Item bought, received and now wanting return?

mark_dumpleton

Hi,
I bought an item on ebay yesterday and it was marked as being 'faulty' ... well, they said they did not know if it was faulty or not and so were selling it for spares or repairs. It's not like an electrical item, it's an aerial, so it's hard to tell if one is faulty or not.

Anyway, I won the auction and received the item this morning by courier, with a receipt etc etc (it's from a company that has selling on ebay as sort of their site business, ie they're a proper company but also have an ebay shop). I tested the aerial and found that it isn't faulty...well, not that I can tell.

Had a phone call about 5mins ago (4pm) saying that they had sent me the wrong one, and that they had not sent me the faulty one. They want me to do a swap on Tuesday for the faulty one - ie, when the courier comes to pick up the one they sent me, they'll give me the 'faulty' one I was supposed to have won in exchange.

Now, what I was wondering is - I won the auction, got sent the item, and had the correct receipt and everything with it. The item I received was just as they said, they advertised it was just like new and they didn't know if it was faulty, so the item I received was as they described. Do I have to do this swap with them? I mean, they sent out the item and are now asking for it back basically due to an error they have made.

I appreciate any help you can give me with this because obviously I am wondering if I have to do this, as i've already started using it etc.

Cheers,
Mark

Chippy_Minton_2

Mark

No doubt you'll get differing advice on this one.
Here's my opinion.
Theft means you have dishonestly appropiated property belonging to another with the intent to permanently deprive them of it.
If you were to keep it then they have been deprived of it so the crux of the matter is, if the seller made an honest mistake and sent you the wrong one are you being dishonest by not returning it?

mark_dumpleton

My reasoning behind this is as follows:

Full price item has never been auctioned by them.
Item I bought was £6 (inc postage) , full-price item is £60 excl postage (surely they would have noticed upon packing it?!)
I had already accepted the item which had been paid for, and therefore, surely, the contract was fulfilled at the point of acceptance on my part?
Also, they rang me up nearly 6 hours after I had received the item to tell me this, after I left them positive feedback. Surely they'd realise their mistake quicker than that?

soolin

How about telephoning them back and explaining that you have used the item on the belief that it was the one you ordered and have modified it in some way (if it is possible that is!) as you honestly thought it was yours.The item is therefore no longer new and boxed and you thought they might want to take that into consideration.

Just a thought, it is entirely reasonable for you to have used item before they got in contact.I would also question the fact that you now have to sit in all day on Tuesday and wait for a courier, thata's a lot more patient than I would be.

Thinking about this, if Tuesday wasn't convenient for you then explain that you need the use of this item over the weekend and that you will be available on Tuesday to do the swap but on the understanding that the item will be used as though it was yours for the weekend. I would also insist on a courier timed for your convenience, say an hour time slot in the evening or whatever.

shellsuit

Why should you have to sit around waiting for a courier on Tuesday?

You got what you bid and paid for, just not the one they wanted to send out.

If they were decent enough they would take the loss on the chin.

It's upto you what you do, but I certainly wouldn't be waiting around for any courier!

MX5huggy

I would tell them to go swing.

You have recived the item as described end of.

mark_dumpleton

Yeah that's the thing...

My point is they made the mistake, so it's their loss surely and i'm under no obligation to return it?
I have actually used it, and spent around an hour and a half testing it this morning. It's not exactly faulty, but it needs cutting down to the required length to make it work - that's the fault I thought they were on about...

To quote what they said in their listing (not exactly quoted though so you cheeky people out there can see who I bought it from!):
"it turned up in our stock take this week, it must be faulty but we don't know so we're auctioning it as spares only. It certainly looks new and is still in its original bag and packaging!"

soolin

IN that case you have the item you bid on and I would politely explain that to the seller. I wonder if the faulty item they thought they had sold suddenly turned out to be fully working and they only reaslised it after they left it with you and regretted selling it.

Chippy_Minton_2

Mark

My bet is the're just trying it on, but if they were to push the matter you may have to return it as you said they made a mistake.

What would you expect them to do if you paid for the £60-00 one and they sent you the £6-00 by "mistake"?

soolin

Chippy_Minton wrote: »

Mark

My bet is the're just trying it on, but if they were to push the matter you may have to return it as you said they made a mistake.

What would you expect them to do if you paid for the £60-00 one and they sent you the £6-00 by "mistake"?

That's easy , do a paypal chargeback for item not as described.

This is not the same though, the OP bid and won an item that stated it might or might not be working "and is still in its original bag and packaging", that's what the buyer got.

Chippy_Minton_2

soolin wrote: »

This is not the same though, the OP bid and won an item that stated it might or might not be working "and is still in its original bag and packaging", that's what the buyer got.

Yes under ebay rules I agree with you. However I was talking about a point in law. If the seller has made a genuine mistake and sent the wrong item then the OP could have a duty to return it and as we all know forums are not the place to seek legal advice.