County Court Claim against me

lazymoezy

Yes the tax issue will get sorted now.

My fried got a job and he has to go to their office somewhere in London. Im going to go with him and get all info from them, forms etc (plus he asked me to with him!).

I hate filling in forms! I should be starting my new job in 2 weeks and would have to fill in the tax forms just like my mate. Out of curiosity, dont the firm that employ you have to fill in the tax forms etc on your behalf? Really smokey area for me this is.

-MoE-

baffcat

Moe, firstly, if you are under 18, tell the court and they'll throw out the case, as MCOL (MoneyClaim OnLine) can't be used against anyone under 18. Bare in mind that if you admit to being under 18, he'll complain to ebay, and your sister will have problems.

Whatever else happens, you MUST reply to the court, and within 14 days of being served - MCOL start the 14 days five days after being issued. At least send an acknowledgement of service, and ask for more time. They'll let you have another 14 days. If you don't reply to the court, your buyer can request judgement by default. If that happens, you lose.

I've got a feeling you'll have to pay the £30 fee, regardless of what happens regarding the 'phone. Your buyer has already paid this fee to the court by credit or debit card to start the claim, and MCOL add it to his claim against you so he isn't out of pocket. Even if he agrees to take the fixed phone, he's already another £30 down.

Take a look at http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/onlineservices/mcol/userguide/defendant/can_use.htm

which tells you, the defendant, what to do to respond to a claim. Don't just talk with your buyer on the phone, as then it'll just be your word against his.

I agree with most of what has already been said. Stop dealing in expensive items (I believe Alan Sugar sold stuff for £1 and under on his market stall), and learn - which often means from mistakes, on lower value goods.

Regards

Baff

lazymoezy

If I leave it wont it close automatically or something if the buyer does not want to carry it on?

If I send an acknowledgement of service, that only buys me time and what happens with it hits the 28th day?

I know about the age problem, my sister in law was being nice in letting me use eBay and I know I nearly got her into a big problem.

Theres no option on the letter nor on their website for dispute resolved or something along those lines. Would the buyer have to tell the court that the matter is resolved? how do they know?

Bossyboots

The buyer will have to withdraw his application. Judgement will be entered in default if you do not reply. You can send a separate letter to the court informing them that the matter is being negotiated to try to settle but they will almost certainly want confirmation of this from the claimant.

As far as I can see, money claim online cannot be used by anyone under 18 but I couldn't see where it said you cannot sue anyone under 18. I didn't look properly though so if that is correct, then you simply write to the court, sending a copy of your birth certificate as proof, and inform them that you are under age.

Contains_Mild_Peril

Apprentice tycoon is talking a lot of sense. Mobile phones may seem like the way to a quick profit, but they seem to attract all the scammers and dodgy characters on ebay. If you're a student who is unable to absorb a significant loss, you may be better to stick to a less problematic field, particularly since the eBay account you're using is not your own, so further problems may strain family relationships.
I sell mostly vintage clothes and 20th century collectables, and listing a whole load of different usually low-value items individually takes a lot of effort for little profit, but I have managed to maintain 100% positive feedback, and the only refund claims I've had were for a couple of items which got lost in the post, and I'd kept my COPs so was able to reclaim from Royal Mail.
As for the phone saga, it would appear that having it repaired will bring the matter to a close, but I would ask the repair shop if they would put their diagnosis (i.e. that a botched attempt at unlocking the phone caused the problem) in writing, and ask if there is any way they can tell when this occurred. Since the buyer appears to have jumped the gun and started court proceedings while a Paypal claim was already in progress, I'd say there's a very good chance that he will have to pay the £30 court fee himself in any case.

MyUserNamesTaken

Bossyboots wrote:

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.

An important fact has been missed here. Moe is under 18.

EDIT: That will teach me to not read the entire thread.

soolin

MyUserNamesTaken wrote:

An important fact has been missed here. Moe is under 18.

EDIT: That will teach me to not read the entire thread.

However it is not him registered on ebay it is his sister so the trader here is his sister who may be deemed responsible as she allowed Moe to trade as her using her account.

If it went to court and got thrown out as they deemed Moe as the seller and not his sister, then presenting those papers to ebay would get his sisters account closed for good and if paypal do the same then that might affect her credit rating. If the courts decide it was his sister trading and allowing Moe to operate the account then the sister takes the consequences and gets the court judgement against her, again not good.

Also whilst someone under 18 can not form a contract they can be accused of other 'crimes' this might not be a contractual matter, as far as the courts may see it Moe has stolen something, either the phone or the money as the buyer has sent money and does not have a phone, nor a refund. A case taken that way will not matter if Moe is 18 or not.

Soo