Mis sold bike on ebay

crh123

Hi. I bought a bike on ebay and it was delivered next day by courier.
I unpacked the bike and whilst assembling it I noticed a crack in the frame, which renders it dangerous and unsafe to use. I informed the seller within an hour of receiving the bike and they denied any knowledge of the damage. Upon closer inspection of the ebay listing photos, the crack can clearly be seen on the bike, however, just looking at the photos and not the bike itself this mark can be mistaken for a surface mark, but the damage is obvious when looking at the bike in person.

Unfortunately I think I'm at the mercy of the individual who sold me the bike now. I initially paid by PayPal, but the seller refunded this and said he doesn't accept PayPal and that a bank transfer or deposit was the only method he would accept. I discussed with the seller and agreed to go with this.

Can anyone give me any advice on what action I should take to resolve this situation?

Thanks in advance.

Apples2

crh123 wrote: »

I initially paid by PayPal, but the seller refunded this and said he doesn't accept PayPal and that a bank transfer or deposit was the only method he would accept. I discussed with the seller and agreed to go with this.

The seller knew exactly what he was doing, he scammed you. You can report him to Ebay but I can't see any benefit for you, you no longer have the protection Paypal gives you. I think you have simply been turned over.

Post on the Ebay board for better advice
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=40

crh123

Hi. I bought a bike on ebay and it was delivered next day by courier.
I unpacked the bike and whilst assembling it I noticed a crack in the frame, which renders it dangerous and unsafe to use. I informed the seller within an hour of receiving the bike and they denied any knowledge of the damage. Upon closer inspection of the ebay listing photos, the crack can clearly be seen on the bike, however, just looking at the photos and not the bike itself this mark can be mistaken for a surface mark, but the damage is obvious when looking at the bike in person.

Unfortunately I think I'm at the mercy of the individual who sold me the bike now. I initially paid by PayPal, but the seller refunded this and said he doesn't accept PayPal and that a bank transfer or deposit was the only method he would accept. I discussed with the seller and agreed to go with this.

Can anyone give me any advice on what action I should take to resolve this situation?

Thanks in advance.

soolin

Sounds like the seller knew exactly what he was doing- refunding your paypal and inistsing on an unsafe payment method ratehr suggests he was intent on scamming.

You could try ebay, there has been some reports that they have intervened in a non paypal dispute- but other than that it will be small claims.

crh123

Thanks for the reply. What would be the best way of going about this? I've not been in this situation before and I don't want to do anything that would jeopardise my chances of getting my money back. Thanks again.

Obviously_the_best

If you go down the small claims court route these links might be useful
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome
http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/making-a-complaint/taking-a-dispute-to-the-small-claims-court/

soolin

crh123 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. What would be the best way of going about this? I've not been in this situation before and I don't want to do anything that would jeopardise my chances of getting my money back. Thanks again.

Firstly, have you actually contacted the seller to see if they will refund?

I assume you still went through ebay to make the purchase, so find the purchase on your 'won' page and there will be a drop down menu by it- choose the option 'resolve a problem'. Dispute transaction with the option item damaged or item not as described.

It's worth a try.

theonlywayisup

As soolin has said, first try an Ebay claim.

Go to the 'resolution process' and follow the prompts for 'item not as described'.

Dont get too bogged down in the dispute. Open it, say the frame is cracked and upload any relevant photos if there are any, then escalate the claim.

If you also add within the claim that you don't feel you should pay the returns postage, ebay *may* give a voucher or label for you to return the item.

Don't do anything until ebay tell you to. If you need more help come back here.

But, I cannot stress enough, that you need to be clear and direct in the dispute.

crh123

I tried to contact ebay that way but it won't let me proceed. It says 'We're sorry there's a problem with this purchase. Unfortunately, PayPal reports that we can't open a case for this item. You can try to work out this problem by contacting the seller'. Would it be worth calling them? Would I get to speak to a human or do they just have an automated thing?

Thanks for the links:)

theonlywayisup

It could be that due to the Paypal refund, ebay don't realise you have paid.

I would call them, don't use Livechat they are worse than useless. Explain you paid by paypal and the seller refunded telling you what you have said above (a seller must accept paypal so he is in breach of policy). Then explain the bike is broken and you wish to return it for a full refund.

If you are lucky, you will get the Dublin call centre and a helpful cs.

crh123

Thanks again for the info.

Yes I 've been in touch with the seller and he's not cooperating. I've asked him politely for help in sorting it out, even saying that I'm happy to accept that it was an oversight on his part (very very unlikely), but he's been very short with me and is now ignoring my calls.