Hello! I have won a bid on eBay for a heavy, bulky item and in the listing the seller stated:

"· Please only bid if you have a big van to transport

· Have at least 2 really strong people to carry, preferred 3 strong people. As it is extremely heavy.

o IF this two points are not met, I will not give access to the property, as I don’t want anyone dragging the bed out of it by damaging my floor boards.

I won the bid,

paid instantly by Paypal,

as stated in the listing and THEN the seller said they didn't accept PayPal but would only accept cash on collection.

It's a 2.5 hour drive away and based on the seller's threat to refuse entry

I wanted to hire a professional and insured firm to collect,

the seller suggested I bank transfer payment and refunded my PayPal payment.

I hired a firm, having spent a good deal of time getting the ones with the best customer feedback who could meet the sellers requirements of "after 6.30pm during the week or weekend collection" and the movers stated they are insured but did not state for what exactly.

I paid by bank transfer just now and the seller has contacted me saying

"Please them know. if they do scratch my wallpaper, they have to pay or get this sorted"

Grrrr - if this item wasn't quite rare and such a bargain,

I'd tell the seller to shove it and buy elsewhere but to save things from becoming a massive pain in the rear for me

- what can I do to ensure that if the couriers do cause damage

I don't have to deal with this seller to get it sorted?

Who is liable if they cause any damage?

I have sent the courier the eBay listing AND contacted the manufacturer of the item to find out the weights of each of the elements of this big and bulky item if it does, who would the seller have to sue, me or the courier?

Thanks in advance for your help

JunieJ

courier

or lack of packing by seller

dx

pay thru paypal

you will be protected sorry internet dropped.

dx

Hi

Welcome to CAG

Now this was online and you won your bid and initially paid via paypal (which seller refund) as they didn't accept paypal.

The seller asked for Bank Transfer which you done thus agreeing to the sellers terms.

As you have Contract XXX Removers Company to carry out the removal and not the seller any damage the seller would hold you liable for as you contracted XXX Removers Company to carry out the work.

Get Screenshots of everything to do with this (you need to keep a good paper trail of evidence)

In the circumstance you describe as well as checking there insurance out I would also check if they are member of British Association of Removers (BAR): http://bar.co.uk/

The couriers I've hired don't seem to be a member of BAR.co.uk and I have requested their insurance details.

I had a look at bar members and they appear to be big house movers like Pickfords who I'm afraid will charge more than I paid for the item! I have only paid £10 deposit to the courier the rest is cash on delivery and they are collecting on Saturday and delivering to me on Tuesday so I have a little leverage if anything does go awry but not sure how I stand as far as withholding money for damages goes unless I get them to agree beforehand, maybe?

I have contacted the original supplier of the item to see if the biggest heaviest part of the assembly can be further dismantled into smaller sections to see if the seller can meet me halfway and break it down into less heavy and risky segments to shift. I feel like I should have just bought new and saved myself a massive headache :'(

Get the couriers to take photographs of the room after they have removed the item to show the wallpaper was undamaged when they left. If possible photographs when they arrive as well. Otherwise the seller might claim that pre-existing damage was caused by your courier.