ebay ticket tout threatens court action

[maxine989]

Hi everyone.

 

I've got myself in a bit of a mess and need some urgent advice regarding an item I bid on on ebay.

 

I bid on and won two concert tickets (for The Stone Roses in June) on ebay which I did not wish to pay for and now the seller is taking me to court. The day the stone roses tickets went on sale, they were virtually impossible to purchase through the tickets master type sites before they were already sold out. Within minutes, tickets were listed on ebay for at least double the price.... then triple then soon after some sellers were listing tickets for ridiculously high prices.

 

Ebay members who were also Stone Roses fans were outraged by this (me included) and begun placing high bid on listings in an attempt to rebel against the ticket touts who had contributed the the unavailability of tickets. I know it was a little silly, but I got caught up in the moment and joined it with the activity. Pages and pages of tickets were soon going for millions of pounds on ebay and people were discussing their disapproval with ticket touts on facebook and joining in with the rebellion by placing bogus bids on ebay.

 

Here's an example of buyers plaing bids and inflating the price to 10,000,000.00:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Stone-Roses-Tickets-Heaton-Park-Manchester-Sat-30-/120797234310?pt=UK_Tickets_Tickets_LE&hash=item1c20138486#ht_500wt_1156

 

I placed a bid on some tickets and won the auction at £1353.00

 

The seller and I exchanged a few messages, me being a little cocky to begin with saying I did not agree with ticket touts etc... then I apologised for taking my frustrations out of the seller and begun following the process of cancelling the transaction through the resolution centre. The seller filed and 'unpaid item' case against me, but is also sending me messages stating that he is a barrister and will take me to court for the full amount plus costs.

 

Ebay help centre states that: [B]I won an item but no longer want to buy it. What should I do?[/b]

A bid or purchase on eBay is considered a contract and you’re obligated to purchase the item. However, if you feel that you have a legitimate reason for not buying the item, you can contact the seller and explain your situation. Many sellers are willing to work with you if you communicate with them openly and honestly. If you haven’t done so already, request the seller’s contact information. Possibly, things can be worked out to everyone’s satisfaction.

 

If the seller doesn’t respond in the way you hoped, keep in mind that failing to purchase an item you have won can result in an unpaid item being filed against you by the seller. If you get too many unpaid items in too short a time period, your account may be restricted or suspended.

 

Now... to begin with I thought the seller had no legal grounds to actually take me to court, but now I am beginning to worry that he may actually have a case and I could be forced through the courts to complete the transaction and pay this ridiculous high amount for tickets. There must be others experiencing the same thing, as literally hundreds of bogus high bids were placed on that day (Friday 21st October).

 

I read another thread on here about a person who bought a caravan on eBay and decided they didn't want it because it wasn't as described, was taken to court and lost because they wasn't very prepared int their defence. I want to make sure I am well prepared in my defence if this seller does do as he said he will.

 

So... sorry it was a long intro... but what do we think people.

 

Thanks in advance... Maxine

 

News related stories:

http://www.stonerosesheatonpark.com/2011/10/26/stone-roses-ticket-touts/

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/10/21/stone-roses-tickets-ebay-touts-cashing-in-on-comeback-tour-115875-23504536/

http://www.metro.co.uk/music/879392-stone-roses-fans-anger-as-tickets-on-ebay-sell-for-1-500

Edited October 28, 2011 by maxine989
adding news related website links

[maxine989]

just to add... details of the listing:

 

Ended: 21 Oct, 201117:02:21 BST

Winning bid: £1,353.00

[ 18 bids ]

Postage: £6.00 - Standard Delivery

Item location: Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom

Post to: United Kingdom

Delivery:

Estimated within 2-3 working days

Payments:

| See payment information

Returns:

No returns accepted

 

2x The Stone Roses Tickets

 

The Ultimate Reunion

 

Heaton Park, Manchester

 

Friday 29th June 2012

 

 

 

!! PRICE IS FOR A PAIR OF TICKETS !!

 

These tickets are GENERAL ADMISSION/STANDING - Get as close to the front as you like for THE gig of 2012 !!

