A buyer reporting a problem from something bought in April

chja

There is no set time limit as to how long something should be replaced / repaired if it develops a fault after purchase - its down to "reasonable expectation".

I don't think a court in the land would find against you with regards to a 2nd hand laptop developing some form of problem after 7 months.

wonka

The sale of goods act is there to protect buyers against retailers who sell new goods. It doesn't really apply to second hand goods, or reconditioned. Certainly a PC that is 4 or 5 years old will be deemed to be passed its useful life.

Even if the SOG act did apply here, more than 6 months has elapsed since the sale, so the onus is on the seller to find a mutually agreed expert to write an independent report stating that the fault was inherent when sold - I tried doing this for a faulty camcorder recently, and believe me, not one reputable dealer was prepared to put their name against such a report.

Let's say the buyer finds a charlatan who will write a report saying it was faulty... and let's (hypothetically speaking) say the judge disregards the fact that it is 2nd hand... well, they will only order you to pay a proportion of the repair costs (up to a limit). If the judge thinks the laptop should reasonably last 6 years, but is now 5 years old, then you would have to pay 1/6 x £125 (about £20) at worst - which wouldn't exactly bankrupt you!

But it would never get that far anyway - the small claims court would throw it out as soon as you state it is reconditioned & 4/5 years old.

The buyer is obviously annoyed/frustrated as you can imagine, and is trying it on, but doesn't have a leg to stand on.

My advice is to ignore the buyer's emails, the claims will just fizzle out.

alienbuffy

we have a dell pc which we where having a few problems with, it was out of warranty by a few months, but my hubby rang them and explained the problem we was having, they where very help full and tried to sort the problem out by getting hubby to do a few things with the pc, they couldnt work out what the problem as , but they still tried helping.

suggest she rings them and explains whats wrong they maybe able to help, but if she needs to send it to them it wiill cost her to get it sorted

pinkshoes

I was under the impression the SOGA was for NEW items, not second hand.

Even so, as the laptop is 4 or 5 years old, then that is more than long enough for the life span of a laptop, so the buyer has no rights.

Why someone would pay £125 for a 5 year old second hand laptop is beyond me!

carlislelad

op. have you put her on your blocked bidders list. if not you really need to

Hoof_Hearted

You charged too much for an old laptop in the first place (new ones for £250). I would expect it to work for at least a year, so I don't blame her for making a case. She should take you to small claims and ask for a partial refund plus costs. To avoid this, you will then refund her money. Easy, isn't it?

peter_the_piper

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

You charged too much for an old laptop in the first place (new ones for £250). I would expect it to work for at least a year, so I don't blame her for making a case. She should take you to small claims and ask for a partial refund plus costs. To avoid this, you will then refund her money. Easy, isn't it?

The buyer may well have paid too much but thats not the OP's fault. No-one would be able to guarantee that any 4 year old electronic item would be working even 3 months after buying, thats the risk you take when you buy second hand.

smashed

I bought a sky hd box that was "in perfect working order" but which failed 4 months later. I wouldnt even dream of requesting a refund as you know what risk you are taking at the time.
Do the simple thing and ring Trading Standards yourself with the full story. See if they give you the same opinion that she thinks they gave her. If they say you are safe, then you really can sit back and relax (and I fully expect them to say that).

wonka

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

You charged too much for an old laptop in the first place (new ones for £250). I would expect it to work for at least a year, so I don't blame her for making a case. She should take you to small claims and ask for a partial refund plus costs. To avoid this, you will then refund her money. Easy, isn't it?

What? It's not the seller's fault that the buyer paid too much! :rolleyes2

You can expect all you like, but what really matters is consumer law. She can take the OP to the small claims court and ask whatever she wants, but she ain't gonna get it.

If she wants a PC with a 12 month warranty, or wants a PC that is covered by the SoG act, I would politely suggest buying a new one from a retailer, and steering clear of eBay.

motorguy

zenseeker wrote: »

I know a lot of people who have had problems with Dell laptops, my wife being one of them.

I know a lot of people who havent had problems with Dell laptops.