Missing pieces in second hand bed bought on Gumtree

skans100

Hi
I recently bought a bunk bed and two mattresses on gumtree. The advertiser told me that the bed is in mint condition and mattresses are hardly used. So, I paid 75 pounds for it, and also paid 20 pounds more for getting it to my place through a courier. After receiving it, I noticed that some parts were missing, and also the mattresses were not at all in good condition. I contacted the seller about missing pieces and he first denied that any pieces are missing. After I sent the photographs of the bed, then he agreed that some pieces could be missing and he'll search over the weekend.

When I wrote to him saying this is not fair because I already paid 20 pounds for a courier, and he didn't send the complete item to me the first time, and also told him that the mattresses are not as described by him, he is upset and is saying if I wanted good ones I should have bought new, and he'll return my 75 pounds if I send back everything to him.

Now, to send back the item, I have to spend 20 more pounds.
Isn't this unfair? I'm losing 40 pounds unnecessarily because of the mistake (or intentionally done act) of the seller. He should have sent me all the pieces of teh bed, so that I could've assembled it. But he didn't do that, and when I said it is not fair, he is saying I didn't read the advertisement that the bed is used, it is not new etc. He never told me that some pieces of the bunk bed were missing. If he had told me that, I would not have bought this from him at all.

Also, the item is not at all as per his description.

More than the money, the way he tried to cheat us is not acceptable to me.
Can I take this to small claims court? I would ideally prefer a refund for the courier charges I paid too, which will amount to a total of 75 pounds + 40 pounds.
Please suggest. Thanks.

All the email conversation I had with the seller is with me, for proof. He confirmed that some pieces are missing, in that email.
I can send the item back to him, but I need to spend another 20 pounds for transportation. So totally I'm losing 40 pounds because of this deal.

themull1

Tell him to send a courier to pick up the bed at his own expense and send you a refund before the courier is arranged.

buggritt

Then he will just do it will he?

soolin

buggritt wrote: »

Then he will just do it will he?

I did wonder about that!

OP was seller selling as a business or private seller?

forgotmyname

Would you trust him to refund you?

Not a nice situation but you should look at limiting your loss. Sending the bed back maybe risky if he wont refund.

Ive not used gumtree so dont know how it works. Is there not a way to leave him negative comments or warn other buyers about him?

Other than a small claim court i dont see what else you can do.

soolin

forgotmyname wrote: »

Would you trust him to refund you?

Not a nice situation but you should look at limiting your loss. Sending the bed back maybe risky if he wont refund.

Ive not used gumtree so dont know how it works. Is there not a way to leave him negative comments or warn other buyers about him?

Other than a small claim court i dont see what else you can do.

Gumtree is designed to be a face to face cash process so it's all done on trust. Sometimes Gumtree welcome reports of scammers etc, but they don't assist in getting monies back or anything.

OP how did you pay, and do you have the sellers full name and address?

skans100

Thanks for all the replies.
I have the seller's name and full address including post code and also have his mobile number. He is a private seller.
Reg how did I pay: I requested the courier guy to pay the seller, and I in turn paid the courier guy.

I am asking the seller for a convenient time for returning the items. I checked with the courier guy and he said he can do it on Friday evening. But now the seller is saying he can accept it only on Monday if it's before 5 PM.
Even when I'm ready to send it back to him at my expense, he is not giving a suitable time. Not sure what I can do now.

melliott1963

For future reference, you might like to read this article that was on Yahoo only the other day:-

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/10-things-you-should-never-buy-used.html

In particular, no.4. I quote:-

4) Mattresses

For those of you who have ever watched ‘How Clean is Your House’ you’ll know about the numerous creepy crawlies that can live in a mattress. This is particularly true of an old mattress, or one that’s not been cleaned before.
Don’t take the risk of infecting your home with insects such as fleas or bed bugs, and instead buy a brand new one. The cost of paying for an insect exterminator to disinfect your house will be a lot more expensive than a new mattress.