 

!! DO NOT MISS OUT !!

 

Tickets are not yet in hand but I have confirmation email to send to the winning bidder on request. Tickets will be posted to you as soon as i receive them posted by Royal Mail Special Delivery !

 

 

 

 

!! CHECK MY 100% FEEDBACK & BUY WITH CONFIDENCE !!

 

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me otherwise, good luck & happy bidding !

 

!! UK BUYERS ONLY !!

 

***PAYMENT TO BE MADE WITHIN 3 DAYS OF AUCTION ENDING UNLESS PREVIOUSLY AGREED***

[maxine989]

anyone?

[andydd]

Its not clear what advice you expect to get ?. You entered into a legally binding contract and you are now under an obligation to pay. Firstly have you a paypal account and is it linked to a bank account and/or card ?. If an ebay/paypal dispute is started you may lose and ebay/paypal would attempt to withdraw the money from yoyur account.

 

Whilst i support your attempt to thwart the ticket touts it really was a dumb thing to do (clearly if you dont end up being the winning bidding you could get away with it).

 

The 'caravan' case did surprise a lot of people on here and from what I recall the 'buyer' did have quite a strong argument for not paying (unlike you).

 

Im not sure what further advice I could give, it is possible to delete bids if you made a genuine mistake, (i.e you ment to bid £135.00 not £1350.0)

 

Also Barristers are highly paid professionals and I doubt they spend their free time as part time ticket touts !

 

**************************************************

 

Aha..Now having read your first link..it appears that the tickets T &C's forbid them being re-sold, so your defence would be that you bid a ticket then found out that they cannot be re-sold and that the ticket you would be getting may well be invalid and therefore you wish to cancel the bid. The fact the seller didnt mention these T &C's and that he is no doubt NOT an authorised seller should help you.

 

***************************************************

 

Andy

Edited October 28, 2011 by andydd

[dadtaxi]

From my own experence ensure that Ebay contract resolution team are fully informed as to the circumstances ( even to tell them upfront that you you were 'faking out' the bid. ) I found that as long as you are fully straight with them they can be very helpfull , and having them involved tends to heip mitigate any threat to involve the courts 'cos their lawyers can be big mean and expensive.BTW Barrister? If you have his name check on the Barristers' Register. And if you cant find him again inform the team, Porky Pies like that tend to get right up thir noses ( and any Judge if this does go all the way)And if he is imagine the concequences for his Practice if selling tickets against the T&C was made known? Good Luck

[Discontented]

"Tickets are not yet in hand but I have confirmation email to send to the winning bidder on request. Tickets will be posted to you as soon as i receive them posted by Royal Mail Special Delivery !"

 

Check with Ebay, but as far as I'm aware the seller needs to have the item they're selling physically in their possession.

I had a case about a year ago where I bought 4 itemsof a product but received only 1 with a note stating that the balance would be supplied later. Ebay upheld my complaint citing that the seller needs to have the items theyre selling physically in their possession. Your seller clearly states he/she is selling something which they don't have yet.

[maxine989]

 

Im not sure what further advice I could give, it is possible to delete bids if you made a genuine mistake, (i.e you ment to bid £135.00 not £1350.0)

 

Also Barristers are highly paid professionals and I doubt they spend their free time as part time ticket touts !

 

**************************************************

 

Aha..Now having read your first link..it appears that the tickets T &C's forbid them being re-sold, so your defence would be that you bid a ticket then found out that they cannot be re-sold and that the ticket you would be getting may well be invalid and therefore you wish to cancel the bid. The fact the seller didnt mention these T &C's and that he is no doubt NOT an authorised seller should help you.

 

Andy

 

Thanks very much for advice. I think that once an ebay auction has ended it is not possible to change a bid by stating a genuine mistake had been made... besides that, the seller knows that the inflated price of the final value was due to me and other frustrated members rebelling against him. We have exchanged messages that speak of this... and so if the emails were used in court he could prove that I knew how much I was placing a bid for.

