being sued on ebay

computershack

ormus wrote: »

do you really think hes going to travel maybe 200/300 miles to a court?

He doesn't have to. He can issue the summons in his local county court and if the OP doesn't appear, he wins by default.

computershack

m00nie wrote: »

if it was the other way round and the buyer didnt pay and the item then sold cheaper could the seller sue the original buyer for the difference ??

Quite probably. It works both ways. In reality, most people just have a moan and then move on.

pendulum

You said he is "now suing you" - has he filed papers? Actually officially started proceedings?

He could well have a case, bids are pretty much legally binding and if he has lost out (e.g. he cannot buy the same item at the same price elsewhere but can only buy it by paying more) he can sue you for the difference.

JasX

m00nie wrote: »

if it was the other way round and the buyer didnt pay and the item then sold cheaper could the seller sue the original buyer for the difference ??

in theory yes, court will act to put the affected party into the same position they would have been in had the deliquient party performed their obligations

esuhl

If I remember correctly, there are a few categories on eBay where the terms & conditions state that neither the bid nor the offer are binding.

Anyway, it would be worth reading the terms to confirm this. I think cars are exempt. Maybe there are some other exemptions...

If not, however, you are liable to be sued for breach of contract.

jamespir

i think hes just trying to scare you theres no way that would hold up in court

bartman

If the buyer could have sold it for £2000 more, it looks as though the reason for the seller backing out is that the auction didn't go high enough for him! He hasn't come back to give his reason for doing so anyway.
If that was the reason, I hope the court action succeeds.

JasX

esuhl wrote: »

If I remember correctly, there are a few categories on eBay where the terms & conditions state that neither the bid nor the offer are binding.

Anyway, it would be worth reading the terms to confirm this. I think cars are exempt. Maybe there are some other exemptions...

If not, however, you are liable to be sued for breach of contract.

Seems to be only the sale of businesses and real estate/property this applies to in the UK Ts & Cs.

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/non-binding-bid.html

jamespir wrote: »

i think hes just trying to scare you theres no way that would hold up in court

I'm not sure quite what world jamespir is living in, is your comment based on anything at all (link?) or are you just being deliberately misleading and unhelpful?

hethmar

computershack wrote: »

He doesn't have to. He can issue the summons in his local county court and if the OP doesn't appear, he wins by default.

Not so, the seller could choose to have the case in his local civil court.

spiro

hethmar wrote: »

Not so, the seller could choose to have the case in his local civil court.

If the buyer takes to seller to Small Claims Court, the buyer gets to pick the court the seller has no right to decide which court it would be heard in.