Hi,

Just after some clarification that I am perfectly entitled to follow my current path over this issue.

I sold an IPad on eBay for £95 back in February,

the buyer then told me it was damaged when it arrived.

It was in perfect condition when I sent it,

so I could only suggest that was damaged in transit.

I asked the buyer to return it to me,

so I could claim against Royal Mail for the damage

& I would issue a refund,

all pretty straightforward so far.

The buyer contacted me saying the Ipad was packed & ready to be returned & would I issue a refund, seeing as PayPal had prevented me from taking the funds anyway,

I issued the refund & asked the buyer to return the item straight away.

A week passed & nothing arrived,

when I contacted the buyer again he said he didn't have the IPad,

he had 'given it away to a charity shop',

as ebay sent him an email saying he could keep it!

Naturally, I was incredulous at his behaviour,

I issued a Letter Before Action & logged a claim against him on MCOL for £125.

He has refused to admit responsibility,

has refused to settle & will not give me the name of the 'charity shop' he 'donated' my IPad to.

I am now taking this matter to court,

but he is now claiming I will be liable for his transport costs as he lives in Spain!

I am quite prepared to see this through to the bitter end,

but I just wanted some assurance that I don't end up on the wrong side of a hefty bill.

Thanks in advance for any help & advice.

Chris

Have Ebay confirmed to you they sent this email telling him to keep it and their reason for telling him why he could ?

Sounds like he had no intention of ever paying for it nor was it ever damaged...why give a a damaged Ipad to a Charity Shop...which I doubt there are any in Spain.

Raise the charge again

Andy

Just issue the claim via the European small claims procedure; he is just trying to avoid paying

you have been lied to, no refund is made until the item has been returned. If Ebay had such a process YOU would have got the email as well.

You will win your claim but as this person isnt honest you wont get your money, they dont have any.

As for living in Spain, is that where you posted it to? If not he lives at the address his Paypal account says he lives. Anyway, he would lose so you wouldnt be paying his costs, he will be paying yours. The bloke is a proven liar yet you want to believe his outlandish claims.

Next time try reading the instructions you are given by Ebay and Paypal rather than blithely doing anything people say

you have been lied to, no refund is made until the item has been returned. If Ebay had such a process YOU would have got the email as well.

You will win your claim but as this person isnt honest you wont get your money, they dont have any.

As for living in Spain, is that where you posted it to? If not he lives at the address his Paypal account says he lives. Anyway, he would lose so you wouldnt be paying his costs, he will be paying yours. The bloke is a proven liar yet you want to believe his outlandish claims.

Next time try reading the instructions you are given by Ebay and Paypal rather than blithely doing anything people say

Waste of time trying to claim. As the buyer resides in Spain, any court hearing would be there. Cost of flight, hotels etc. Even if won, the buyer might never pay judgement including costs.

I can't remember seeing charity shops in Spain. Given state of economy most people sell items to get money.

Cancel the MCOL and deal with Ebay reporting it as problem sale.

Never refund before receiving the returned item, I get this from time to time with problem buyers and after being told the item will be refunded after being returned and inspected I never hear from them again.

Unfortuantly I think your money and item are now gone.

Yes, lots of similar stories about eBay cons

UB, he wont live in spain, that is just another lie to try and avoid a court hearing. However, I agree that it will be very difficult to actually get any money back, the crooks know all of the dodges.

Was the IPad not posted to Spain?

Got a similar case of buyer asking for refund and refusing to send the item back - only ebay refunded before I got the item back AND most of the Literature I received from ebay tells me to refund even before I get the item back - which I didn't and they still took the money from my account and refunded on my behalf!

Luckily I had asked the buyer to return the item to an address and send me certificate / proof of posting before I will refund - which means ebay wasn't supposed to as it contradicts their own T&Cs policy!! Ebay have now retracted the buyer's claim, issued me a refund of the listing fees and apologised and will be getting my funds back from the buyer and will hold it until they return the item or 30 days. If you followed their advice and refunded before you got the goods back, then raise a case - show them where you followed their advice and that the days have lapsed since buyer returned item and ask them to provide you proof of the buyer's claim and where you said (assuming you are a private seller and sold it as Auction not Buy It Now) they could keep the item. You should be protected by their money back guarantee scheme. And when you chat to ebay -= always do it via their chat online help as they send you transcribe after - makes it harder for them to deny they didn't tell you what to do They will pay you back if you can prove you followed their T&Cs but the buyer hasn't and they will then simply collect the money themselves from the buyer at a later date.