 

I am just trying to prepare myself for what may happen. I hope I might be able to win any court action he throws at me. I am hoping he is all talk... but he might have pound signs flashing in his eyes with the inflated price of the ticket.

 

I have been an ebay seller/buyer since 2003 and have 100% feedback record. Placing bogus bids is not something I would normally take part in. It was just the whole Stone Roses Ticket situation... if you read the news related links on my first post, you'll see that it was easy to get caught up in it.

 

Do you think I should discuss things like the T&C of ticket sales, not having ticket in hand and all that with the ebay seller?... or just leave all that for the defence?

 

Also... is there a way of changing a user name here on CAG? I have used my real name (didn't think about that all those years ago when I first joined CAG) and am starting to feel paranoid about the information people can access about people through the internet.

 

Thanks agin folks... it really does help to discuss things with others.

[honeybee13]

Hello there. If you want to change your username, you need to contact the site team. I don't know if your old posts and name will remain on the internet afterwards. I thought I read something about that happening, but I'm a bit of a Luddite.

 

My best, HB

[andydd]

Thanks very much for advice. I think that once an ebay auction has ended it is not possible to change a bid by stating a genuine mistake had been made... besides that, the seller knows that the inflated price of the final value was due to me and other frustrated members rebelling against him. We have exchanged messages that speak of this... and so if the emails were used in court he could prove that I knew how much I was placing a bid for.

 

I am just trying to prepare myself for what may happen. I hope I might be able to win any court action he throws at me. I am hoping he is all talk... but he might have pound signs flashing in his eyes with the inflated price of the ticket.

 

I have been an ebay seller/buyer since 2003 and have 100% feedback record. Placing bogus bids is not something I would normally take part in. It was just the whole Stone Roses Ticket situation... if you read the news related links on my first post, you'll see that it was easy to get caught up in it.

 

Do you think I should discuss things like the T&C of ticket sales, not having ticket in hand and all that with the ebay seller?... or just leave all that for the defence?

 

Also... is there a way of changing a user name here on CAG? I have used my real name (didn't think about that all those years ago when I first joined CAG) and am starting to feel paranoid about the information people can access about people through the internet.

 

Thanks agin folks... it really does help to discuss things with others.

 

Yes..your earlier correspondence may have harmed you.

 

It would really help if you could actually see the Ticket T&C's from an actual ticket or from the selling websites, although i understand that they have now officially sold out (tickets not than band , although thats questionable !).

 

Cant think of any defences, as for the fact person must physically have the item in his possession, perhaps a read through of Ebays lengthy T&C's would provide you with an answer.

 

No idea as to whether the person would take legal action or not, your previous correspondence prob hasnt helped. I recently sold a bike frame and the person who bought it complained as they'd misread the ad and thought it was a whole bike, I did eventually offer a refund if they covered my extra costs but in the end she kept it and I helped her buy the extra bits needed and everyone was happy.

 

I have also sold concert tickets on Ebay, well once, I got two Metallica tickets for their last album launch, £5 each and kept one and put the other on ebay, it went for just over a £100, so a nice profit, but I have no problem with that, its not something I'd normally do. Personally I'd just sell the tickets at a later date, after all surely they'll be more valuable nearer the gig anyway.

 

Andy

[maxine989]

I looked on the ticket line website... there is no mention of the rules about selling the tickets on. Here's what they list in their T&C:

 

Your use of and access to the Ticketline Website ("Site") and any transactions you may make are subject to the terms and conditions which are set out below. By using this Site you agree to accept these Terms. If you do not, you should exit this Site.

 

About Ticketline and this Site

 

This Site is intended to be a source of useful information relating to concerts, shows or other productions ("Events"). The Ticketline Network Limited ("Ticketline" or "we" or "us") shall use our reasonable endeavours to ensure that the information contained on the Site is accurate and up to date. We may update the content and make improvements or changes in the information, services and other materials on this Site at any time without notice.

