Scammed over a scooter on ebay

cashvoid121

Hi all,

I've just had some surgery that prevents me getting around for the last couple of weeks and another couple to come, and in order to expedite my preparations to return to university, for which I need a scooter, I bought one on ebay using paypal. The scooter was listed in the manner of a conventional distance sold item, i.e. with a postal charge (£50), so I assumed it would be treated as such by Paypal and covered by them.

The scooter turned up on Friday and was a complete mess: it appeared at some point to have been stolen, as several compartment doors weren't on properly, the ignition barrel was half out, and the bike is completely dead (I suspect wires have been cut to try to hotwire it, as one of the panels leading to the rear of the barrel had been ripped out). It also has no number plate, and the V5 that came with it is in somebody other than the seller's name. Needless to say, the photos cunningly obscured the defects from a cosmetic point of view and the description made it sound like a really solid bike (great runner, great condition etc).

We called the police and, after a little investigation, they said they have no interest in it. Since it was definitely stolen, I'm thinking it was probably recovered for the owner, then sold cheap to the person who sold it to me, who got rid of it quickly before having it registered to them.

Today I discovered that my Paypal claim had been refused because ebay/paypal will not do anything about vehicles, whether they were bought at a distance and couriered by the seller or not. So now I'm £600 in a hole with a complete lemon of a bike.

Does anybody have any advice for what I should do? It was sold from Edinburgh, and I live in Sheffield.

Thanks in advance.

cashvoid121

Then why did you bother wasting your time replying? FYI I'm already qualified to masters degree level and am now retraining in a different subject. Have you even got any GSCEs/O-levels? Nothing quite so stupid as sounding your mouth off without even reading the whole post. Your response was totally unhelpful and offensive.

smashingyour...

Dangerous_Dave2k wrote: »

Then why did you bother wasting your time replying? FYI I'm already qualified to masters degree level and am now retraining in a different subject. Have you even got any GSCEs/O-levels? Nothing quite so stupid as sounding your mouth off without even reading the whole post. Your response was totally unhelpful and offensive.

Maybe you should take a course in common sense.;)

It would appear your only chance would be with the small claims court.

im-lost

Dangerous_Dave2k wrote: »

Then why did you bother wasting your time replying? FYI I'm already qualified to masters degree level and am now retraining in a different subject. Have you even got any GSCEs/O-levels? Nothing quite so stupid as sounding your mouth off without even reading the whole post. Your response was totally unhelpful and offensive.

Degree level, and no common sense.... all too familiar...

Anyways, a link to the eBay auction would be helpful, it'll let people know what they are dealing with in regards to what advise they give to you...

cashvoid121

For those who haven't bothered to read, I'll reiterate, and maybe it will get through this time: since it was bought in the form of a conventional, couriered distance sold item using paypal, I was under the impression that I would be covered by them, as virtually all items on ebay are. It's only today that I've discovered that there is an exception for vehicles (without a rationale for it being provided). Is this computing for anybody? Obviously I would not have proceded in the same way if I didn't think I was covered.

Chrisblue1962

Sadly this may be a case of “ biting the bullet” as private motor sales are not covered by Sale of Goods Act, etc , so it's a case of “ Caveat Emptor” or Buyer Beware. Also ignorance of Ebay / Paypal terms and conditions is not a defence either, so...

Did the seller state it was roadworthy and ready - to go ? Like a previous poster has stated, print out the original advert and go through it line by line and compare it to the scooter's actual condition as this may form the basis of your Small Claims court case.

You could also try getting an independent motor engineer to inspect the scooter and provide a report.

Good Luck but I will be surprised if you recover any money at all as the seller may be long gone or trying to prove who the seller actually was , given you didn't meet him or view the scooter at time of purchase , may prove impossible.

smashingyour...

Dangerous_Dave2k wrote: »

For those who haven't bothered to read, I'll reiterate, and maybe it will get through this time: since it was bought in the form of a conventional, couriered distance sold item using paypal, I was under the impression that I would be covered by them, as virtually all items on ebay are. It's only today that I've discovered that there is an exception for vehicles (without a rationale for it being provided). Is this computing for anybody? Obviously I would not have proceded in the same way if I didn't think I was covered.

Well you were wrong, to state the obvious you should have read up first.;)

cashvoid121

Thanks to Chrisblue1962 for the only civil response I've received on this thread.

I have no idea what's wrong with the rest of you. Some serious social disfunction by the looks of it though. I can honestly say I've never opened a forum thread on the many forums of which I am a member and experienced anything like this. Congrats to all.

cashvoid121

This is the auction listing:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190868035393?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

It is seriously misdescribed. For one thing, it doesn't run at all, never mind running perfectly, but there are about 10 separate inaccuracies or downright lies in the listing. We should have the cooperation of the courier who delivered it regarding the identity of the person who handed it off to him and their address, as he is also quite annoyed with the seller, who didn't pay him (told him that the recipient would be paying).

DUTR

Dangerous_Dave2k wrote: »

Then why did you bother wasting your time replying? FYI I'm already qualified to masters degree level and am now retraining in a different subject. Have you even got any GSCEs/O-levels? Nothing quite so stupid as sounding your mouth off without even reading the whole post. Your response was totally unhelpful and offensive.

I replied so that anybody esle stupid enought to purchase something like a vehicle long distance off ebay without even viewing it 1st, deserves all they get. Whatever reasons for not being able to view then the purchase can wait, as obviously the bargain was not so in the long run was it? That is common sense my friend, good luck with chasing the seller etc, but as said prevention is better than cure, learn from your experience. And yes, it goes to show qualifications is no indicator of intelligence.
What you done was stupid in my opinion, and there I said it, I said what you did was stupid, not that you are stupid (although I may think that now).

DUTR

Dangerous_Dave2k wrote: »

This is the auction listing:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190868035393?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

It is seriously misdescribed. For one thing, it doesn't run at all, never mind running perfectly, but there are about 10 separate inaccuracies or downright lies in the listing. We should have the cooperation of the courier who delivered it regarding the identity of the person who handed it off to him and their address, as he is also quite annoyed with the seller, who didn't pay him (told him that the recipient would be paying).

The link you supplied returns a page which includes
"Here is my malaguti madison s 250 cc 53 plate registered dec 03 starts and runs perfectly,very fast reaches up to 100mph very comfortable to drive has 9 month tax/mot! Has couple of minor scuffs on the side panel apart from that looks great for its age has 20,000 on the clock will do treble that and more made by yamaha good quality bike very easy to get parts and cheap to run and maintain thanks for looking at my add any questions just call or send email thanks"

So he never said it was perfect by any means, and it's a 10 year old bike, so what condition would you expect a 10 year old bike to be in?
Your Uni may have a law school there where pre grads are studying law and can look over the issue and advise if it is worth challenging, other than that see a real lawyer but as others have said we don't hold out much hope, and had you said you were going to make the purchase in the way you did before hand, the responses would be the same or similar.
I'm not so sure why you have taken offence to the replies as there is no need to wrap the replies in cotton wool, you have to accept the effects from your own actions , you are an adult now.