Problem with ebay claim, SNAD related

Munky

Ok this is quite long winded so i'll try keep to the points. I bought an item from a seller on ebay who is clearly operating as a business but is not registered as one. The item was a rear seat/bed for a camper van and needed to be sent on a pallet for which the seller stated 6 to 8 days for delivery. After the auction ended i emailed the seller asking to be informed when the pallet would arrive so i could arrange to be at home, i got no response. After 6 working days i emailed again asking if he knew when the item would be dispatched, i got no reply. Then after 10 working days i emailed once more asking if he could let me know what was happening, i got no reply. I should add that during this time the seller promptly answered questions from other ebay members regarding other items he was selling so i was was clearly being ignored. I then requested the contact details from ebay and chased the seller directly via the phone to which i got a quite rude reply of " i dont know where the seat is i think its lost" He then blamed his mate and promised to call back, he never did although a email did magically arrive soon after blaming supplier problems and that my seat would be here in a few days.
Well it did turn up, not only soaking wet but not as described in the advert. The seat was advertised as having "fully integrated inertia seatbelts" this basically means the seatbelt system is contained within the seat itself and safely anchored at all 3 mounting points. The seat that turned up was a complete bodge job that had the seatbelt system only fixed at 2 points and even those were very sub standard. The pictures in the advert were cleaverly taken to hide this poor workmanship from the buyer until it arrives, not only would i be breaking the law by carrying passengers on these seats but in the event of a crash they would most likely fail causing serious injury even death.
Now this isnt just a one off seat he was selling, he has sold and is still selling these seats which originally DO NOT come with seat belts fitted to them, he is either getting someone to fit these inferia seat belts or he is doing them himself.
At first the seller agreed that he would refund me in full if i could hold on to the seat until he sells it again then has it picked up from mine to which i agreed to providing he issues me with a refund before the case i opened with ebay closes, he didnt refund me so i continued with the case.
Now ebay have come back to me saying that im to pay for return postage which will be in excess of £60 for me to get a refund. Ive stated the facts of the case to them but although they agree with me their policy sides with the seller.
Now i do understand that in normal cases the buyer covers the cost of return postage but the seller has clearly misled me and not only has he sent an item SNAD it is also dangerous and breaking the law in its current state.

Is there anything i can do but pay to return the pallet and be out of pocket?

Mindless_Clone

Have you actually spoken to a real person at ebay, or just used email/live chat? If not, might be worth speaking to a real person. I ahve seen people here say the Dublin centre is the most helpful.
Even though he's not registered as a dealer, if he is, and is selling downright dangerous stuff, I would also report him to his local trading standards office. I am sure they would be happy to pay him a visit. I wouldn't mine betting HMRC would be interested too!

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

This should be reported to Trading Standards, they are usually good with dangerous goods, if the seller is doing the work themselves I would assume there is some kind of EU safety requirements to meet and the fine for not doing so would be pretty hefty.

If Trading Standards took the seat from you for inspection then a letter or receipt to say they have it might win the SNAD case, best to check with eBay on the phone (Dublin doesn't cover resolutions, if the person you first speak to does seem to understand request to speak with a supervisor).

Regardless if you think they are putting people's lives at risk with their poor product you really do need to tell Trading Standards. To do this you need to contact the Consumer Advice line who take down the issue and it will be sent to your local Trading Standards for consideration.

If after doing this you didn't hear anything after a couple of weeks then contact the council's switchboard and ask for the Consumer Protection department.

If eBay do make you return the seat the only way to get the return costs back is via the small claims court if the seller won't do this voluntarily.

If you are considering this then an independent report from a specialist confirming the product is dangerous would be a good idea and the the court would award the cost of this to you.

If you didn't want to return but still take the seller to court that would be fine also.

pinkshoes

I'd phone the company and TELL them to send you £60 for the cost of a courier, then give you a full refund.

If they refuse, then tell them that you then have no other option but to call trading standards due to them selling dangerous products, and also inform HMRC of their business, which doesn't seem to be registered...

hiccup123

Also leave negative feedback warning people.....he may suddenly become very helpful and send a request to revise feedback.....which I wouldn't do until I have received refund. Sounds like blackmail......but hey ....he's no Angel

longtimelurkersam

I sent Munky over here from the motor forum where he originally posted.

I have seen the ad for the same item and it is misleading to say the least and funny enough the seller has not answered my specific questions about whether he has added the belts or whether they were part of the item as it came from the factory.

I am sure a call to HRMC would be useful too as I wonder if he is declaring this income.

BillTrac

Ok, hopefully I have read your post correctly.

you realise the seat is dangerous...but you are more than happy to wait for a refund until he sells it to someone else?

Talk about pot and kettle. If what you say is correct then you are no better than he is. Putting finance before safety.:mad:

Beggars belief, are you for real?

Munky

BillTrac wrote: »

Ok, hopefully I have read your post correctly.

you realise the seat is dangerous...but you are more than happy to wait for a refund until he sells it to someone else?

Talk about pot and kettle. If what you say is correct then you are no better than he is. Putting finance before safety.:mad:

Beggars belief, are you for real?

Yes i am for real, now do you have anything constructive to add?

Your notice if you read the OP correctly that i agree'd on the basis that i recieved the refund first, the seat was never going to leave me for another unsuspecting customer. I tried to keep the post to a minimum and include the valid points to keep everyone on the right track but hey, next time i'll be sure to include every little detail just in case someone like you didnt get any from the misses last night and wants to play big boy on some internet forum.

For all those that have offered advice so far, thankyou ive taken it onboard and am putting a case together. Im still in talks with ebay but i cant see them doing the right thing so i will hopefully have someone inspect the seat soon and have some hard evidence atleast to pursue this further.

Omar_Little

I had the same thing once with an awkward seller and a faulty and very heavy running machine that I was unable to put on a pallet myself & return.

I sent them a recorded delivery letter informing them that they should arrange collection themselves, and then submitted the recorded letter number to Ebay and received a full refund.

Munky

Thats very helpfull thankyou.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Omar_Little wrote: »

I had the same thing once with an awkward seller and a faulty and very heavy running machine that I was unable to put on a pallet myself & return.

I sent them a recorded delivery letter informing them that they should arrange collection themselves, and then submitted the recorded letter number to Ebay and received a full refund.

That isn't advisable, if the seller appeals then eBay may see it as claims abuse and reverse the refund. Otherwise anyone could send anything back with an RD number to falsely win a SNAD case.