Ticketline is a ticket agency. We do not host, promote or produce any of the Events details of which appear on this Site and for which you might wish to buy a ticket. We do not control the Event nor do we set prices, we only charge a booking or handling fee and these may be set by the promoter or organiser of the Event. We do not accept any other liability for any ticket purchases made via this Site save as set out in these Terms. There may be other terms and conditions applicable to any Event and you should check the venue or the promoter's website or any site advertising the Event before committing to buy a ticket. Most will have clear statements of any applicable policies, (such as age restrictions) on their websites.

All intellectual property rights in the design of this Site and the contents, selection and arrangement of all of the material which is available on this Site belongs to Ticketline. No material from this Site may be commercially exploited in any way, without our prior written permission.

We cannot guarantee that this Site is error free, uninterrupted, or virus free.

This Site contains links to other websites which are independent of Ticketline. We have no control over such sites and any links are provided as a convenience to you as a user of this Site, and do not imply our endorsement of the linked websites or association with their operators.

Buying Tickets and Returns

 

Once you have purchased tickets, they can only be exchanged, refunded or returned in the circumstances described below:

If we fail to fulfil an order as a result of any negligence, or similar act or omission of our own or in breach of contract the customer will be entitled to a full refund including any booking fee charged.

If the event is cancelled, postponed or material changes are made to the Event, namely a change of the venue or the headline act, the original tickets that you have purchased will remain valid for the revised event (except for in the case of cancellation) unless otherwise advised. However, in these circumstances, only the face value of the tickets will be refunded as these are circumstances beyond our control. If the tickets have not been posted out, the processing fee will also be refunded.

There will be no refund for lost, stolen or damaged tickets (save that duplicate tickets may be possible, however a duplication fee equal to the original despatch fee may be charged) or if the venue or Event organiser provides different seats to those specified on the ticket.

For any refund of face value you will be required to return the tickets, on receipt of which we will make the refund. The refund will be made using the same method of payment that was used to purchase the tickets. Tickets should be returned to Ticketline, PO Box 4061, Manchester, M60 1YT.

Refund requests will be accepted up until 1 week before the date of the revised event or 1 week after notification of the change (whichever is the later) unless otherwise advised. We are unable to refund tickets that are received after this time.

It is your responsibility to ensure that tickets returned are received by us. It is therefore advisable to return any tickets either by secure post or in person.

When events are cancelled, postponed or the venue or content is significantly changed, we will do our best to inform all purchasers using the contact details provided when the order was made. However it is the responsibility of the purchaser to check whether the event is going ahead at the scheduled date, time and venue. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to make contact with you.

It is the responsibility of our customers to inform Ticketline of any change of address, contact telephone number or email address both before and after receipt of your tickets.

Always check your tickets on receipt, as mistakes cannot always be rectified later.

Although Ticketline will use reasonable endeavours to indicate any age or other restrictions that apply to events, it is the customer's responsibility to ensure that they are eligible for entry to the event that they are purchasing tickets for.

Promoters and Venues always reserve the right to refuse admission to an Event and tickets are issued subject to the rules and regulations of the venue. We will therefore not offer refunds to any ticket-holders who may be refused entry. The unauthorised use of photographic and recording equipment at venues is usually prohibited.

We will not be liable to you for any loss of enjoyment or profit nor any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, special or punitive damages.

We will not be liable for any misrepresentations, negligence, contractual or tortuous loss of any kind suffered by you from the products, or services, or actions of any venue, performer, promoter or others.

If you are collecting your tickets rather than having them posted out, please be advised that the tickets must be collected by the cardholder in person, and that the credit card must be presented on collection. The cardholders' signature will be required on collection.

There is no standard despatch time for tickets ordered through this site as tickets for different events have different despatch times. However, all tickets should be received at least one week before the event, unless they are being collected from the venue. Tickets booked within 10 days of an event that are being posted, may be received slightly later, but should be received at least 2 days before an event.

If it becomes impractical to post tickets out due to proximity of an event or circumstances beyond Ticketline's control, we reserve the right to make the tickets available for collection at the venue and will inform you accordingly.

