Mis-selling of goods by private seller

Cornwall_Nanny

Thank you for all comments 'pink shoes' has got the point - millions of us purchase goods either directly online or based on photos posted online & it is often not practical or even possible to exam goods prior to payment & collection, therefore I believe there should be some protection in law. Advertising something with pictures that clearly were not of the 'said' item without an explanation is wholely dishonest & should be unlawful. I admit we were naive in not inspecting the camper when we collected it but it would not have been practical to erect & inspect the whole camper & all the working parts at the point of collection. We all benefit from the advantages of online buying & selling & a lot of people will be effected if others like me stop using this facility following a bad experience & no protection in law.

shaun_from_Africa

Cornwall_Nanny wrote: »

therefore I believe there should be some protection in law. Advertising something with pictures that clearly were not of the 'said' item without an explanation is wholely dishonest & should be unlawful.

It is unlawful.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/35

2 Fraud by false representation

(1) A person is in breach of this section if he—
(a) dishonestly makes a false representation, and
(b) intends, by making the representation—
(i) to make a gain for himself or another, or
(ii) to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.
(2) A representation is false if—
(a) it is untrue or misleading, and
.the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading.
(3) “Representation” means any representation as to fact or law, including a representation as to the state of mind of—
(a) the person making the representation, or
(b)any other person.
(4) A representation may be express or implied.
(5) For the purposes of this section a representation may be regarded as made if it (or anything implying it) is submitted in any form to any system or device designed to receive, convey or respond to communications (with or without human intervention).

DoaM

OP can reference that in communications with the seller, and could also use it as a reference if bringing a court claim for losses. However the OP can't pursue the seller per that Act as the Act relates to it being a criminal not civil offence.

takman

Cornwall_Nanny wrote: »

Thank you for all comments 'pink shoes' has got the point - millions of us purchase goods either directly online or based on photos posted online & it is often not practical or even possible to exam goods prior to payment & collection, therefore I believe there should be some protection in law. Advertising something with pictures that clearly were not of the 'said' item without an explanation is wholely dishonest & should be unlawful. I admit we were naive in not inspecting the camper when we collected it but it would not have been practical to erect & inspect the whole camper & all the working parts at the point of collection. We all benefit from the advantages of online buying & selling & a lot of people will be effected if others like me stop using this facility following a bad experience & no protection in law.

Yes millions of people do purchase items online but the large majority of them pay using a debit or credit card or using Paypal so that they have some protection just in case there are any problems.

You paid thousands of pounds via bank transfer and paid in full before you had even seen the camper. Many people who have done this before have then found out that the item didn't exist and that they were given an fake address and never see their money again.

Cornwall_Nanny wrote: »

Once we agreed a price based on the above we paid 50% of the cost & arranged a date to collect the camper. We paid the final 50% via Bank transfer 24 hours before the scheduled collection. The seller was fully aware that we intended to collect the camper, which was 5 hours drive from our home....

The usual way to purchase an item like this is to give the seller a small deposit of £100-£200 to secure the item if they require it then pay the balance in full once you have viewed the item.

By "folding camper" i assume you mean something like a trailer tent which folds out to a 2 - 3 times it length?. So there was no room to unfold it at their home?.

forgotmyname

I would have towed it to somewhere with enough space to open it out and test it.

It was possible to inspect the goods before payment and collection though. You said you only paid half before you went. That was way too much for a deposit.

But you were obviously happy to pay the other half after seeing the item in the flesh.

unholyangel

Whether OP had the opportunity to inspect or not is irrelevant.

You may think it prudent for a buyer to do so (and I agree), but it doesn't affect the OP's right to receive goods that are as described and not merely similar.

Cornwall_Nanny

unholyangel wrote: »

Whether OP had the opportunity to inspect or not is irrelevant.

You may think it prudent for a buyer to do so (and I agree), but it doesn't affect the OP's right to receive goods that are as described and not merely similar.

The point exactly in just 2 lines, thank you :T

SuperHan

We all agree the OP wouldn't be in this position if they had inspected it/not paid before picking it up. And I'm sure the OP won't do that again .


However, the point is it isn't as described, and that's unlawful and the OP has a right to a remedy, regardless what everyone else would have done in the situation.