County Court Claim against me

lazymoezy

I got a county court claim this morning. Papers came through the post. Basically, the buyer from eBay sent me a phone back which I sold to him as faulty and wants either his money back or a fixed phone.

He just done a paypal claim and a day later I get the court papers, I was just about to take the phone back to a mobile phone shop to repair it and send the phone back to him.

However, claim form it states theres a court fee of £30, will this be charged if I give the fixed phone back to him within 2-3days?

He was a bit too fast to go down that route as the paypal claim was just escaleted last night.

slowen

Did it mention in the auction that the phone was faulty if so what's his/her problem

I presume this person is a newbie or an idiot as their is no need to go through the small claims court without even trying to sort it out with you in the first place

Seems a bit harsh that someone is going through the small claims court as they have to pay about £30+ to open a case, not sure if you need to pay the fees if you send him a fixed phone maybe worth checking with trading standards

If the phone was described as faulty get all the proof you can and let the case proceed as surely the court will favour you if you provide the proof

apprentice_tycoon

Moe, I'm sorry but you had it coming to you, all the advice that you asked for last week here has been disregarded, everyone said to refund the buyer but you've delayed. It's now Wednesday and you still hadn't acted on getting the phone repaired, I think that you need to hand this over to an adult to sort it out.

lazymoezy

He started the paypal claim 2 days ago, he escalted it yesterday so there was no need to rush it. I cant get through to him he is away at the moment in wales or somewhere, I took the phone to CPW and they said I have to take it to a larger store to fix.

I can get it fixed by today and send it off tomorow to him. Im just worried about the £30 court fee and what I would have to about the court situation. I cannot refund him as I dont have the full amount plus he said he will accept a fixed phone.

He hasnt responded to any of my messeges yet so im waiting on him. I dont know why he went through this when he barely started a paypal claim.

-MoE-

culpepper

If I were you,I would get it fixed and let him know it has been and that you are willing to pay his postage for the return to you and your returning it to him. Send it as a message via ebay,paypal and snail mail (keep copies)if you have his address. Dont send the phone until you hear from him. If it gets to court before you hear,take the fixed phone with you with receipt for mending.
Someone who is studying law ,is not a lawyer but is thinking of themselves as one and coming over a bit heavy handed if the paypal dispute was not even finished yet.

geo555

From the HMCourts service website

"Court rules require you to think about whether alternative dispute resolution is a better way to reach an agreement before going to court. If you refuse to consider this, you may not get your costs back, or the court may order you to pay the other party’s costs, even if you win the case."

He obviously hasn't taken any alternative to this dispute. If you give times and details of what you have done, the courts should not hold you resposible for his cost.
Keep details of all comunications.
Get the phone fixed and send it back to him pronto. You will have fulfilled your obligations and the claim should be settled. He chose to pay the court charges without any warning, he should be responsible for them.

soolin

Well you ignored all the advice before but I might as well say it again, just refund him now via paypal and stop the chargeback, and that in turn should stop the court hearing.

This has been going on for weeks, it may seem hasty to you moe, but since you have been reluctant all along to assist this guy I am not surprised he felt the need to go further.

Incidentally, are you named personally in the claim or is it the name of the ebay account holder as if it is the ebay account holder I dare say your sister is less than pleased!

culpepper

If there isn't enough money in your paypal account to refund the money, I believe you could pay him via echeque through paypal but he would have to wait for it to clear through your bank.

lazymoezy

She found out this morning! I didnt even know about it, if he accept the phone back then can he cancel the court process? Would I have to pay the court fee?

It says amount claimed: £175.00
Court fee: £30.00
So, Total is £205.00.

What timing, I am just learning about county courts, writing a cliam out etc in college and now I get this?!?!?

It should be the buyer who pays for the court fee, correct me if im wrong.

By the way I took the phone to the shop and they said they will repair it, i will have to go and get it back next friday. He did go into this court process quite quick.

I kept in contact all the time, he takes atleast 3-4days to reply, when he does he keeps mentioning the fact that he studies law which really gets to me.

I called him about today but it keeps going to answermachine so going to wait till his back. Going to speak to him which should be better than emails and messages via eBay.

One more thing, I thought that the court hearing would have to be where I live not where he lives. The court address is in Northampton and I'm in Central London.

Thanks,

-MoE-

Bossyboots

lazymoezy wrote:

She found out this morning! I didnt even know about it, if he accept the phone back then can he cancel the court process? Would I have to pay the court fee?

It says amount claimed: £175.00
Court fee: £30.00
So, Total is £205.00.

What timing, I am just learning about county courts, writing a cliam out etc in college and now I get this?!?!?

It should be the buyer who pays for the court fee, correct me if im wrong.

By the way I took the phone to the shop and they said they will repair it, i will have to go and get it back next friday. He did go into this court process quite quick.

I kept in contact all the time, he takes atleast 3-4days to reply, when he does he keeps mentioning the fact that he studies law which really gets to me.

I called him about today but it keeps going to answermachine so going to wait till his back. Going to speak to him which should be better than emails and messages via eBay.

One more thing, I thought that the court hearing would have to be where I live not where he lives. The court address is in Northampton and I'm in Central London.

Thanks,

-MoE-

He has issued the claim online and these are all processed initially through Northamptom. It can be moved to another court but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be heard at your local court. He is not going to want to be even more inconvenienced so will want it heard near him.

soolin

Moe, you keep saying he has gone into this quickly, but this has been going on for a while if the date of the previous thread is anything to go by. If you are expecting him to now wait until 'next Friday' so that you can collect the phone and send it to him which could take another few days, I think you are just going to be disappointed.

If I were the buyer I would now be looking for a straight refund, I would not accept the phone back at all.

Read the last thread, refund your buyer and sort the phone out with the person that sold it to you in the first place. If you delay then you will be stuck with the £30 court charges which will just make it worse, maybe if you refund now you can make this all go away.

Soo