Help!! eBay buyer threatening court action

Mindless_Clone

Yes, I know what you said, and now I know what he says you said. What I don't know is what was actually said. So that's why I am asking. If you need proper help then it's always useful to be absolute about the facts.

OK, so if he's saying you said that when you didn't, nice try on him to get that down on paper. Clearly trying to set you up on that side of things. I think at the very least you do need to document a denial that you ever uttered those words, and to document what exactly you did say back to him. Maybe even also find out for definite when it was supposed to have the belt changed. If it was a case that it would not have fallen within your ownership of the car, then you it mitigates your responsibility for having to do so.
His "case" against you is looking a bit wobbly, to be honest.

For what it's worth, OP, just because he's been an idiot making demands and threatening feedback extortion, does not mean you shouldn't be the bigger person here and, if you think it's a reasonable request to offer him some compensation then do so. And of the day, he's bought a duff car and is probably understandably riled about that. You would be if it were you.

TKPeters

Investigates rattle noise & cambelt is stripped.

If the Cambelt was stripped, then the engine would not run, never mind rattling.

As its a private sale & sold as seen, the buyer would not have a case & it would be thrown out.

Have a look at his feedback 'left for others' to see if its a common problem he has & I would take the Neg

utab007

Mindless_Clone wrote: »

And of the day, he's bought a duff car and is probably understandably riled about that. You would be if it were you.

In my opinion if you buy a 12 year old car with 150,000 miles for that kind of money you are taking a bit of a punt. I don't think it's fair to say I sold him a duff car. I think it's just bad luck on his part and for that kind of money you just accept it.

Mindless_Clone

utab007 wrote: »

In my opinion if you buy a 12 year old car with 150,000 miles for that kind of money you are taking a bit of a punt. I don't think it's fair to say I sold him a duff car. I think it's just bad luck on his part and for that kind of money you just accept it.

Yes, that's a very valid point, but £215 is still a heck of a lot to lose on a punt and the car, apparently, is not working . From his perspective it's a duff car whether you like it or not.
I think you have to assume he is telling the truth about the cambelt until you know differently, so you can hardly blame him for being riled. From his perspective he's being ripped off. It behooves you to put yourself in his shoes so you can properly manage the issue without it causing more stress and hassle for you both. Or, get someone to independently verify the issue with it and decide on what you want to do about it.

If you want someone to say "yes, happily ignore his empty threats" then, sure, I can say that. But then what are you going to do if they're not empty threats? Even if the case gets thrown out, it's still your time and money to go to court and defend yourself.

techspec

Ive bought 2 cars of Ebay that were very cheap - and the first thing i did was change the cambelt, as no-one knew if they had been done. In both cases - i have then been able to enjoy trouble free motoring without worry.

As a cambelt cannot be seen without a bit of work - and would in most cases cause much more than a rattle - maybe he decided to fit his own and made a mess of it.

I do believe you have a case for feedback removal - as his first message was a veiled threat at feedback damage.

utab007

[QUOTE=Mindless_Clone;56234421If_you_want_someone_to_say_"yes, happily ignore his empty threats" then, sure, I can say that. But then what are you going to do if they're not empty threats? Even if the case gets thrown out, it's still your time and money to go to court and defend yourself.[/QUOTE]

That's a good point. I just don't like the way he has gone about it.

Can the case be thrown out without me having to defend it? If TK Peters is correct. I am self employed, so I don't want to lose a days income. Can I claim any lost earnings if I win?

Mindless_Clone

utab007 wrote: »

That's a good point. I just don't like the way he has gone about it.

Can the case be thrown out without me having to defend it? If TK Peters is correct. I am self employed, so I don't want to lose a days income. Can I claim any lost earnings if I win?

Agreed, he's being a bit of an !!!!! all in all.

If you don't defend they will find in his favour automatically so you must defend it. Not sure how you go about the loss of earnings. A counter claim I would think.

I guess what you would do is wait until / if the claim comes in and if/when it does, then send a letter stating you intend to defend and will be seeking costs for loss of earnings etc. should it be found in your favour. Bit of brinskmanship there. He'd have to be utterly convinced he will 100% win before taking you to court then.
Not sure if that's actually what you would do, by the way, but you can threaten to do it anyway.

pimento

You're a private seller, he's a private buyer. Caveat emptor.

Of course, if you feel bad about it ask him to bring it back, refund his money and scrap the car. I don't think you're under any obligation to do so, though.

POPPYOSCAR

Regardless of the rights and wrongs do you really want all this trouble?

You said it made little over scrap value, give him his money back and scrap the car.

utab007

pimento wrote: »

You're a private seller, he's a private buyer. Caveat emptor.

Of course, if you feel bad about it ask him to bring it back, refund his money and scrap the car. I don't think you're under any obligation to do so, though.

Can you please expand on your answer? what does the law say about private sales