Help!! eBay buyer threatening court action

sharnad

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?

You and I your letter of defence then get an allocation questionnaire. Then it might get thrown out and you won't have to take time off to go to court. Tell them you said you didn't know about the cam belt and informed him of this and he demanded so much moneynoffnyiu while keeping the car. If you do after all this have to go tomcourtnit will be your local court he will have to travel to

sharnad

Inform eBay of his mention of feedback to you I. His first demand and have the neg removed as feed back extortion. If he thought be bad a case he would have raised a dispute rather than neg you

RainbowDrops

I think it's unlikely that the buyer is going to agree to a cancellation for the seller to get their fees back now.

oldone_2

The buyer says he stripped the engine and found the cambelt stripped.This would indicate he has an above average mechanical knowledge,so when in pieces why did he not put on a new cambelt instead of claiming the car is only worth scrap value.

To be honest, the minute a buyer starts talking of a partial refund they are after a discount. Either they are happy with the purchase, or if they are not, they would be wanting to return for a full refund.

O.P. I would not worry about court cases, cambelt changes etc. and just wait for either e-bay to communicate, or court papers to arrive.

My own opinion is that he has not looked at the cambelt. He has heard a rattling noise -which could be anything on a car that age - and decided he would like some money off.

If you do feel you need to respond just ask him to return the car in the condition you sold it to him for a full refund as e-bay would ask if he opened a SNAD case. The return would be at his expense as this is a private sale, something e-bay would confirm.

Do not make any offers of partial refunds, or petrol money, as this would imply you accept the validity of his complaints.

POPPYOSCAR

sham63 wrote: »

Anyone remember the caravan thread from a few years ago?

Seem to remember the buyer won in court even though the caravan was 'sold as seen'?

Yes, when I first read this thread I thought of it.

From what I can remember everyone on here was convinced the buyer was bluffing, and then when it went to court, they were convinced the OP would win, myself included.

It was quite shocking when the buyer won his case, but courts are funny things and judges can be funny people - you just never know which way it will go sometimes.

utab007

I just discussed the case with someone from CAB and he told me descriptions 'well maintained with FSH (10 stamps) ' is valid as seller is simply going off the service book. He believes there is no case here. I'm now convinced he is bluffing. He also pointed out the price and age of the car would be taken into account and works in favour.

So suprises me that so money people on this forum believe he has a case.

fred7777

utab007 wrote: »

I would like to know where I stand legally. I believe these are just false threats, but it would be nice to know he can't do anything.

Not a simple answer I'm afraid. Legally he can take you to court, even if he hasn't got a case and it's thrown out he still gets to take you there and cause problems.

Broken cam belts don't cause rattles they stop the engine from running so I don't believe his story. Also the chance of a cam belt failing in the next 50 miles after a sale is astronomically small.

I would offer the buyer a complete refund on return of the vehicle. This is inline with ebay policies and general English law as both parties are put back in the position they were in before they entered into the contract.

If the buyer is genuine then it's more than fair and you can scrap the car. But I believe the buyer won't want to do that and will keep pushing for a partial refund as there is nothing wrong with the cambelt he is just trying it on.

Buyers don't get to choose between refund, replacement, repair etc even with new items and if it ends up in court, you have proof you offered a complete refund and he rejected it he won't get anywhere.

Mindless_Clone

No_Eye_Deer wrote: »

Yes. The buyer has only asked the OP for £50.

Return costs can be added to a claim.

.

Ok, my bad, I read the buyer's email wrong. I read it that he was asking for £50 plus the £100 the car was worth scrap from the OP, but what he's saying is he'll scrap it and get that back from the scrappy.

Actually, I have to say that's a pretty reasonable offer.

RainbowDrops wrote: »

I think it's unlikely that the buyer is going to agree to a cancellation for the seller to get their fees back now.

I fear you're probably right. But OP might still be able to salvage it if he's apologetic and... umm... makes something up about being away to explain lack of contact.
That was kind of why I was asking for the time scale of the emails. If he's not given you reasonable amount of time to respond then it's easy to say you've been out of email contact for a while etc.

oldone wrote: »

My own opinion is that he has not looked at the cambelt. He has heard a rattling noise -which could be anything on a car that age - and decided he would like some money off.

If you do feel you need to respond just ask him to return the car in the condition you sold it to him for a full refund as e-bay would ask if he opened a SNAD case. The return would be at his expense as this is a private sale, something e-bay would confirm.

FWIW I rather suspect the same and think that the OP could still do this if they do not want to negotiate any kind of deal. I suspect the buyer will say no (because I think you're right about them just wanting a discount) but it might still be worth offering in case the matter can be put to bed quickly.

utab007 wrote: »

I just discussed the case with someone from CAB and he told me descriptions 'well maintained with FSH (10 stamps) ' is valid as seller is simply going off the service book. He believes there is no case here. I'm now convinced he is bluffing. He also pointed out the price and age of the car would be taken into account and works in favour.

So suprises me that so money people on this forum believe he has a case.

With all due respect to the CAB, they are not the ones making the judgement and their advice is not always on the nail. It's down to the judge on the day and how he /she interprets the law. For instance, if the judge thinks you're a bit of an arrogant git, he might just find a way to find against you anyway. (Not that you are, by the way, just using an example. )

FWIW, I don't really think he has got much of a case, but, as I say, it's all very well sticking to your principles if you're got the time and money - and can cope with the stress of it. Me? For the sake of an easy life, I'd at least offer to cancel and take the car back and scrap it.
Even if he says no, you've been more than reasonable then.

dotchas

utab007 wrote: »

Cambelt change interval is 80,000 miles on this car. When I bought the car it had 112,000 miles, so looks like previous owner was responsible. As I only did 38,000 miles I should be fine. It was not due to be changed whilst I owned it.

So i reckon it's ok for me to say it was well maintained with FSH. I don't see how this can be misrepresentation on my part. I can't responsible for what previous owner did. Do you agree?

I could save myself hassle and do as most of you suggest, but I think this bully needs to learn a lesson.

My understading is by defending it move to my local court. Is that correct?

I am of the opinion that the buyer is trying it on. The fact that he has not asked for a full refund is the biggest clue. He says its uneconomical to repair so why wouldn't he just want his money back??
Also he inspected the engine and the cambelt is worn, if you have the knowledge to do that then why not do it before purchase? He may not even be correct if he is not a mechanic.

However would a 12 year old car not have 12 stamps for a FSH?
Also if the belt is due for change at 80,000 or 5 years then as its 12 years old it should have been done at 5 and 10 years as it is "which ever occurs first". So even though it hasn't done 160,000 miles it should have been replaced at 10 years old.

I know many cars will run much longer but the problem is how will the court see it.

*runs off to check if her car needs a cambelt*

POPPYOSCAR

utab007 wrote: »

I just discussed the case with someone from CAB and he told me descriptions 'well maintained with FSH (10 stamps) ' is valid as seller is simply going off the service book. He believes there is no case here. I'm now convinced he is bluffing. He also pointed out the price and age of the car would be taken into account and works in favour.

So suprises me that so money people on this forum believe he has a case.

You seem to think it is cut and dried but the courts do not work like that.

No solicitor would go to court telling their client that they will definitely win or definitely lose.

You obviously have not been to court before - I have and it is not a nice experience and not to be undertaken lightly.

Most of the time they want the parties to reach an amicable solution.

They may well ask for 'expert witness' reports on the condition of the car. Are you prepared to pay for these, costs that you may or may not get back?