Faulty camera, ebay, private seller, confused.

lodzor

Hi i posted this in the consumer rights forum but i have been advised to post in the dedicated ebay section for more targeted help. my original post is below.

I bought a second hand camera (Canon EOS 400D) from an ebay auction on the 16th of february. Since then i have only used the camera twice as my intended use is for documenting field work on my university course. The field work doesn't start until the 25th of march. The two times i used the camera to take some sample shots everything was fine, on the 13th of march i took the camera out again and it no longer worked, it displayed error code 99.

After researching the error i found that this brand of camera often incurs this fault and it re occurs over time. (It can be fixed temporarily but comes back after a while). This immediately make me think i had been sold this camera with the seller having the knowledge of this fault. I contacted the seller on the 15th of march which was within 30 days and within ebay's 45 days. Although i have now discovered reasonable time has no exacting limit.

The seller just said he had no idea on how to fix it and did not acknowledge that i asked him to rectify the sale. I contacted him again to request a refund and he refused so i opened a case with ebay. He has now responded to the case with the following reply:

'The object was exactly as described when I sold it i.e. it was working perfectly. It has never displayed an error code. I sold the camera on 16th February and shipped it the next day but it wasn't until 15th March that the buyer contacted me to claim that the item had a fault. The buyer could have tried the item immediately after receiving it (or at least within a day or so) and have contacted me at that point if there was a fault. He/she did not and the length of time the buyer has taken to contact me suggests that there was no fault after first use. Furthermore, he/she could have damaged the camera or lens at any point between receipt and claiming the fault i.e. over the period of nearly a month. For the reasons above I would argue that the item did not have the fault when I sold it and don't believe it is reasonable to hold me responsible for one that developed a month later, possibly due to misuse over that time. For all these reasons I dispute the claim.'

from what i have read i am legally within my rights to request a refund. Both under consumer rights and the sale of goods act. I do not know a lot about law but after reading the acts and online advice i believe he is in breach of several parts of the sale of goods act.

Can somebody please advise me on what is the best way to proceed and what my rights to refund/replacement/repair are. If i am correct i believe if it is deemed to be out of the reasonable time i am still liable to receive a repair or replacement from the seller unless it is too costly and therefore another remedy should be followed. I also read that because it is within six months it is up to the seller to prove it wasn't faulty when shipped.

The item was described as in perfect working order. In my opinion the camera is faulty and unfit for the purpose in which i bought it which was to document my field work for my university course which will now be a pain because i will have no camera on Saturday.

Sorry this is so long, thank you very much in advance for any advice you can give me.