Private sale now buyer threatening legal action

hannahhannah01

Hi,

I wonder if someone could offer advice.

I listed a sofa on ebay, a buyer contacted me asking if they could view it before buying. I replied saying yes and provided them with my contact number. They called immediately and said that they were looking for a private cash sale. I refused to remove the item from listing and said they could contact me after the auction ended if it didn't sell.

The item didn't sell and we agreed a private sale. The buyer came and inspected the sofa and agreed on a price. I gave them a written receipt decsriping the sofa, amt paid and sold as seen. I mentioned that I had the original receipt somewhere as proof of purchase and could, if i found it, provide it to the buyer. He asked me to add that to the receipt. So I added 'Original receipt to be provided'.

A few weeks later i located the receipt, called the buyer and asked for their address so i could post it to them. I didn't receive anything back from them so after 2 weeks i disposed of the receipt as I no longer required it.

A couple of days after i disposed of the receipt the buyer called and asked for it (two weeks after I had requested their address so i could send it to them). I explained the situation and they have now demanded £200 (that is what they have valued the receipt as) or they will send me a court order.

Does the buyer have any legal recourse given that i wrote on the receipt 'Orginal receipt to be provided'?

Thanks everyone.

adam.mt

Difficult situation. I'd say (although I have no legal training) that you should call their bluff and invite you to court. The small claims court (which this would fall under) to my understanding try to work to what is considered 'reasonable'.

Since you've tried to supply the receipt I would say that's reasonable.

For the buyer to wait four weeks before demanding the receipt or £200 in recompense I'd think you'd find nobody to agree to be in any way reasonable. Especially since the receipt is effectively worthless anyway (warranties usually aren't transferable, and I'm guessing the sofa is out of warranty anyway).

Definitely seems like the buyer trying to con you. Relax and call their bluff!

Googlewhacker

I agree, call their bluff.

happyandy63

You said you would provide receipt if you could find then offered to provide once you did. I would say keep your comunications just incase then ignore them. They seem like very petty.

I would not worry about it

maninthestreet

The receipt itself has no monetary value.

pinkshoes

You don't actually need a receipt for anything, as they will also accept proof of purchase, so I'd give them a copy of your bank statement showing you bought it, but obviously blacking out all personal details.

What did they want the original receipt for??

Personally I'd just ignore them for now.

Or I suppose you could pretend that the sofa was worth twice the price with a receipt, so they were going to give you £XXX if they wanted the receipt!!

Optimist

£200 for a receipt tell them to sue...

Love to see the judges face when that comes up :rotfl:

m0jo

Tricky situation.

imo the agreement could be deemed to have been broken, due to you stating you would supply a reciept.

Personally...

It depends on the person you sold it too. If you think your going to get lots of hassle from the buyer then it might be worth while seeking an amicable solution somehow that suits both parties. For example would a written apology along with details of the store purchased from, price, location, contact number and date in a letter not suffice??? All of which should be easily accessable information...

To cover myself i'd begin to find details of proof of purchase via bank statment and telephone bill as proof you tried to contact the seller.

Worst case you get your sofa back, and have to cough up the money origionally paid but i presume this suits neither party.

Question though why is the reciept needed, is the sofa under warranty or some maintenance package?

hannahhannah01

Thanks for your replies everyone.

The buyer states that the receipt is required as he needs to sell it on.

I don't believe the receipt is of any value as the sofa is over 1yr old.

4743hudsonj

hannahhannah01 wrote: »

Thanks for your replies everyone.

The buyer states that the receipt is required as he needs to sell it on.

I don't believe the receipt is of any value as the sofa is over 1yr old.

As said he is bluffing just say the provision of the receipt was never 100%, you stated "if" so the fact that you found it, gave them a reasonable chance to collect then disposed of it, has even less bearing on the sale than if you had merely stated it will be provided. If that makes sense?:cool:

Call their bluff a judge will laugh them out of court and they will incur extra costs. (make sure you highlight this to them)

unholyangel

hannahhannah01 wrote: »

Thanks for your replies everyone.

The buyer states that the receipt is required as he needs to sell it on.

I don't believe the receipt is of any value as the sofa is over 1yr old.

Why would he need it to sell it on unless he was planning on telling them that is the price he paid for it? The receipt has no bearing on his ability to sell it on and neither does it affect the fundamentals of the contract.

In court any compensation given would be reflective of the losses incurred by them.......since it would not affect their ability to sell it on........i cant imagine any judge worth their salt would even give them 10p compensation:rotfl: