pursue fraud charges against the directors of one of Australia's biggest eBay sellers after the firm collapsed without delivering "hundreds of thousands of dollars" worth of goods, it has been reported.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, in the three months before its collapse EBS International - which traded on the site as ebusiness-supplies - sold goods such as exercise equipment, bikes and furniture worth more than $1 million.
However, the majority of these purchases have not been delivered to buyers, leaving many "scrambling" to recover their money, the site said.
The company overseeing the liquidation of EBS International, SV Partners, told the publication it has been "inundated" by eBay users who want to be classed as one of the firm's creditors, meaning its official investigation has been delayed by weeks.
Queensland Police must wait until the liquidator files its report before it can decide whether to pursue fraud or other criminal investigations.
Directors of the company told SV Partners that it had gone under because an intermediary for a Chinese supplier had taken their money and failed to deliver any goods.
However, a former competitor who also sells through eBay believes the collapse is "suspect", the newspaper said, because EBS dealt directly with factories.
The vendor added that before EBS International went under, it had changed its product range to include big ticket items, which it then advertised at less than cost price.
Online payment service PayPal has set up a special fund to pay back customers who paid for goods from EBS International using the site, the publication stated. However, customers who used other payment methods such as credit cards will have to recover their money from banks and the liquidators.
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