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Online Mediator Service Hoping to Help Those in Dispute Over Online Purchases
ANCHOR: BOB EDWARDS
REPORTER: SUSAN KAPLAN
April 3, 2000 - BOB EDWARDS, host: The dramatic growth of Internet commerce has
produced a rash of complaints between online buyers and sellers. One
company, eBay, has turned to mediation for resolving these problems.
The company hopes the new service will make their users feel more safe
while shopping in the virtual marketplace. From member station WFCR,
Susan Kaplan reports.
SUSAN KAPLAN reporting: Recently, Brett Hawkins--who lives in
Spartanburg, South Carolina--decided to buy a computer on eBay. It
wasn't his first online purchase, but it was his most expensive. He
agreed to pay $ 1,000 for a computer that was supposed to be in great
shape and less than three months old.
Mr. BRETT HAWKINS (Online Consumer): It was fully loaded, all right,
but it wouldn't work. And the computer was kind of beat up a little bit
from taken apart a few times. And it was definitely not what I wanted.
KAPLAN: Hawkins turned to SquareTrade, a new San Francisco-based online
dispute resolution company. The idea is to reduce the risk of buying or
selling in an online auction and to give people a place to air out
their complaints and hopefully to negotiate a solution to their
problems. SquareTrade CEO and co-founder Steve Abernethy says providing
the service online takes alternative dispute resolution a step further.
Mr. STEVE ABERNETHY (CEO, SquareTrade): We have 150 mediators today to
answer you directly, but these are people all over the planet. We have
what we call 'asynchronous technology,' meaning buyers, sellers and the
mediator don't have to be in the same room at the same place at the
same time.
KAPLAN: It works like this. SquareTrade can be found on eBay's home
page. Once a user clicks on the icon, they enter an automated process
that Steve Abernethy says is similar to traditional mediation.
Mr. ABERNETHY: It effectively breaks down the dispute into clear
issues. Because essentially what we're doing is removing the emotion
from the issues and help people to better communicate those to the
other party.
KAPLAN: For Brett Hawkins, who found himself with a computer that
didn't work, mediation helped him find what he hopes will be a
solution. Hawkins packed up the computer and sent it back to its seller
COD, and now he's waiting to get his money back. Hawkins says despite
his less than successful transaction, he'll continue to buy things
online.
Mr. HAWKINS: I'm not afraid because I think that with folks like
SquareTrade around, I'm bound to be satisfied one way or another.
KAPLAN: The mediations are non-binding. But experts in the field say
the process often works because participants usually honor the final
agreements. Janet Rifkin is the co-director of the Center for Dispute
Resolution and Technology at the University of Massachusetts in
Amherst. She says new efforts to bring mediation online are being
driven in part by the conflict resolution community who believe the
strategies can move into, what she calls, a virtual courtroom.
Ms. JANET RIFKIN (Co-Director, Center for Dispute Resolution and
Technology): But it's also coming from the business community who are
understanding that in order for business to operate effectively, there
need to be these mechanisms to help consumers and merchants and
consumers and business conduct their affairs.
KAPLAN: Neither eBay or SquareTrade will reveal how many people have
used the new service, but they both say they're happy with the numbers.
For now in order to use SquareTrade, the dispute must involve an amount
of $ 100 or more and have taken place within 30 days of the complaint.
SquareTrade doesn't deal with fraud. The company deals with conflicts
bound to occur when huge numbers of buyers and sellers meet online to
do business. For NPR News, I'm Susan Kaplan in Amherst, Massachusetts.
EDWARDS: This is NPR's MORNING EDITION. I'm Bob Edwards.
(c) Copyright NPR(R) 2000. The news report by NPR's Susan Kaplan was
originally broadcast on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition(R)" on
April 3, 2000, and is used with the permission of National Public Radio,
Inc. Any unauthorized duplication is strictly prohibited. |
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