MoneyClaim - eBay

[MGBDriver]

Hi there, hope you are all enjoying the fine weather and long may it last!

 

I hope there is someone who might be able to give a little advice please?

 

I placed an offer on a car on eBay, and then decided straight away to retract, by which the time the offer had been accepted. Something didnt feel right (I had emailed the seller to ask what he would accept, and the reply was that he had another offer of X and that I would have to offer X+ else he would accept the original offer on the table. I was interested, but just offered X, and 5 mins later there was the invoice.. ) Clearly he had been pushing for the most he could get, but it didnt sit right, so I emailed saying the deal was off.

 

Before you flame me - I realise the error of my ways, and indeed have had my fair share of the same happen to me.

 

the next day I had a menacing phone message left stating that he would be suing if I failed to pick the car up, which made me more resolute.

 

I suggested that if he had the time and desire to sue for losses then go ahead - forward to today and I am in receipt of a moneyclaim for a) 2 weeks of temporary insurance car cover b) one months tax, to cover this month while he attempts to re-sell.

 

i suggested to him that common sense would have been to sell the car to the other bidder who had made the original offer, or relist the car straight away.

 

The transaction has been cancelled by eBay via the resolution centre and presumably the fees also, which I would have thought were the extent of his 'loss' at the time.

 

So the question is, does a potential buyer of a car who backs out of an eBay deal become liable for the costs of ownership that he is claiming?

 

many thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

 

Good weekend.

[citizenB]

I would have thought the same as you - if he had the other offer, why not accept that?

 

I would say that the basis of your defence is in your first post, however, I will leave a message for those on site team who deal with this type of issue.

 

Meanwhile, can you please provide the following information, so whoever looks in on you wont need to ask..

 

Date of issue of the claim form - top right hand corner of the claim form.

 

Your timeline will be... Date of issue ?? + 5 days for service (count date of issue as day 1) = ?? + 14 days to acknowledge the claim = ?? + plus a further 14 days if it is your intention to defend the claim = ?? (33 days from date of issue)

 

What exactly does it say on the Particulars of Claim, the reason he has issued the claim?

 

you can do the acknowledgment of claim online using the claim reference and password which you will find a little ways down the claim form on the right hand side. (it might be on the 2nd page of the claim)

[MGBDriver]

I would have thought the same as you - if he had the other offer, why not accept that?

 

I would say that the basis of your defence is in your first post, however, I will leave a message for those on site team who deal with this type of issue.

 

Meanwhile, can you please provide the following information, so whoever looks in on you wont need to ask..

 

Date of issue of the claim form - top right hand corner of the claim form.

 

Your timeline will be... Date of issue ?? + 5 days for service (count date of issue as day 1) = ?? + 14 days to acknowledge the claim = ?? + plus a further 14 days if it is your intention to defend the claim = ?? (33 days from date of issue)

 

What exactly does it say on the Particulars of Claim, the reason he has issued the claim?

 

you can do the acknowledgment of claim online using the claim reference and password which you will find a little ways down the claim form on the right hand side. (it might be on the 2nd page of the claim)

 

Date or issue is 25/9, and I do intend to defend - I have already sent back the relevant acknowledgement paperwork.

 

the partciulars refer to failure to complete purchase of a car on ebay on bid accepted of X. Requirment to insure car and tax, (2 weeks insurance and Oct tax) for Oct, as I will not be able to complete a sale before 30/9 (2 days before ebay let me relist, plus 5 day sale period). No response to emails (totally incorrect) and phone calls (obviously - He was told that any further calls of that would nature would be escalated to the relevant authorities)

 

Hope that helps.

[citizenB]

Thank you.

 

Most of the guys that advise in this section have day jobs, so will be along either later this evening or tomorrow.

 

Your timeline will be..

 

Date of issue 25.09.2015 + 5 days for service = 29.09.2015 + 14 days to acknowledge = 13.10.2015 + 14 days to defend = 27.10.2015.

[MGBDriver]

CitizenB - Many thanks for your help.

 

Enjoy your weekend.

[citizenB]

[steampowered]

The eBay T&Cs are clear that, once you place a winning bid for an item, you are required to purchase it. See http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/unpaid-item.html.

 

Therefore, I think you are in breach of contract and that you are liable to reimburse the seller for his reasonable costs in reselling the car.

 

The seller is required to 'mitigate his loss' as much as possible. That means relisting the car in a timely fashion and controlling expenses. For example, if he can find another buyer in a week, you would only be liable for his actual out of pocket relating to that week.

 

Ideally, you would sort this out with the seller. Otherwise, you can defend and require him to prove the loss which he claims to have suffered. I don't think he can claim for a month in advance (although by the time anything happened with the court case you would know how long it took him to resell the car).

[MGBDriver]

The eBay T&Cs are clear that, once you place a winning bid for an item, you are required to purchase it. See http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/unpaid-item.html.

 

Therefore, I think you are in breach of contract and that you are liable to reimburse the seller for his reasonable costs in reselling the car.

