Suing for loss of bargain?

Legal_Academic

One such claim is listed at the top of this page

http://e-sue.co.uk/recent_work.htm

RHemmings wrote: »

Whoops! And I was even posting in this thread a year ago.

At least it shows us that years are passing, and we still don't really know what the true legal situation is concerning loss of bargain for an ebay sale.

RFW

Legal Academic, you have repeated the same link in two posts, you aren't by any chance a legal academic for the company you link to?

Looking at the costs on that site and the costs awarded, it looks like the case might not have been that successful for the claimant, or were the actual costs rewarded?

In that case it sounds like the seller was a cocky idiot, I'm guessing that site doesn't post all its failures too?

forgotmyname

Can i sue the seller who failed to sell me my £20 item, They were £196 when new. But discontinued.

Do they win because they dont turn up to defend?

Personally i cant see anyone winning something like this if the seller had more than 2 braincells and registers on here for some legal advice

RFW

forgotmyname wrote: »

Personally i cant see anyone winning something like this if the seller had more than 2 braincells and registers on here for some legal advice

I can't see that it would ever happen to me but if I was the seller above I'm sure an almighty accident would have befallen the table to stop me from selling it, no court is going to start investigating. As you say if they don't turn up or do and act like idiots in court they will lose otherwise I can't see it.

Legal_Academic

My "I think we do" comment responded to the comment:

"At least it shows us that years are passing, and we still don't really know what the true legal situation is concerning loss of bargain for an ebay sale."

... and no I don't work for that firm; I'm a student!

Loss of bargain (AKA expectation loss) claims are well established remedies for contractual breach, and contracts formed on eBay are no less valid and binding than those in high street shops, although of course consumer rights against businesses are stronger than those against private sellers. The court is essentially putting the claimant back into the position he would have been in had the contract been performed, i.e. in possession of a valuable table (or cash equivalent).

In the case cited, the report says that the eBay seller "defended [it] vigorously" so this would not seem to be a case of the defendant not turning up. Even with a vigorous defence, there is no legal reason why this claim would not succeed.

The issue raised about costs is perfectly valid, and I would imagine that where eBay cases do reach court it is mostly about principle. But in answer to the question "Can i sue the seller who failed to sell me my £20 item, They were £196 when new. But discontinued." - Yes, absolutely, but you are unlikely to come out in profit.

"Accidents" that happen to eBay items that fail to reach the desired price may defeat some claims, but there are limitations to the defences of Mistake and Frustration, so stick to bolts of lightning and other Acts of God.

Crowqueen

Wow, LA, from a fellow law student (albeit one who is doing a MRes in law and politics), finally someone who knows their stuff and can talk with some confidence about this.

Now can you comment on DSRegs and a buyer's right to cancel before they pay?

Invalidation

RHemmings wrote: »

But, the way that our law works is by precendent. So, until someone actually sues for loss of bargain, as the buyer in Australia did, and there is a precedent created, then all we have are opinions as to when a contract is formed. .

Sorry, 'Legal Precedents' arent set in any Small claims County Court, or for anything else in a County Court actually.. Bone up on your law a little eh ?

Though it didnt come to court, I issued County Court Proceedings against an Ebayer in 2003.
I won a Porsche 911 in an alleged 'No Reserve' auction. Start price was £3K and I won it for £3.5K. You could have blown me over with a feather!
But then within 2 Hours seller emails me and says he isnt going to sell it for that. I contacted Ebay and they said there was nothing they could do about it other than contact the seller for me and possible de-list him. As far as I know they did neither. I did however get from them the full details of the seller and after a final warning, issued County Court proceedings against him for Loss and Damages amounting to £3000, That being the average difference it would cost me should I have wished to buy the car elsewhere. He eventually agreed to the sale before the Court date and we got the car.

Sold it a month later on Autotrader for £5K......... RESULT !!

soolin

Crowqueen wrote: »

Wow, LA, from a fellow law student (albeit one who is doing a MRes in law and politics), finally someone who knows their stuff and can talk with some confidence about this.

Now can you comment on DSRegs and a buyer's right to cancel before they pay?

Crowqueen , we all agree that under the DSRs a buyer has a right to cancel. The only point we disagree on is whether the seller can then do an NPB if buyer doesn't pay, and as that is allowed on ebay that is all that matters.

The law states the right to cancel, it makes no mention of sellers not being allowed to block buyers from buying again, or recovering losses from a third party.

However as usual all that comes with a disclaimer that seeing something on an open forum is not the same as it being 'law', only a full judicial process can establish a precedent for that. So if a buyer I have done an NPB on decides to sue me through the courts for daring to do an NPB I will let you know what happens.

QuackQuackOops

Uncertain wrote: »

Has anybody won (or lost) such a case if an eBay seller refuses to sell an item won in an auction?

A friend has recently won an eBay auction at a very good price. However the seller first tried to ignore him then finally responded saying he was no longer willing to sell the item.

To keep it anonymous here is an example......

Item advertised without reserve and 99p starting price.

Item easily worth £100.

Friend bid around this figure but won the auction for under £50 as this was all that was needed to outbid the others.

Arguably, due to seller's breach of contract, my friend is out of pocket by over £50?

(in fact the actual amounts are a good deal higher)!

It has been suggested to my friend that he could sue in the small claims court for loss of bargain - is this true?

Thanks

lol No, its not true at all. Thank goodness!

Your friend has not lost anything so therefore has nothing to sue for. But besides all that, the item belongs to the seller and he has a right to change his mind about selling it right up to the moment he posts it.

Your friend might be peeved that she missed out on a bargain but thats as far as it goes.

Oh, and my comments are based on the item being an Auction item by a private seller which are totally different in law than BIN's and business sellers.

Invalidation

QuackQuackOops wrote: »

lol No, its not true at all. Thank goodness!

Your friend has not lost anything so therefore has nothing to sue for. But besides all that, the item belongs to the seller and he has a right to change his mind about selling it right up to the moment he posts it.

Your friend might be peeved that she missed out on a bargain but thats as far as it goes.

Oh, and my comments are based on the item being an Auction item by a private seller which are totally different in law than BIN's and business sellers.

You also failed to mention that your knowledge of Contract law was ZERO.
You CAN sue. Whether you win or lose is of course up to the Court.