Counterfeit product from ebay but over 45 days :(

Soph0707

Hi there,

My partner and I (stupidly) bought an expensive pram from ebay sold as a 'new and genuine item with 3 year manufacturers warranty' in March last year but have recently found out that it is a counterfeit product after sending it in for repair with the manufacturer when the wheel fell off (!).
We have contacted the seller who refuses to believe that is is a fake as his manufacturer abroad has assured him it is genuine, and he will not refund us. Ebay and Paypal won't even investigate because it is way over the 45 day time limit to dispute an item.

I know that the seller sold about 10 more of these prams as new and genuine products at £650 each. I have contacted C A B but as we do not have an address or contact number for the seller im worried nothing will come of it. Will ebay/PayPal disclose the sellers details does anyone know?

I have checked the sellers feedback and found the ebay details of others that bought the pram, should I contact them telling them what we have found out..? Would we have a stronger case if there was more of us? It angers me to think that he has £6500 in his pocket whilst people are putting their young babies and children in danger in these awful quality, counterfeit prams!

Any advice much appreciated.
Thanks

eaglesrjh

If there a business seller and I feel they should be then there should be contact information on their pages. Look at one of their items currently for sale. underneath the description should be a business contact box. address and phone number should be there if you need that for CAB to help you.

pulliptears

Fake Prams? Goodness whatever next. I'm wondering with you saying that his manufacturer is abroad if its more 'grey import' than fake?

If you are not familiar with the term this happens when companies buy an item from abroad for less to sell cheaper in the UK. Tesco did it with jeans once I think. The manufacturer didn't like this and deemed the items 'grey imports' and refused to honour any warranty as they weren't legitimately bought.

Was the pram a good deal cheaper?

Soph0707

Thanks for your replies.

He doesn't appear to be a business seller as he has 270 feed backs. He seems to have sold the 10 prams as a one off as he hasn't sold any since. However, we have managed to track down an address for him, we ordered an accessory for the pram soon after and have found a sender's address on the packaging

I have not heard the term 'grey import' before but I would be surprised if it was a genuine product because we noticed straight away when first using the pram that it was poor quality compared to a genuine Stokke, it didn't seem sturdy and the plastic was very squeaky etc. The seller's manufacturer is in China and we were told by Stokke that the pushchairs dont go anywhere near China in the manufacturing process.

I am hoping we still have a case against him as he sold the pram with a 3 years manufacturers warranty, which we have now been told is invalid

pulliptears

Just done a quick google and there does seem to be a trade in fake Stokke's. I'm amazed.

Is he still selling them?

Soph0707

No he isn't selling them anymore, he seems to have just sold the ten he had and that's it. He

We thought they must be quite a few about, as Stokke weren't interested in where we had bought it from. I have just had a response from another buyer that bought a pushchair from him and they said they have had a number of issues with the pushchair too and would like to join us in trying to take things further in order to get our money back.

I'm not sure how successful this may be though as it is through ebay...

pulliptears

I wish I could advise but its not something I have a decent knowledge on, hopefully someone will be able to help.
In the meantime have you tried your local trading standards?

I guess you could raise a small claim as well, but it would be helpful to have Stokke's support on that.

Good luck
x

ashleypride

Soph0707 wrote: »

I'm not sure how successful this may be though as it is through ebay...

As the seller sold 10 - it was a business transaction, its impossible to argue he was selling 10 'personal' prams - unless he has 10 kids of course! Either way, you are still protected by the Sales of Goods act, and if Stokke have said it's fake, then the item was misdescribed by the seller (assuming it said Stokke).

Did Stokke give you written statement that it was counterfeit or verbal?

If written, you need to forward that to the seller along with a 'letter before action'. ( http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer_taking_action_e/consumer_legal_actions_e/consumer_small_claims_e/before_you_take_someone_to_court/step_one_write_a_letter_before_action.htm )

Hopefully, the seller will just pay up after the LAB - rather than making a fool himself in court.

But if he doesn't respond, then go ahead and take him to small claims. Smalls claims can be fickle - but in this case there is little defense to a manufacturer saying an item is counterfeit. You will almost certainly win, the fact that it was on ebay doesn't change anything.

The problem with small claims is actually getting the money out of other party. However, in your case it sounds like the seller was duped rather than an scammer, in this case it's much more likely they'll pay up straight away rather than getting a CCJ against them.

Good luck.

Soph0707

I contacted trading standards and they redirected me to Citizens Advice Consumer Service so I have registered a complaint with them today. In the email it says they will contact the appropriate trading standards of the seller.

I have an email from Stokke customer services saying that 'your stroller is not a Stokke product, therefore the warranty is invalid'....would that be enough as written proof? I have asked them to put it in writing for me as well but i'm still waiting to hear back from them. I have already sent a copy of the email to the seller, so I will get writing my Letter Before Action.

Thanks so much for the helpful advice

ashleypride

Soph0707 wrote: »

I have an email from Stokke customer services saying that 'your stroller is not a Stokke product, therefore the warranty is invalid'....would that be enough as written proof? I have asked them to put it in writing for me as well but i'm still waiting to hear back from them. I have already sent a copy of the email to the seller, so I will get writing my Letter Before Action.

An printed email will be OK, but still you are better off using letter headed paper from Stokke, looks more official and removes any doubt about authenticity.
Its in Stokke's interest to stop counterfeits of their products, so hopefully they should give written confirmation without too much fuss.

Have Stokke destroyed the pram out of interest?

Soph0707

No they sent it back to us! I was quite surprised they weren't more interested in where I had got it etc but I think, as pointed out above, there is a larger trade in fake Stokke's.