Please help. Giant fish tank and eBay decided in seller's favour!

[elsa123]

I recently purchased a giant fish tank from eBay.

It was advertised as fully functional and the complete set up.

I inspected the item before purchasing and it looked OK.

Got it home and paid a professional firm to deliver it in one piece.

 

 

Although it is a beautiful tank it is not functional.

When I took the filter to the fish shop, they opened it up and found it was so dirty and worn it would not function.

All our fish died. It was advertised with a heater but none arrived.

 

eBay said because I inspected before purchase I have no case.

The faults are not visible on inspection and I had no idea the filter was so badly damaged just looking at the outside of it.

I am a fish keeping novice and did not even think to look inside.

When I inspected it I saw the heater but the item was never handed to the delivery guy.

 

I spoke to eBay yesterday who verbally said I would get a refund,

but today got an email saying my appeal to the resolution case had been denied.

 

 

I phoned and asked about the eBay representative saying this to me.

They say they have notes of the call but the refund was not mentioned!

 

Now we are in a pickle.

We have a giant hulking tank we do not want and have spoken to Citizen's Advice today and been told we have a case under the SoGA as the item is not functional.

 

The vendor has texted me today telling me never to contact them again as the case is closed.

I have sent a pre-legal letter but doubt I will get a response.

 

My question is what to do with the hulking great tank.

 

 

I spoke to the removals firm today and they do not want to take it back as there is a good chance the vendor will refuse to sign for it

and then they will have to bring it back to us again!

I have put in the letter that they have 14 days to respond but we only live in a tiny house

and need the item gone so we can purchase a functional tank.

The expert at our shop has advised we do not put any more fish in this tank as they will just die.

 

If they fail to respond what on earth do I do with the tank?

It is too big to go in my car.

 

 

Shall I sell it on but being honest about the faults and deduct this amount from the court claim?

 

 

Shall I just get a man and van to dump it down the tip?

 

 

I have no clue I just want the "tank of death" out of my house.

[CrappoMan]

If the tank is 'sound', why not repair the filter or buy another one. Heaters aren't expensive.

 

Alternatively, how did you pay for the tank ? Was it cash or paypal ?

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

Is the seller a commercial seller or just someone selling their old tank.

 

How long after it was delivered did you notice the heater was missing and the pump was broken?

[SabreSheep]

If you have the Vendors address you could issue a small claims action.

 

You could also send a recorded delivery letter stating that you are rejecting under SOGA, list why and also that they have x days to arrange collection of the goods.

[elsa123]

I categorically do not want the item. I understand what you are saying about making it good by getting the faults repaired but I cannot get the image of my dead fish out of my brain. I want it gone.

This was not a business seller, just someone who did not want the fish tank.

I raised the issues within 48 hours of getting the item.

I have sent them the following pre legal letter:

 

Complaint about faulty goods

 

I bought fish tank and accessories from you on 15th March 2015. I paid £350.

 

I now find the goods have the following faults:

 

1. Despite advertised on eBay as including a heater this item failed to arrive.

2. Despite the filter being described as “brand new upgraded” it was not new and the internal parts are so old and dirty a specialist has told us it is non-functional in its current state.

3. Despite being advertised as the complete set-up, an air pump was not included.

 

As a consequence of this mis-selling we have had 6 fish die and paid out £295 in delivery costs and £40 for a heater.

 

Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) goods you supply must be fit for purpose. As there was a problem with the goods when I bought them, I request that you provide a full refund. I understand eBay are arguing that as I inspected the goods before delivery that they will not refund me. However the Sales of Goods Act 1979 covers defects that are not apparent on immediate inspection. I was not shown the inside of the filter when I visited to inspect it and it was not reasonably practicable to witness the tank in operation as it was in your garage with no water in it.

 

I am requesting you remove the item from our house in the next 14 days. I do not want it as it is not fit for purpose and we only have a small house and so have no storage space for it. You have a legal obligation at this stage to remove it, or make arrangements with a firm to collect it.

 

I have already made attempts to contact you today however you are not responding to my text messages which I wish to be noted at this point.

