eBay: Faulty item, seller won't refund P&P?

Lillibet_2

Hi

I recently bought a child safety gate off ebay and am bu88ered if hubby & I can get it to work, even to the point that we've been into mothercare & tried the same model in there which we can work perfectly. I have contanced the seller who has been very helpful but will agree to refund only the purchase price after I return it, not the P&P, which whilst it is in line with her refunds policy, I don't feel is fair as the item is faulty and I have gone to some lenghts to check that it is faulty. The gate cost £30+, p&p is £7.50 (each way) so I would be down half the cost of a faulty item.

I paid via paypal & both seller & I have 100% feedback.

Any suggestions please???

Thanks

Moglex

Legally you are entitled to the P&P, but ebay rules say you don;t get the return postage back.

Whatever ebay may like to think, the law is above them, but it will probably be very hard to convince the seller of this - particularly if they believed that the time was in working order when they despatched it.

The best you are likely to achive is to split the postage costs between the two of you.

Remember, the seller will feel hard done by too.

milliejon

A fair seller would give a full refund. However, I would expect to pay return postage.

However, saying that some safety gates are really difficult to use. I have the type that are tension suspended between the door frame and sometimes, they take us ages to set up.

Chalky87

The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 give consumers an unconditional cancellation right, in addition to their rights under the Sale of Goods Legislation.

Where a consumer claims goods are faulty after having had a reasonable time to examine them (which could be after the expiry of the cooling off period above) the consumer's rights under the Sale of Goods Act apply.

The Act makes it clear that if the goods do not conform to contract and the consumer exercises his or her right to reject them, they can ask for their money back, providing they do so quickly. Alternatively, they can request repair and replacement or claim compensation. Please see the Sale of Goods factsheet for further information.

If the matter cannot be resolved to your satisfaction, contact your local Trading Standards Service for further advice. Details can be located from: https://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk.

Source:http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/Fact%20Sheets/page24635.html

princessmoneysaver

If you paid via Paypal just put in a claim with them then *IF* they decide in your favour they will attempt to get the full amount back inc postage - ONE WAY but you will have to pay to return it to the seller via a trackable method (Recorded or Special)

bleugh

unfortunatley, it's a moral issue.

ebay and paypal will not force the seller to refund postage costs

generally paypal will refund you all the costs of the original purchase (i.e. item + post)

ebay / paypal will never cover you for returning items

fubar_2

whitey1987 wrote:

The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 give consumers an unconditional cancellation right, in addition to their rights under the Sale of Goods Legislation.

Where a consumer claims goods are faulty after having had a reasonable time to examine them (which could be after the expiry of the cooling off period above) the consumer's rights under the Sale of Goods Act apply.

The Act makes it clear that if the goods do not conform to contract and the consumer exercises his or her right to reject them, they can ask for their money back, providing they do so quickly. Alternatively, they can request repair and replacement or claim compensation. Please see the Sale of Goods factsheet for further information.

If the matter cannot be resolved to your satisfaction, contact your local Trading Standards Service for further advice. Details can be located from: https://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk.

Source:http://www.dti.gov.uk/consumers/Fact%20Sheets/page24635.html

The Regulations do not apply to:

• business-to-business contracts

• financial services sold at distance. These are covered by the Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations.

• contracts for the sale of land – although the regulations DO apply to consumer rental agreements

• products bought from vending machines

• goods or services bought at an auction with an auctioneer

The TSO confirmed a few months back when I had an issue, that although ebay is on the border line of an actual auction site, buying from a private seller also puts it outside of the regulations that have been quoted, these regulations are more in line to offer protection for purchasing from a business, not private 2nd hand goods.

chaos5678

I've just bought trainers described as size 11 although the label inside says 10 and so does the box.
The seller is only offering to refund postage one way and wants them back by recorded delivery and wants to check they are "ok" before refund.
I'm a bit worried about sending them back as he could easily say there is something wrong with them.
Not sure of best thing to do

Chalky87

fubar wrote:

• goods or services bought at an auction with an auctioneer

The TSO confirmed a few months back when I had an issue, that although ebay is on the border line of an actual auction site, buying from a private seller also puts it outside of the regulations that have been quoted, these regulations are more in line to offer protection for purchasing from a business, not private 2nd hand goods.

Good to know. However, in this case I think if this was taken to a small claims court then it's likely the judge would decide in favour of the OP. Personally I don't believe that you can recognise eBay as an auction with an auctioneer. In a true auction, there is the seller, and the auctioneer who are two seperate people, in other words, the auctioneer sells on behalf of the person who owns the item. So in that case I can see why they wouldn't be held responsible under the act, also at an auction offline it is usually possible for a person to inspect goods before purchase.

As someone said earlier it's a morale decision on the part of the seller, if I had sold goods that were faulty, I would refund the original postage.

hjb123

chaos5678 wrote:

I've just bought trainers described as size 11 although the label inside says 10 and so does the box.
The seller is only offering to refund postage one way and wants them back by recorded delivery and wants to check they are "ok" before refund.
I'm a bit worried about sending them back as he could easily say there is something wrong with them.
Not sure of best thing to do

I would send them back by a trackable means and that means sending by recorded signed for or special delivery.

If I were a buyer I would want the item back before I refunded though!

Did you pay by paypal? Is the buyer replacing the trainers with another pair? Or does he not have another pair?

If you dont want them and he is refusing to refund part of the postage you could always resell them on ebay!

milliejon

fubar wrote:

The TSO confirmed a few months back when I had an issue, that although ebay is on the border line of an actual auction site, buying from a private seller also puts it outside of the regulations that have been quoted, these regulations are more in line to offer protection for purchasing from a business, not private 2nd hand goods.

I would agree with this. In the case of one person selling their unwanted goods to another, I believe it's a case of caveat emptor (sp!).

You just rely on the seller to be kind!