 

The seller is required to 'mitigate his loss' as much as possible. That means relisting the car in a timely fashion and controlling expenses. For example, if he can find another buyer in a week, you would only be liable for his actual out of pocket relating to that week.

 

Ideally, you would sort this out with the seller. Otherwise, you can defend and require him to prove the loss which he claims to have suffered. I don't think he can claim for a month in advance (although by the time anything happened with the court case you would know how long it took him to resell the car).

 

Interestingly, the seller went the unpaid item route, rather than just cancelling the deal, as soon as I stated the deal was off. Having consulted with ebay he stated he couldnt re-list until opening an unpaid item 25/9, but then only relisted on 1/10, contradicting himself later stating that if he had relisted before the unpaid item case closed on 29/9, he would have been in breach of contract.

 

Mmmm.

[MGBDriver]

Many thanks for your reply Steampowered,

 

looks like I will end up just paying this and be done with it.

 

I did notice that you mentioned about mitigating losses - the guy relisted the car 1/10, and it would appear he accepted an offer about 48 hours later so it looks sold again. I'm guessing he didnt want to relist until eBay had released from his contractual obligation to sell the car to me, even tho it would appear he could have done so from the 25/9, according to an earlier message he sent.

 

Out of interest, if one does defend a claim and subsequently loses, presumably additional costs are added / can be claimed by the claimant? I dont want to be on the end of claim for 3 or 4 times the claim amount And maybe better to cut my losses?

 

Many thanks in advance and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

[steampowered]

I did notice that you mentioned about mitigating losses - the guy relisted the car 1/10, and it would appear he accepted an offer about 48 hours later so it looks sold again. I'm guessing he didnt want to relist until eBay had released from his contractual obligation to sell the car to me, even tho it would appear he could have done so from the 25/9, according to an earlier message he sent.

He should only be claiming his actual out-of-pocket loss. If he resold the car 2 days later, it is difficult to see what financial loss he has suffered, and he shouldn't be claiming for the full month. Either way, you can ask him for invoices/evidence of the amount claimed - he would be required to give that to the court if this proceeds anyway.

 

It would be reasonable to write back to him to ask when the car was re-sold and for evidence/explanation/breakdown of the losses he is claiming.

 

Out of interest, if one does defend a claim and subsequently loses, presumably additional costs are added / can be claimed by the claimant? I dont want to be on the end of claim for 3 or 4 times the claim amount And maybe better to cut my losses?

He can claim back the court fees he paid (check http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/ex050-eng.pdf to see what they are). In theory it is possible to get more costs than that, but this is rare and reserved for cases where one party has behaved unreasonably.

[hightail]

The eBay T&Cs are clear that, once you place a winning bid for an item, you are required to purchase it.

 

 

Aren't there separate T&Cs for vehicles?

[tobyjugg2]

Two points to perhaps consider.

 

1. Did he sell it for more than your offer?

2. Was his declining your offer (claiming it wasn't enough and you needed to offer more else he would be accepting the higher offer) in writing/email?

[MGBDriver]

Two points to perhaps consider.

 

1. Did he sell it for more than your offer?

2. Was his declining your offer (claiming it wasn't enough and you needed to offer more else he would be accepting the higher offer) in writing/email?

 

He relisted the car for the same price on 1/10, and it is showing as listing end now, 3/10,with best offer accepted (as before with mine), for how much this time is unknown. Interestingly looking back thru his history looks like sold it for higher end August and then relisted it, due to another incomplete sale.

 

When I first made contact with the guy, before submitting a bid, yes, he had emailed saying he already had a bid for the identical amount that I ended up offering., and that my bid were need to be higher. Naturally we all want to achieve the best price, so he was either spoofing or the first bidder changed his mind. Doesnt really take away from the fact I had a "contract" with the guy. But made me uneasy.

 

I think the guy could have easily relisted the car, without his fear of being in breach of contract before the unpaid item process ended, and indeed stated that I should either retract the bid (impossible with an unpaid item case), or that having consulted with eBay he wouldnt be able to relist before unpaid case raised which was 25/9. Ultimately, he waited for the unpaid item to close 29/9 and then chose to relist 1/10 for whatever reason (personal reasons, or perhaps to support his claim, which was submittd on 25/9.)

 

As I have said before I realise this is partly self inflicted, but having had this happen to me several times over the years, have never thought to use the small claims. Have just filed a claim for incomplete sale with eBay, reversed the transaction and re-listed.

[MGBDriver]

Decided to submit a defence - have enough correspondence from the claimant to question the original trade and the resulting delay in re listing it etc, esp. As the car 'sold' again so quickly after the end of the month.

 

Will let you know how it goes.

 

Many thanks again for your help.

[theratboy]

Any updates on this? Thanks.

[tobyjugg2]

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/buy/best-offer.html

 

Sound like you are saying he rejected your offer - in writing

 

or did you make offer after the email.

How long after the offer did he accept

 

from the link above

"Best Offers are good for 48 hours, or until the listing ends, whichever comes first."