For certain events there may be a restriction on the maximum number of tickets that may be purchased. We will use our best endeavours to publish this information on the Site and at the point of ticket selection for the event. In such case, we reserve the right to only offer for sale the maximum number of tickets available and to cancel any orders made that exceed the maximum authorised tickets per customer without notice.

If tickets despatched by special delivery are returned as 'addressee unknown', we reserve the right to cancel the order.

We reserve the right not to despatch tickets to you if the tickets were listed at an incorrect price due to a typographical error, which sometimes happens, or an error in the pricing information received by us from the Promoter or the Venue.

If this occurs we will notify you by telephone or e-mail as soon as we become aware of the error and if you do not confirm within 14 days that you wish to purchase the tickets at the revised price we will re-credit to your account any sum deducted by us from your debit/credit card in full as soon as possible but in any event within 21 days of your order. We will not be obliged to offer any additional compensation for disappointment suffered.

For the purposes of these Terms, Force Majeure event means an event beyond the reasonable control of Ticketline including but not limited to strikes, lock-outs or other industrial disputes (whether involving the workforce of Ticketline or any other party), failure of a utility service or transport network, act of God, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with any law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction, accident, breakdown of plant or machinery, fire, flood, storm or default of suppliers or subcontractors.

Ticketline shall not be liable to you as a result of any delay or failure to perform its obligations if an Event is cancelled as a result of a Force Majeure Event.

Miscellaneous

 

If these Terms are not complied with, we reserve the right to terminate access and use of the site.

These Terms represent the entire understanding and agreement between you and us and shall have priority over any and all prior statements, understandings or agreements whether oral or in writing.

We may modify these Terms at any time, and such modifications shall be effective immediately upon posting of the modified Terms on this Site. Your continued access or use of this Site shall be deemed your acceptance of the modified Terms applicable from time to time.

These Terms are governed by English law and any disputes subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts and, by using this Site, you hereby submit to the jurisdiction of such courts for such purposes and waive any and all objections to jurisdiction or venue in such courts.

If any court finds any provision of these terms to be void or unenforceable for any reason, then such provision shall be ineffective to the extent of the courts finding without affecting the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

Any queries regarding tickets or any other services associated with this site should be directed to Customer Services. Please follow the link for contact information.

 

Despatch of Tickets: Your tickets will be posted to your address

You will receive your tickets at least 1 week before the event or 5 days after you have made your booking if it is booked within 12 days of the event.

In exceptional circumstances where this is not possible we will contact you to advise you and make alternative arrangements where necessary.

[maxine989]

From the ebay seller:

 

Hi Maxine

Thanks for your kind comments

as you have bid and won the auction I fully expect you to honour your legal obligations and purchace the tickets at the agreed price of £1,353.

Im sure you are fully aware of Ebays rules and regulations including the fact you have entered into a legally binding contract.

As a qualified Barrister I will certainly look to enforce collection of the payment plus legal costs if it is not paid by paypal by monday morning

Thank you

[maxine989]

A little update:

 

I have contacted ebay regarding the seller not having the item to send me within the 30 days of auction end (as stated in ebay's policy) and the fact that there are no terms and conditions regarding the original ticket sale mentioned in the listing... so am waiting for them to get back to me with a bit more information regarding this.

 

I am hoping that my 'legal obligations' will be irrelevant due to the fact that the seller has not complied with ebay selling policies when listing the item.

 

I have also begun a case in the help/resolution cntre regarding the sellers persistnat threats of legal action via email before the unpaid item case has ended (theoretically, all contact should be through the resolution centre).

 

He is only pursuing me because of the inflated price of the ticket when the auction ended. Any genuine and reasonable seller would reach an agreement amicably. I admit that I was in wrong for bidding on the item, but I din't think for a minute that his listing was honest and law abiding. It would be interesting to know if any of the other ebay members that retaliated in the same way as me are experiencing a similar scenario. As I said in my first post, pages and pages of completed listings on ebay are showing to have sold tickets from thousands to millions of pounds.

 

Aside from the possibly impending court case, there must be something stirring in the offices of ebay what with all the recent activity regarding stone roses tickets.

