Advice with Court Claim received please?

delirious

RFW wrote: »

It doesn't really matter what I think, or even what the buyer or seller think is right, it boils down to one person listening to both sides, seeing evidence and making a decision. However it was arrived at, it could seem as though the buyer is out of pocket because of either misleading or misselling on the seller's part. (I'm not saying that I think that, merely that it could be seen that way)

Surely the buyer would need to prove that the seller intentionally mislead the buyer or intentionally mis-advertised the item, which IMO would be very difficult to prove. Either way, the seller offered the buyer a full refund in which case the buyer would not have been out of pocket.

gazfocus

So I filed my defence over the weekend.

I have defended the claim in full based on the fact that I had made two offers to the buyer of a full refund on return of the sat nav.

In my defence, I summarized the entire conversation between myself and the buyer and explained that whilst I had offered a refund toward the cost of the cable, the buyer has now refused on multiple occasions to return the sat nav to me for a refund.

I spoke to the court this morning and they advised that mediation will be recommended, however, I don't really understand what that will solve. The buyer wants me to pay him £125 and I want the sat nav back.

gazfocus

I received a letter from the court in yesterday's post giving me 14 days to sign a form and return it. The form is, as advised, a request for mediation.

Can anyone advise what mediation will involve? Will I have to talk to the buyer or does someone from the court speak to me, then speak to the buyer seperately?

I still don't know what the mediation will solve because there must be a very good reason for the buyer not wanting to return the sat nav for a full refund.

RFW

gazfocus wrote: »

I received a letter from the court in yesterday's post giving me 14 days to sign a form and return it. The form is, as advised, a request for mediation.

Can anyone advise what mediation will involve? Will I have to talk to the buyer or does someone from the court speak to me, then speak to the buyer seperately?

I still don't know what the mediation will solve because there must be a very good reason for the buyer not wanting to return the sat nav for a full refund.

Usually, a court clerk will ask you both (by phone) what would be a good outcome, it depends on the courts. You want to pay nothing and the claimant wants you to pay £120 (or whatever it is), so they'll probably ask if you'd be willing to pay anything to put an end to it and similarly ask the claimant if he'll settle for less.
Mediation, as far as I know, is not used as part of the court proceedings should it not work.

gazfocus

RFW wrote: »

Usually, a court clerk will ask you both (by phone) what would be a good outcome, it depends on the courts. You want to pay nothing and the claimant wants you to pay £120 (or whatever it is), so they'll probably ask if you'd be willing to pay anything to put an end to it and similarly ask the claimant if he'll settle for less.
Mediation, as far as I know, is not used as part of the court proceedings should it not work.

Thanks, so if during mediation, I make an offer matching the offer I already made the buyer, I won't necessarily be held to that if it goes forward to court?

Thanks again

RFW

gazfocus wrote: »

Thanks, so if during mediation, I make an offer matching the offer I already made the buyer, I won't necessarily be held to that if it goes forward to court?

Thanks again

I don't think so, but I'm not certain, I'd check with the court.

trukdiver

cootuk wrote: »

The buyer only has to be put back to the same financial condition as before the deal - the offer of a full refund would do that.
If the OP decides to supply the cable then that is a second option which could be agreed.
it would be unreasonable for the buyer to spend £100 on a cable first then try claiming the cost back, without prior agreement.

If the seller has already offered a full refund then how does going to court (costing money) mitigate the buyer's expenses?

I would also check the wording on the original advert as many of the satnavs have descriptions such as "digital ready" which means they will accept the digital cable but aren't neccessarily supplied with it.
"Lifetime traffic antenna/vehicle power cable" is what should be included in the box description if the digital cable is provided I believe.

"Cable" is a bit misleading. One is a digital (DAB) receiver for traffic signals and the other is an ordinary analogue receiver. They both pass their data to the GPS receiver via a USB port and get their power from the lighter socket, so the actual GPS unit can be the same in each case. It's the way it's bundled in a kit that makes a difference.

RMS2

trukdiver wrote: »

"Cable" is a bit misleading. One is a digital (DAB) receiver for traffic signals and the other is an ordinary analogue receiver. They both pass their data to the GPS receiver via a USB port and get their power from the lighter socket, so the actual GPS unit can be the same in each case. It's the way it's bundled in a kit that makes a difference.

Ah, maybe the exact model that the OP sold and which cable the buyer is requesting, might make it a bit clearer.

RFW

RMS2 wrote: »

Ah, maybe the exact model that the OP sold and which cable the buyer is requesting, might make it a bit clearer.

Your average judge isn't going to know the difference, so it's down to how it was initially listed if it gets that far.

trukdiver

RFW wrote: »

Your average judge isn't going to know the difference, so it's down to how it was initially listed if it gets that far.

The OP has already said that their eBay listing was inaccurate because they mistakenly thought it was digital. The problem is that the buyer wouldn't accept a refund (twice) and has already bought the digital receiver to bring it up to the spec of the item they thought they were receiving. Also, they waited two months before complaining.

An alternative scenario might be:
1) OP sells item which was correctly described.
2) After two months, buyer decides to say they had received the wrong item in order to get a partial refund.
3) Buyer finds highest price for the digital version and claims to have bought it to replace the original analogue receiver.

How would you decide which one was telling the truth?

Possibly if the buyer has the receipt for the replacement from Halfords?