Spares or Repair - Problem with buyer

CBailey_3

Hello, good people of the Money Saving Expert forum!

I wonder if you might be kind enough to offer advice on a situation I find myself in with a buyer on eBay. I'm sorry, this is a bit of a long one.

I have recently been having a clear out. Anything I don't use is either going in the bin or being sold on. I've been using eBay to sell the odd thing, nothing too exciting.

About the same time my bedroom TV decided to die on me. The stand-by button would flash on and off but it simply refused to come back on. It's one of those flat screen ones with an integrated DVD player. The DVD player had died on me last year and I hadn't got it repaired. Having a quick look on the internet, I gatherd both of these were common faults with this model of TV and easily repairable. Foolishly I decided to put it on eBay as "Spares or Repair" as I believed it was fully repairable, though I'm no engineer.

On my auction I gave as much detail and information as I could, stating clearly that the TV was being offered for spares or repair and that it was not in working order. I tried to offer as much detail of the problems as possible and stated that other than the DVD player not working and the TV not wanting to come back on, it had otherwise been in very good condition. All original packaging, manuals, leads and remote control were provided. I was pleased when it sold and happy that somebody could put it to good use.

I emailed the buyer thanking them for bidding and winning the TV and that it would be despatched as soon as possible. I took it to the post office and I was unable to send it via First Class Recorded as it was too heavy, so I had to send it via Parcel Force, which was actually cheaper. When I got home I tried to refund the difference in postage, which was £3.50. Small change I know, but it's only fair. PayPal said the buyer was unable to receive funds, which I thought was odd. I contacted the buyer to confirm the TV had been posted, I explained I'd had to send it via a different service due to the weight, but that it had come in cheaper than expected so offered a refund on the postage. I told him I was unable to send it via PayPal and he said that he'd changed his details recently and gave me another email address. I refunded the difference in postage and that was that. So, good communication and honesty has been demonstrated.

Anyway, on the day the TV was to arrive I receive an email. The guy had already had it to a TV repair place and they said it had been 'messed with' by me. The guy was furious and demanded a 50% refund, including postage. The only time the TV was ever 'messed with' was when the DVD player broke and it refused to eject the DVD. A small piece of casing, separate to the actual TV casing, was removed and the DVD retrieved. The cover was put back and the TV never tampered with again. Had I thought this significant I certainly would have included it in my auction details, but as it was being sold as spares or repair I really didn't think it would matter. Actually I didn't remember about it at all until the guy complained, and it might still not be significant - who knows?

The guy claims his engineer says that aside from the DVD player being messed with, there's a loom missing from the actual TV unit itself and that it's impossible for the TV to work without it. The TV unit itself has never ever been tampered with. It has been with me since the day of purchase and I know the full history of the TV. I pulled him up on this point and he hasn't mentioned it since. I also pointed out that it was working for me up until the day before the auction and the TV hadn't been touched between breaking and going into its box. So where's the loom gone? What's a loom when it's at home?

I gather the base of his complaint is that somebody has already attempted to repair the TV, but this is simply not the case. He feels the TV is not as it was described in my auction. How is it not as described?!

I said that the TV was sold as spares or repair and asked why he thought the TV was no longer repairable. He just keeps going mad that I mislead him somehow. I've offered a 50% refund on the purchase price, not the postage and he replied with "Look, I'm not negotiating with you!". Personally, I don't feel I should have to offer him anything, but eBay and PayPal provide no protection to sellers what so ever so I'm trying to resolve this without being shafted, and possibly even conned.

In hindsight, I should have kept the TV and had it repaired myself; I'd have saved around £400 and a boat load of hassle. I'm sure this will result in PayPal giving him a refund, negative feedback and me being down not only on proceeds from the TV (£20 by the way) but for postage and I'll be without the TV also. I would ask for it back but I've no idea what he might have done to it.

I can't tell you how much this is stressing me out. Yes, I should man up and stop being a wimp, but this guy is really upsetting me, not only because he's being horrible, but I guess because he's not happy with the TV. I loved that TV. I don't like it when people aren't happy with me.

I guess the simple answer is to just give him a refund and accept the negative feedback I will receive. I know I'll get negative feedback because his feedback given is riddled with complaints. But I refuse to be bullied, damn it! That TV was described properly and is (or should be) still in a repairable condition.

What would you do? What can I do?

Y'know, I got a really nice email from another buyer today thanking me for their purchase and they couldn't be happier. They'd left me nice feed back. I almost cried. :rotfl:

Thank you to anybody who actualy read through that.

Help!

CBailey_3

Crikey, this is in the wrong forum. Any comment welcome, but if a moderator might be kind enough to put this in the eBay forum, it would be much appreciated.

CBailey_3

Update: He's putting in a dispute and getting his money back the hard way. How long does this take and how long until PayPal freezes my account?