eBay Issue

[JonCris]

I have to say I don't like con men as much as the next person but I think if the seller refuses to cough up payment at the outset of the OP's threats then they should consider his offer to sell it again on his behalf

 

After reading the OP's posts I agree with others that's it's not going to be easy to win in court particularly as the court will wonder why you didn't 1st view before buying........If your argument is that you lived too far away then the court will probably say that's not the sellers problem but yours

 

In addition should you agree for him to sell it he may not be so ready to charge storage otherwise fighting you corner in the courts could end in just more grief & expense for yourself

 

I think the best thing you can take from this unfortunate incident is to never do it again........In future if you ever buy something in such away again remember to 1st have a good look at it (& by that I mean inspect it closely even if it means moving it) before handing over any money

[tal]

file a claim in paypal you'll get your money back

[JonCris]

They can't............they paid cash.........read the thread

[tal]

file a claim in small claims court, take pictures of the item for the courts, the seller may well decide not to go to court and pay up and leave neg feedback on ebay

[IdaInFife]

I think Jon has summed it up spot on.

 

No money should have been paid until it was ALL checked over.

 

 

Bascially all the seller has to say is that your husband had the opportunity to check it over first and agreed to purhcase in which he paid.

 

 

Is this seller deffinatley a private seller?

 

 

Idax

[darkest_dawng]

Yes the seller is private but all ebay transactions are covered by SOGSA.

The seller has now relisted the conservatory claiming that he is the owner.

Item number 180239794602 - I have not agreed to this, and as this is worded as though he is the owner, I can see no reason why he should not give me a full refund.

[HSBCrusher]

I've just thought of something too.

 

Do you know how old the conservatory is? I assume it is fairly old as it only cost £200 and it's second hand.

 

I think you may find that a new build conservatory would need the most recent BS standard of glass anyway and even more so if you need planning permission for your conservatory.

 

I'm sure somebody will confirm or correct this in due course.

as long as its less than 30 sq m, the glass is toughened/safety glass in the required areas (like in the doors and below 800mm etc), and the conservatory is seperated from the house by a door then you should be OK.

 

I have looked at the listing... he's selling something that doesnt belong to him, as he hasnt refunded you. Can you not keep it, replace the one pane and the beads?

I think it's a bit of a bargain myself.

[davethorp]

Well I've just reported the listing to ebay as selling stolen property as it technically doesn't belong to the seller and referred ebay to this thread.

 

Whether they will do anything or no remains to be seen of course

[1stlifeline]

Looking at the sale he seems to have sold it twice, the first time for over £500 and is now trying again. However technically it belongs to you. What puzzles me is why your husband didnt wait for him to return and get your money back before he left.

[davethorp]

Ebay's response to my report was about as useful as they ever are (and automated)

 

Hello,

 

Thank you for taking the time to report a seller who you suspect is

offering stolen goods on eBay.

 

The sale of stolen goods is forbidden on eBay because it's against the

law to sell stolen property. eBay strongly supports law enforcement

efforts to recover stolen property listed on its website. However, we

can only investigate such a serious allegation if it comes from the police, trading standards or a solicitor.

 

Unlikely the police will care and will refer back to ebay or just say its a civil matter

[darkest_dawng]

Looking at the sale he seems to have sold it twice, the first time for over £500 and is now trying again. However technically it belongs to you. What puzzles me is why your husband didnt wait for him to return and get your money back before he left.

 

We were due to see his father in the afternoon

[darkest_dawng]

This is the latest e-mail from the seller - any suggestions as to how I should respond.

 

In view of the fact that you failed to collect your conservatory as requested over the weekend I advise that it has been re-listed on consignment. I will remit the final sale price to you after deducting my and ebay’s commission plus storage costs.

[JonCris]

We were due to see his father in the afternoon

 

 

DD whilst I sympathise your seeing your father is of no concern to the seller...nor would it be to any court I'm afraid

 

Also accusing him of theft when he will simply claim he was re-listing it on your behalf or even if not with your consent as a favour to you so you could get your money back is I think a very unwise thing to do under the circumstances..........In addition you may have paid for it but as you refused to accept delivery it could be said not to be your property.....also eitherway by claiming it is gives him stronger case for charging storage

 

What you have done was not a good idea at all. Accusing someone, no matter how despicable they may be, of stealing could cause you a lot of grief if they decide to sue you for defamation

 

My best advice!.......Try & put your anger to one side & do a deal with this guy before it really gets out of hand....for the sake of £200

[darkest_dawng]

Jonchris I haven't said anything of the sort, so I'm not sure why you're saying I've accused him of being a thief - I am perfectly entitled to reject an item under the Sale of Goods and Services as it was not fit for purpose due to the damage.

