I want to thank everyone who took time and replied to my problem. They were all very good thoughts that I will follow and I feel a lot better now knowing this information. To answer the previous question the seller is not a commercial seller. He is a very low activity eBay private seller. One or two sells every few months. I was very busy today but tomorrow Tue, first I will try to call eBay, then my bank and also Paypal before any other actions. I'll keep you posted.

Thank you for replying callumsgran. Well to answer your last question first. The laptop is the top specs. (quad processor, etc.) it is actually good enough for gaming, but I need it for editing video for my film school not playing games. I don't even have one game. The lap top really is worth around £600 if it was in perfect condition (as I though it was) and since it is only a year old with 2 years warranty left on it (they are being sold now foe £1100 new). But just to send it to Toshiba costs £40 as they are in Germany. About Paypal I made a big mistake and when I opened the case with ebay I also opened it with Paypal as well and they quickly closed that one since the eBay one was opened. So am I out of luck with Paypal now? I will call them tomorrow and see.

Dear members, I have a problem from eBay which I try to describe in brief. I bought a Laptop for £675 with 2 years warranty from a seller that said on the ad 'in good condition.' When received it has a faulty fan, the operating software not installed correctly and the computer was in safe mode the first time I started it, and none of the control panel keys working drivers not installed. I wrote the seller and after few email exchange he agreed to send a £100 cheque to reimburse me for this. I decided to open a case on eBay to protect myself on timely manner. When I got the cheque and tried to cash it he cancelled it and said since I opened the case he had to cancel. So again after weeks of exchanging email during the holidays, he agreed this time to pay via Paypal £100. again he didn't and after I escalated the case, for some reason that is not yet clear to me eBay protection plan did not go in my favour and they close the case after making me wait for over a week. After this I appealed to eBay and called them twice. But both times it seems I was talking to a machine and didn't feel I'm getting anywhere no personal response. I also requested explanation why this was turned down but have not received any concrete answers, rather unrelated form emails like saying "we understand your frustration and really try to help you, but this seem to be a warranty matter..." so then I said to them this had nothing to the with warranty, the item was described as 'in good working condition' and arrived faulty, incomplete and unusable especially for £675 I paid, do I have to buy broken item and then use warranty to use eBay? Additionally, The seller had this item on Gumtree for a quick sale of £400 asking 'must sale today or tomorrow' about a week before the eBay auction, and I have the page saved as evidence, also I have all his emails as evidence that he admits the faulty fan and says he has already sent to Toshiba for repair and it was nothing, and I have his cancelled cheque, but eBay did not ask for any of the evidence. So all in all eBay is not letting me return the item for full refund even though I filed exactly on time and have followed all their claim steps. Also the seller is never partially refunded me even when he promised few times and sent a cheque that he later cancelled. So I was wondering what can I do in your opinion. I'm a woman, University student and a mum, don't have enough time and knowledge to fix and repair the laptop or want the hassle and besides I paid top price because it said in good working condition. Can I take him to court? can I take eBay to court for not respecting their own 'not as described' policy? Any advice would be comforting and greatly helpful. Warm regards to all Ivy

Thanks for all the advice i'm going to deal with Lowell and I will post the results.

Hi the debt is from 2003 but the letter from Lowell says they purchased the debt from Barclaycard in 2006 and they have only contacted me know exactly one year before they purchased it.

Hi, I just saw a copy of "Final Demand, your account is now with the pre-litigation department" letter from Lowell from another victim on this forum. Should I just wait until I receive this kind of letter from them before I write and ask for a CCA, I have only received one letter from them at this stage, when is the best time to ask for a CCA?

So if I do have a CCJ could I apply to rent a house with credit check and if any company does do a credit check on me could I be refused because of outstanding CCJ's. In general what are the consquences of having oustanding CCJ's or being made bankrupt (just to make it clear, I have no assets and not interested in trying to get any credit anymore). In my present situaton I see no way of making repayments as my 3 year old daughter happiness comes first. I have been sent a demand for payment from Lowell and I will be send a CCA soon (so I assume this one this one has not gone to court). Thanks very much for your replies

What does this means? Could I set aside a CCJ if the papers where served to an old address which I don't know about.

Hi I think I may have CCJ's against me but have moved several times and don't lnow if any have been issued. I'm reluctant to give any personal information away as I don't want to make it easy for DCA's to find me. How could i find out if any have been issued and if so what should I do as I have not acknowledge any debt or paid anything but would like to get it sorted out. In general what are the consquences of CCJ's if you have not been aware of them. Many thanks for all the help.

Many thanks to both replies, I will do the letter and will post any results. I find this forum very informative through real experiences of people once in the same boat as me, and it has made me a lot more aware of the whole process. I feel it's better than going to the Citizen Advice Centre!

Yes, they sent me a letter that Barclays Bank has sold the account to them and that we now should contact them to make payment arrangement. This is the only letter so far. I don't know if it is better to just not acknowledge the debt or send the CCA1974 letter? Thank you for your reply.

Hi everyone, can any of your gurus help me. I just received a letter from L o w e l l ltd. requesting payment of old Barclaycard bill. I think it’s from 2004. I have not responded yet and judging from you advice have no intention of doing so. Should I just ignore them or should I try to contact them and request “with CCA 1974 letter”. If I do this will I be admitting the debt. I’m on child support and my husband is a student and money is very tight. I also have similar old credit cards bills and wonder what will happen if anyone comes to door can I refuse entry and file for harassment. Should we wait for more letters and just keep them on file. All help and advice will be gratefully used. Many Thanks