Abusive Buyer Policy

This policy sets out behaviour which will not be allowed on our website / platform.

Overview

The below sets out acceptable buyer behaviour. If a buyer doesn?t act in terms of these guidelines, the seller can report the abusive behaviour. Any complaint received regarding abusive behaviour will be investigated, and if a buyer is found to have contravened this policy, the actions taken against the buyer may include warnings, blocking the buyer from requesting returns and / or refunds, prohibiting buyer claims and account suspension.

Investigation process

When investigating a report of alleged abusive behaviour, we will look at the specific circumstances of the order, including the buyer history, rating and feedback and the withdrawal order history. Our decision will be based on the circumstances of the individual situation as previously mentioned, supported by our analysis of the patterns of behaviour that may create a negative value in the marketplace. We are not obliged to make any ruling on reported conduct, especially if no merit is found in the claim. Due to the protection of personal information and privacy concerns, we will not discuss the results of any investigations under this policy, nor provide reasons for any findings.

Examples of abusive behaviours that aren?t allowed

1. Demanding something not offered in the original listing, such as:
• Requesting a postage service not offered by the seller
• Requesting that the seller post to an address other than what you included in checkout
• Requesting to use a payment method not offered during checkout
• Requesting that the seller hold your item so you can pay later
2. Making false claims, including claims that a delivered item has not been received and fraudulently claiming an item is not as described.
3. Abusing the returns policy, through actions such as:
• Returning an item other than the original item received
• Using or damaging an item and then returning it
4. Abusing the buyer protection programs, including:
• A pattern of excessively opening external payment disputes or chargebacks
• Opening claims or harassing sellers about an item not received before the latest estimated delivery date has passed
• Opening external payment disputes or chargebacks:
• When you have already received a refund from the seller or reimbursement from your payment provider
• When you haven't paid for an item
• As retaliation against a seller following a previous dispute

To ensure that your conduct as buyer is not abusive, please adhere to the following principles:

• Communication: Your communication with sellers and other parties via the platform (including the use of e-mail details as per user profiles or any built-in tools) should be polite and comply with our Member Communication policy
• Customs declarations: For cross border purchases, please do not ask a seller to falsely declare an item as a gift on a customs form as this is considered encouraging illegal activity, and is a crime.
• Malicious buying: If you proceed to buy an item when you have no intention of completing the transaction, or if you try and circumvent a seller's buyer requirements, we will view the transaction as malicious buying and take steps against your profile.

False or missing contact information policy

To ensure transactions on shoppingtown.info are completed as smoothly as possible, we encourage all users to remain transparent in their communication, and to ensure their contact details are kept up to date. Please ensure your contact information, including name, address, e-mail and phone number as accurate and represent your most recent contact details.

If you become aware that any user is using false, incomplete or outdated contact information please Contact US and provide the user?s username or e-mail address.

If you violate this policy by providing false, incomplete or outdated contact information we may, amongst other actions, cancel your listing, limit or suspend your account privileges or proceed with complaints to the relevant authorities should the information be found to be fraudulent.