 

Thanks for reading

Maxine

[hightail]

The concert is next June. Tickets are sent out about about a month before the event. The seller doesn't have the goods to supply. You could be sending anyone money and will be way out of time to make a Paypal claim if the tickets don't turn up and then there's no chance of getting your money back. Concert tickets are one of the biggest [problem] items on ebay because the dodgy seller can be long gone by the time buyers realise they've been taken for a ride.

 

The seller is going to be stuck with huge final value fees if they don't come to an agreement with you to do a mutual cancellation. It's in his interest to do so. Have you suggested it?

 

By the way, everyone on ebay is a lawyer - or has a close relative who is.

Edited October 28, 2011 by hightail

[ashmk]

Lets hope they don't ruin your 100% feedback in revenge.

[hightail]

Sellers cannot leave negative feedback for buyers.

[theghost]

chances of him doing it are slim I would say - it aint worth the hassle.

 

But yes, technically you could be sued.

[ashmk]

Sellers cannot leave negative feedback for buyers.

 

Sellers can leave negative feedback to anyone who sells in the future on ebay.

 

I received unfair negative feedback and 2 months later when the member was selling, I bid on his item on another account, did'nt pay and left him negative feedback a few days after winning. There was nothing he could do about it because I told ebay I collected and they guy could not prove I did not.

And yes it was petty but this idiot deserved it.

 

However my only point here is a seller can leave you a negative if (and only if) you sell on ebay.

[Fenris]

From the ebay seller:

 

Hi Maxine

Thanks for your kind comments

as you have bid and won the auction I fully expect you to honour your legal obligations and purchace the tickets at the agreed price of £1,353.

Im sure you are fully aware of Ebays rules and regulations including the fact you have entered into a legally binding contract.

As a qualified Barrister I will certainly look to enforce collection of the payment plus legal costs if it is not paid by paypal by monday morning

Thank you

 

Call me crazy, but I'd assume a "qualified Barrister" would know that "I'm" has an apostrophe in it. As does "eBay's" Oh yeah, and sentence's usually start with a capital letter. Need I mention the lack of full-stops? I can barely spell, but even I know those!

 

I wouldn't worry too much, I highly doubt you've anything to be concerned about. I'd suggest not doing it again! (Although I sympathise; I'm an Action Figure collector and scalpers drive me mad!)

[ashmk]

He is selling them on Guntree too if the seller was from Manchester.

 

If he has 100% feedback then you could remind the seller that any threats will be taken into consideration when you leave feedback. You may not be paying but you can still leave feedback!

 

That might shut them up.

[maxine989]

Hi

 

I received the following message from the seller:

 

"The fact remains you have entered into a legally binding contract through ebay to purchase the tickets at the agreed cost.

As I stated I will be commencing full legal proceedings against you on Monday morning to recover the full amount plus court and legal costs.

You have until Sunday evening to make the agreed payment by paypal or offer me a suitable and agreeable compensation figure.

As a regular user of ebay; no doubt you are fully aware of your obligations to complete the transaction you have entered into."

 

 

I checked out the rules for selling tickets on ebay and I replied to the seller:

 

 

"Here's some information about: eBay rules - items that are restricted or prohibited

Tickets are generally allowed to be sold on eBay, however you should carefully read any contracts that you have entered into that may limit your right to sell your item on eBay. Also, tickets have to be available for dispatch within 30 days from the date of purchase.

 

Your claim would not stand up in court. You do not have the ticket to send within the 30 days which means you have breached ebay's selling policy.

 

In addition you have not posted the terms and conditions of the ticket sale in your listing, thus making your listing and consequently the sale of the item void.

 

Please may I have your name and address so I can begin to create my defence and also pass this information to my legal adviser who will be able to look you up on the Barristers' Register (as you stated you were a qualified barrister in a previous correspondence, which may constitute a verbal threat in written communication, if you are not actually a barrister... which again will add to my defence).

 

I am a regular user of ebay. I have been a user since 2003 and have 100% feedback

 

Many thanks"

 

 

 

I haven't heard back from him yet.

