Safest way to refund a cash on collection item?

Last week, we sold a fully working dishwasher for £5, collection only. Buyer arrived, paid cash, drove away. As there was no PayPal transaction, we marked the dishwasher as payment received.

This morning, he's sent a very disgruntled email, saying it's burned out, and his entire kitchen smells of smoke. He wants a refund.

Given the fact he lives an hour away, and he doesn't sound too happy just now, driving to his house to give him his £5 is not my preferred option. I'd rather keep any future communication short and to the point, and any refund traceable. What's the safest way to refund him?
© Cuilean 2005. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
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Comments

  • theonlywayisup
    theonlywayisup Posts: 16,031
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    I wouldn't refund purely and simply because it was a cash on collection item and you don't have anything other than his word that it's burned out.

    If you want to refund the safest way is by cash. If you refund by a way that leaves a paper trail he may decide he wants to pursue you for damage to his kitchen and your refund may be seen as admission of the problem.
  • ballisticbrian
    ballisticbrian Posts: 3,933
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    Agreed, it doesn't sound like a lot of money but you have to think of the legal side.
    Warning: any unnecessary disclaimers appearing under my posts do not bear any connection with reality, either intended, accidental or otherwise. Your statutory rights are not affected.
  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,518
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    Tell them to bring it back and then refund them.
    Censorship Reigns Supreme in Troll City...

  • Tealblue
    Tealblue Posts: 929
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    Tell them to bring it back and then refund them.

    Hardly the position you want to be in if he does that - you were trying to get rid of the blessed thing! I'd message him via ebay and say that the dishwasher was in good working order at the time it was sold and you cannot accept responsibility once it left your premises.
  • Cuilean
    Cuilean Posts: 731
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    Thank you everyone for your replies. I had not even considered the fact that refunding would legally look like an admission of guilt.

    I spoke to eBay support and they have confirmed that cash on collection listings are "Buyer Beware". The buyer had the chance to inspect the item and decide whether to proceed with the purchase. As Tealblue pointed out, it worked when we sold it, and we can't accept responsibility for what happens after it's out of our possession.

    In addition to that, since he paid cash on collection, the eBay Moneyback Guarantee can't be applied in this instance, so he won't even have the option to open a returns case from his account.

    eBay's advice was that if we were to contact him, it would just be to say that returns are not accepted. I'd like to think that for the sake of £5, I'm not going to find a Moneyclaim appearing in my inbox, or him appearing on my doorstep since it would cost him significantly more than £5 in petrol. He's already left positive feedback, so he can't even sting us that way.

    Of course, this is eBay, and I've learned that they interpret their own rules differently every single day, so entirely possible that I haven't heard the last of this ;)
    © Cuilean 2005. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.
  • Auntie-Dolly
    Auntie-Dolly Posts: 1,008 Forumite
    Can't you just send him £5 via PayPal or bank transfer? Hardly worth making an issue out of it.
  • theonlywayisup
    theonlywayisup Posts: 16,031
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    Can't you just send him £5 via PayPal or bank transfer? Hardly worth making an issue out of it.

    Did you read the thread? It isn't the £5, perhaps it is?
  • angryparcel
    angryparcel Posts: 926 Forumite
    Cuilean wrote: »
    This morning, he's sent a very disgruntled email, saying it's burned out, and his entire kitchen smells of smoke.
    Was it freestanding or integrated?
    as the issue could be the way he fitted it in his property.

    What was he expecting for £5. A top of the range new dishwasher with a 12 month warranty.

    He purchased a COC item which he had a chance to inspect before purchase, so Sold as Seen.
    He has no comebacks
  • RFW
    RFW Posts: 10,010
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    Was it freestanding or integrated?
    as the issue could be the way he fitted it in his property.

    What was he expecting for £5. A top of the range new dishwasher with a 12 month warranty.

    He purchased a COC item which he had a chance to inspect before purchase, so Sold as Seen.
    He has no comebacks
    I agree but sometimes it isn't worth the hassle of standing your ground.

    There's some grey areas here as far as I know. If it was sold as something that could be used again and it did have a fault then the seller can be liable. If it was sold as 'spares/repair' then it's the buyer's problem.

    I don't think sending £5 is an admission of guilt/responsibility.

    I think what I may do would be to buy a £5 postal order, keep the order number and post it to him. Stick a note in saying "with compliments, sorry there was a problem after you fitted it" or words to that effect. If you're worried about legal requirements ask CAB or a solicitor (some have free drop in sessions). They may suggest you add "ex gratia" or "without prejudice", although I often think that adding legal terms gives people ideas that they can go to court.

    Most firms charge £15+ to take a broken dishwasher/washing machine away so think of it as being £10 up.

    We recently moved and I brought my old dishwasher with, I unknowingly damaged it in transit and almost flooded the kitchen after I'd fitted it. There's lots of ways things can go wrong, so it wouldn't be so cut and dried who's fault it was. I doubt, if it went to court, that a judge would look favourably on someone paying £5 for a dishwasher and not having it tested before fitting it. Your refund, should you go ahead with it, would more likely put you in a good light than be evidence of you admitting culpability.
    .
  • mgdavid
    mgdavid Posts: 6,705
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    RFW wrote: »
    I agree but sometimes it isn't worth the hassle of standing your ground.

    There's some grey areas here as far as I know. If it was sold as something that could be used again and it did have a fault then the seller can be liable. If it was sold as 'spares/repair' then it's the buyer's problem.

    I don't think sending £5 is an admission of guilt/responsibility.

    I think what I may do would be to buy a £5 postal order, keep the order number and post it to him. Stick a note in saying "with compliments, sorry there was a problem after you fitted it" or words to that effect. If you're worried about legal requirements ask CAB or a solicitor (some have free drop in sessions). They may suggest you add "ex gratia" or "without prejudice", although I often think that adding legal terms gives people ideas that they can go to court.

    Most firms charge £15+ to take a broken dishwasher/washing machine away so think of it as being £10 up.

    We recently moved and I brought my old dishwasher with, I unknowingly damaged it in transit and almost flooded the kitchen after I'd fitted it. There's lots of ways things can go wrong, so it wouldn't be so cut and dried who's fault it was. I doubt, if it went to court, that a judge would look favourably on someone paying £5 for a dishwasher and not having it tested before fitting it. Your refund, should you go ahead with it, would more likely put you in a good light than be evidence of you admitting culpability.


    have you read the whole thread? (apparently not).
    Ebay COC items are 'buyer beware' and there is absolutely no reason for a seller to refund in this situation.
    The questions that get the best answers are the questions that give most detail....
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