 

Please respond within 14 days of receiving this letter. Should you fail to respond we will initiate small claims action, not only for the cost of the item, but also for delivery charges and other consequential losses we have suffered as a result of your mis-selling.

[elsa123]

just to add I paid on paypal

[CrappoMan]

If you paid via paypal using a funding source (i.e: not your paypal balance), you could make a section 75 claim to the funding source (debit/credit card or bank).

 

This will leave your paypal account in the red, so you will have to abandon that account and setup a new one using a different email address and bank account.

[elsa123]

I never have funds in the PayPal account and I think it just gets transferred from my bank card which is a visa one. I have just looked and the money left my account on 15th March and went to the seller.

I do not want whatever I do to give me a bad credit rating as I have worked hard to get a good credit rating and do not have any loans or credit cards in case I miss a payment. Will a section 75 claim not damage my credit rating?

[elsa123]

I have just Googled it and cannot use section 75 as it is a debit and not a credit card, but I can try something called charge back which is similar, so I will give that a go.

[CrappoMan]

Yes, it's Chargeback for debit transactions.

 

Paypal can't affect your credit rating, they don't report to any CRA.

[liverbird37]

The fish dying, I'm suspecting, is a result of them being placed in an aquarium Tha hasn't been cycled properly. Did you set up the tank, go out buy fish, & put them straight in the new tank ? If so, then this I why they have all died, and will continue to until the tank I properly cycled.

 

An aquarium takes around 7wks, sometimes longer, to build up enough beneficial bacteria in the filter, to ensure deadly ammonia and nitrites caused by fish waste, are broken down. This is done by running the tank empty, and adding a specific amount of ammonia daily to the empty tank to start the cycling process.

 

The bacteria on the old filter would have died off very quickly unless kept in the correct temperature water. I have kept tropical fish for years and currently run a high tech fully planted mangrove tank.

 

Please have a read up on google about fishless aquarium cycling. It is vital that you do this before adding any more fish. Whilst the tank is un-cycled, any fish you add will just cause high levels of ammonia that will kill quickly. It's not possible to just put fish in a new tank and expect them to survive. Fishkeeping is a lot more complicated than that I'm afraid, and involves a lot of research. Correct PH levels vary between each species, some need acidic water, others alkaline, some thrive in hard water whilst a soft water species would be killed by it.

 

Also, air pumps, with the correct level of filtration in the tank, are not needed. The bubbles dissipate so quickly that the amount of oxygen they actually add to the water is negligible. If he offered one then you have every right to ask for it, but if it wasn't then it's not really necessary.

 

What do you feel caused the death of the fish ?

[slick132]

Approx what size is the tank.

 

How many fish did you put into it, and what type were they.

 

How long after adding water did you put in the fish.

 

Did you check the water condition and pH with test strips or other testers.

 

You are right, that s.75 cannot be used for a debit card purchase. You could ask your bank about a chargeback but, in the circumstances, I don't know if they'd agree. And if the bank did agree to do the chargeback, the vendor may have good grounds to take action against you.

 

[elsa123]

I have sent the pre-legal letter and in 14 days I can either get the tank transported back to their house and then reclaim these costs at small claims or sell the tank for spares and repairs and then deduct that off the amount of the claim.

 

Can someone advise should I get it transported back or sell it on? It is 260 litre tank.

[slick132]

Hi Elsa,

 

You may be jumping the gun here.

 

You've not answered about whether you had checked the condition of the tank's water before introducing fish.

 

[liverbird37]

I completely agree with slick on this one. From what you have told us, you will struggle in a court to prove the seller liable for the death of the fish, and that the tank was the cause of this unless you can answer the questions put to you regarding how you set the tank up and added the fish.

 

It may not seem important, but it is absolute key. He can argue that you were solely responsible for the problems by how you added the fish. Fish can't just be put straight in a tank or they will die. You need also to prove as a responsible fishkeeper, that you set up the tank appropriately. If the fish were added before the tank had cycled, then you are in difficulties. If the seller knows his stuff (fish wise) then you could end up in a sticky situation.