Sent wrong item, Leg to stand on?

BadgerFace_2

Hi,

I recently sold two items on ebay. 1 @ £250 and 1 @ 450. In a stupid mistake, I got the labels mixed up and sent them to the opposite places.

Buyer 1 sent a message straight back. I apologised and said I'd contact the other to sort it and refund any expenses etc.

Buyer 2 didn't respond to any contact (surprise surprise), so I called them. They were pretty evasive, but agreed to return the item. Fast forward a week, and the only contact I have had from them is a single- Yes sent item (I haven't received it). I have sent them a few e-mails, trying to sort out delivery of their item and a refund of the postage, but no response.

The item has a serial number and a security code, which the seller doesn't have.

I have a feeling that they have/are not actually going to return the item.

Can I report this as stolen, as they are well aware the item does not belong to them and I have proof of ownership?

OR

Can I take this through the courts if need be?

OR

Am I ££££££ out of pocket?

Thanks!

Crowqueen

The item is not stolen - you sent it to them. It might be considered unsolicited goods, but it wouldn't have been stolen, since the buyer has paid you for something and you sent it, albeit the wrong item.

There was a thread about this sort of thing from the buyer's perspective on Buyer Central a few months ago. I posted that I thought the buyer should do the honourable thing and send the item back, but they were worried that they would not get the item they bought in time (the other buyer was AWOL for some reason) and they liked the item they had been sent and wanted to keep it.

People seemed to, oddly for the official forums, side with the buyer on that one.

The consensus on Seller Central in this case is also that if the other buyer fails to return the item, the original buyer of it must not be left out of pocket either and sometimes the only way to sort it out is to re-purchase another item. In this situation the amount of money is such that that might not be practical - I think the SC case was over something costing at the most about £20.

Knowing what Seller Central is like, that is a pretty strong endorsement of the seller's continued responsibilities in all of this. You can be sure that Seller Central misses very few opportunities to side with sellers.

I'm with you, I think the buyer ought to return an item they have been sent in error, if only because it rebounds on the seller who is trying to put things right, but I think accusing them of theft is unrealistic.

I'm not sure how to proceed, however, as the time that it happened to me it was sorted out reasonably quickly and buyers exchanged between themselves and sent me the bill.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Crowqueen wrote: »

It might be considered unsolicited goods.

I'm not sure it would be as the customer has placed an order and merely been sent the wrong thing, I was under the impression the law surrounding unsolicited goods to stop someone sending stuff unannounced and then trying to charge for it.

I would suspect a court would view that the customer should make the goods available for collection.

It's a difficult one OP but if you want the item back, send a Recorded Delivery letter stating the goods will be collected by courier on a date that suits the customer and for them to contact you to arrange a suitable date.

If no response send a Notice Before Action which might push them into making contact.

I don't find it very honourable to profit from someone else's innocent mistake.

Crowqueen

Thanks for the clarification, Ludo .

I totally agree with you, but I was surprised at some other people's attitude to this. I can understand the 'practical' approach on Seller Central, given the seller has to put damage limitation structures into place. I didn't understand the support the buyer in question was given - and you know me, I'm usually the one giving the buyer the benefit of the doubt.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

It can be very tricky with two mixed up parcels, personally I wouldn't ask the customers to send to each other but back to me (just to have complete control over the situation) at my cost but am fortunate to have more than 1 of the same item so can ensure the customer has the correct item asap.

I guess were a customer concerned they might not get their item in time, or at all, it comes down to being 'one of things' as sadly sometimes mistakes happen and on eBay the customer has feedback to reflect any dissatisfaction.

Although carelessness is the only cause sometimes the address labels can all blur together, on the odd occasions I've mixed up orders the buyers have had the same first name or once I copy/pasted an address that didn't paste so one customer ended up with an extra item and the second customer no item at all.

I had a seller the other week send me once of their customers parcels and I hadn't even brought from them, they were looking at my listings and subconsciously wrote my address on the parcel!

BadgerFace_2

Thanks for the advice.

I know it is a little strong to accuse them of theft, because they didn't physically take the item, it was sent to them. But once you have been notified of the error, which they were already well aware of, then keeping an item that knowingly does not belong to you and it has been requested be returned is surely illegal?

If my garage delivered a 2010 BMW instead of the 1996 I had just bought accidentally, that doesn't mean they own it surely?

I have tried asking them what a convenient day would be for a collection etc. they just don't respond. The thing is, they sell a lot on ebay and I would have thought better of them.

Luckily the other buyer is being very patient and has made the item available for collection.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

BadgerFace wrote: »

keeping an item that knowingly does not belong to you and it has been requested be returned is surely illegal?

Due to the amount and circumstances I guess it would be classed as a civil matter leaving the courts as your only recourse.

What was your net cost of the £450 item?

Avoriaz

BadgerFace wrote: »

Hi,

I recently sold two items on ebay. 1 @ £250 and 1 @ 450. In a stupid mistake, I got the labels mixed up and sent them to the opposite places.

Buyer 1 sent a message straight back. I apologised and said I'd contact the other to sort it and refund any expenses etc.

Buyer 2 didn't respond to any contact ..

I assume that Buyer 1 paid £450 and got an item worth £250 and not the other way round.

System

BadgerFace wrote: »

I have tried asking them what a convenient day would be for a collection etc. they just don't respond.

Have you got a courier lined up who will do timeslots? If it was me and you expected me to hang around all day for a courier because they wouldn't commit to a time then I would expect you to also pay for my loss of earnings for that complete day regardless of when they turn up

Are you prepared to do that or do you expect the buyer to take a days leave to help sort your screw-up?

RainbowDrops

Call the buyer again. Emails are far easier to ignore than phone calls.

Be as friendly & helpful as possible, as you want them to be onside.

Try to work out a way to find out where the item is (ask them to confirm the method used to return the item). If they say it has been delivered, say that you need all of the details to investigate where it has got to, and that you may need to pass their details onto the provider to help their investigations. Or, if it comes out that the buyer hasn't returned it yet, offer the buyer help in retuning the item.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

!!!!!! wrote: »

Have you got a courier lined up who will do timeslots? If it was me and you expected me to hang around all day for a courier because they wouldn't commit to a time then I would expect you to also pay for my loss of earnings for that complete day regardless of when they turn up

Are you prepared to do that or do you expect the buyer to take a days leave to help sort your screw-up?

The collection is the minimum the law requires the consumer to do, whether the law would allow you reclaim wages would depend upon the opinion of a judge, my guess is you'd have to have a very good reason why taking a day off work was more convenient than returning the item at the Post Office.