Edited October 30, 2011 by maxine989
typo

[andydd]

Hi

 

I received the following message from the seller:

 

"The fact remains you have entered into a legally binding contract through ebay to purchase the tickets at the agreed cost.

As I stated I will be commencing full legal proceedings against you on Monday morning to recover the full amount plus court and legal costs.

You have until Sunday evening to make the agreed payment by paypal or offer me a suitable and agreeable compensation figure.

As a regular user of ebay; no doubt you are fully aware of your obligations to complete the transaction you have entered into."

 

 

I checked out the rules for selling tickets on ebay and I replied to the seller:

 

 

"Here's some information about: eBay rules - items that are restricted or prohibited

Tickets are generally allowed to be sold on eBay, however you should carefully read any contracts that you have entered into that may limit your right to sell your item on eBay. Also, tickets have to be available for dispatch within 30 days from the date of purchase.

 

Your claim would not stand up in court. You do not have the ticket to send within the 30 days which means you have breached ebay's selling policy.

 

In addition you have not posted the terms and conditions of the ticket sale in your listing, thus making your listing and consequently the sale of the item void.

 

Please may I have your name and address so I can begin to create my defence and also pass this information to my legal adviser who will be able to look you up on the Barristers' Register (as you stated you were a qualified barrister in a previous correspondence, which may constitute a verbal threat in written communication, if you are not actually a barrister... which again will add to my defence).

 

I am a regular user of ebay. I have been a user since 2003 and have 100% feedback

 

Many thanks"

 

 

 

I haven't heard back from him yet.

You appear to be heading in the right direction, be aware though that any statute laws may override those of ebay (not sure of any that are reklevant though).

 

Clearly there is going to be initial contract between the original ticket provider and the ebay seller, i would of thought that the original contract doesnt give him the right to re-sell so his claim would collapse at that point. Have you managed to track down the T&C's from a site or seen the back of a ticket (or am i correct in thinking that the tickets wont 'exisit' untill sometime next year ?

 

I would of thought that if he didnt have tickets in his possessionthat would make his case rather difficult.

 

Of course, let us know if you receive any court letters.

 

Andy

[Kraken1]

Personally, it's not a case I'd want to fight. He's by no means got a cast iron case, but I'd guesstimate that it is likely 65:35 in his favour.

[andydd]

Del me

Edited October 30, 2011 by andydd
double post

[andydd]

Personally, it's not a case I'd want to fight. He's by no means got a cast iron case, but I'd guesstimate that it is likely 65:35 in his favour.

 

I'd put it closer to 50/50, we dont know for sure the T&C's of the original 'contract' between the ticket supplier and ebay seller, if it said cannot be re-sold then it ends there, I dont see how he can break one contract then seek to enforce the terms of another. Plus added to that is the fact he would be taking action before he physically has the tickets plus would seem to fall foul of ebay's 30-day rule (not really sure of the relevance of this, but I'd assume that it forms part of the T &C's of the contract between the ebay seller and the OP ebay buyer.), thus it would appear that both sides have made multiple breaches of the contract or contracts. Having said that, it could be worth him pursuing simply coz of the money involved (but would the same be said for the bids of £1000, £10,000 ?), and ulktimately it wouldnt cost much to pursue so maybe a gamble ?

 

Andy

[Kraken1]

Just because there may be another breach of an associated contract does not prevent a subsequent contract being valid. If I agree to buy a car from a dealer it really doesn't matter if there has been some breach of contract between the dealer and the person he is buying the car off.

 

It is also the case that the buyer would definitely be breaching a contract based on the anticipated breach of contract by the seller. Not a good place to be, and not all breaches of contract will entitle a party to rescind. The buyer might just be entitled to compensation. Any action that the seller is open to from ebay because of the breach of ebay's t's and c's may not effect the buyer's case.

 

Lots of ifs and maybes. All in all, fairly ropey.

 

On another point, I think that it is ropey from a conduct point of view for a barrister to 'threaten' another party to a legal dispute with his status as a barrister. Worth checking the conduct rules I reckon.