 

Could someone please just give me an idea of how to respond to the e-mail rather than telling me what a mistake I've made - it is an unfortunate situation, and the first time this has happened to me in over 7 years of buying and selling on eBay.

[JonCris]

Sorry but unless I'm mistaken I understood you told ebay the goods didn't belong to the seller & if so then you DID accuse him of theft

 

Of course you are entitled to reject the goods & I wish I could say your going to win but you may have to face reality & I'm trying to help you by telling you what will probably happen if you go down the route you seem so intent on.

 

You can be as indignant as you wish, you can be as angry as you wish but you handed over your money BEFORE inspecting the goods.

 

Worse still you actually made payment after arrival when you could have inspected the goods BEFORE payment. Had you paid in advance via some other means then I would have said you had a case you could fight with some very real prospect of winning but in this case I doubt it.

 

The sellers claiming you broke the glass not him & how do you prove different after all you left before the guys return & IMHO a court will consider this rather odd bearing in mind the guy had £200 of yours that you wanted back

 

This may not be what you wanted to hear but I believe it's best to try & advise others of their realistic chances of success & not to advise plowing on regardless of the possible consequences.

 

Also IMHO this seller has the upper hand in this dispute.....he's got the goods......& above all he's got your money.......As annoyed as you may be let the guy sell them & give you the proceeds........I really do think it's the best way forward.......the more threats you make the more chance there is of him retaliating by cancelling the sale & then demanding storage.

 

Having said all that there is always the chance that the guy will get fed up with the whole episode & just return your money but on the basis of his current communications I doubt it.......& even if he is a thief (which is debatable under the present circumstances) if you continue to make accusations against him which you cannot substantiate you might end up a lot more worse off than losing £200

 

As for replying to his email what do you want.....you either say that you haven't agreed & he's selling the goods without your consent (though why he needs your consent to sell property which you have refused to accept beats me)............or you agree to let it go ahead & hopefully recover your money.......you never know he might sell it for more money in which case you could be better off

[raydetinu]

Did you get a receipt for the money you paid?

To avoid stress and worry, I would let him sell it again,you dont want, and hope he repays some or most of the money.Stay firm, but dont get too confrontational. He may just get fed up and tell you to sue for the money. stay cool, its not a lot of money really and not worth the angst!

[darkest_dawng]

I do have a receipt yes, it is a lot of money to me.

[JonCris]

then let him sell it & try to get it back.......then leave bad feedback AFTER the sale & you have had money returned

[darkest_dawng]

Jonchris have you read this thread? I have NOT accused him of anything and I did NOT report him to eBay, davethorp did - so please bear this in mind when you advise me against making 'accusations'

 

All I want is a refund of my money.

[JonCris]

I don't believe it but having checked the thread it appears that another poster has reported the seller as selling stolen property...that was the right of the OP & by doing this without the OP's consent the member may have caused even more trouble not only for the OP (the sale might be pulled) but also themselves.....they are a 3rd party making 'recorded' accusations of theft based on what amounts to hearsay

[JonCris]

I know & I'm sorry I suggested you did......You will see from my post 45 I have corrected my mistake........of course you want your money.....I bet if you took a poll most here (including me) want you to have your money we just differ as to the best means of obtaining that worhwhile goal & bearing in mind this guy holds all the cards IMHO confrontation is NOT the way to go.......send him emails questioning his veracity after you have the money

[JonCris]

Have edited post 45

[darkest_dawng]

I've e-mailed Consumer Direct, I'll let you know what they say.

[darkest_dawng]

Just found this info on eBay:

 

Sale of Goods Legislation

The most important piece of legislation relating to the sale of goods through eBay.co.uk is the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended). The Act provides that wherever goods are bought they must “conform to contract”. This means that items sold through eBay by business sellers must be:

• of "satisfactory quality";
  
• "as described"; and
  
• "fit for purpose".

Therefore goods sold by business sellers must not be inherently faulty at the time of sale, must match any description given to them and, allowing for factors like price, they must be fit for their purpose, defect free, safe and durable. Where the seller is a private individual, the goods must be “as described”. The goods are not legally required to be of “satisfactory quality” or “fit for purpose”.

 

The item description stated "All the glass and ceiling panels are undamaged." which was not the case, the seller has now stated in the re-listed version "All the glass and ceiling panels are undamaged except for one panel that has a crack in it."

[JonCris]

Its' all very well in a perfect world but in this case it's just your word against his that the goods where damaged BEFORE you picked them up.

 

Also have you considered this seller might even claim he's the good guy because he's 'agreed' to take the time & trouble of selling them for you