Small claims court + ebay question

shadytrade

Hi all,

I work abroad a lot and don't get much time to check eBay communications if things get really busy. I just came back from a five week long back-to-back stint.

Anyway, I've been back about a week and just noticed I had won an item and not paid for it yet, today was the last day of the unpaid item case and I went ahead and paid the full amount.

It turned out the seller had also sent me a message on eBay telling me they had opened a claim in small claims court yesterday for the £12.50 for the item + £9 (wasted time costs) + the court fees (£25 in this case??). I'm guessing the total for all of this would £50-60.

I really don't want a CCJ over £12.50, this will really reduce my chance of becoming a first time home owner. I paid the £10 charge for the CCJ checks and couldn't see anything outstanding. I will wait to see if any mail arrives from the court.

I've read that if I paid the amount instantly when the letter arrives I won't get anything on my record, is this correct?

Does anyone have experience with this? Any idea how long the letter would take to arrive?

This is kind of nuts seeing as I've _acutally_ paid for the item via eBay already, its just about 12 days late. After having used eBay for about 13 years I've never encountered this, I will really think again before bidding from now on.

Thanks for the advice

KeithP

Yes, wait for the claim form from the court.

If you just want to pay this to get rid of it, just contact the claimant and pay whatever their claim says.

If you do nothing, then the claimant will get a default judgement against you and that's when a CCJ gets in the way.

Kill it now and in future don't bid on things if you have no email access. You would've been sent a 'you have won' email by ebay.

But I would be posting on the ebay board before doing anything - this seller does seem a bit out of order (an under-statement).

shadytrade

KeithP wrote: »

...

Thanks for the advice, will the letter from the court have the claimant information or do I have to pay that directly to the court?

Also, I assume the money I sent via Paypal is lost?

Cheers

KeithP

shadytrade wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, will the letter from the court have the claimant information or do I have to pay that directly to the court?

Also, I assume the money I sent via Paypal is lost?

Cheers

You pay the claimant directly, before court involvement - if that's what you want to do.

I've added to my earlier post.

Your Paypal payment may be recoverable.
As I said, get over to the ebay board.

There's no great rush on this. Do nothing court-wise until you get the claim form. The Paypal issue may be different though.

shadytrade

KeithP wrote: »

...

I've posted but had no response there yet. I was wrong in my original post, the item originally sold on the 14th, so it was actually 10 days, not 12.

Anyway, I'm happy to settle, even though I've already paid. I have a feeling they were lying, but I can only wait and see what happens.

I've been reading around and I can't find anything in the eBay contract which specifies the amount of time to pay the seller. They state they go by local laws, in which case the payment would be due within 30 days after the time of invoice unless otherwise stated (in this case, there was no agreed repayment time in the auction description or anywhere else).

Also the item was not actually sent, so nothing is owed.

So could I legally counter claim or go the defence route?

My girlfriend is a solicitor and I'm pretty sure I could get free or very cheap legal aid and claim on all the legal costs. From what I understand, this could be hundreds of pounds. However, I don't want the worry or hassle of a CCJ.

pinkshoes

shadytrade wrote: »

Hi all,

I work abroad a lot and don't get much time to check eBay communications if things get really busy. I just came back from a five week long back-to-back stint.

Anyway, I've been back about a week and just noticed I had won an item and not paid for it yet, today was the last day of the unpaid item case and I went ahead and paid the full amount.

It turned out the seller had also sent me a message on eBay telling me they had opened a claim in small claims court yesterday for the £12.50 for the item + £9 (wasted time costs) + the court fees (£25 in this case??). I'm guessing the total for all of this would £50-60.

I really don't want a CCJ over £12.50, this will really reduce my chance of becoming a first time home owner. I paid the £10 charge for the CCJ checks and couldn't see anything outstanding. I will wait to see if any mail arrives from the court.

I've read that if I paid the amount instantly when the letter arrives I won't get anything on my record, is this correct?

Does anyone have experience with this? Any idea how long the letter would take to arrive?

This is kind of nuts seeing as I've _acutally_ paid for the item via eBay already, its just about 12 days late. After having used eBay for about 13 years I've never encountered this, I will really think again before bidding from now on.

Thanks for the advice

Did you receive a letter before action of any kind?

I can't believe you paid the £10 to check CCJs!!

The seller could have opened a non paying buyer much earlier but didn't, so you have paid in full within the deadline.

The seller has NO CLAIM whatsoever against you and is bull sh*tting. If he is stupid enough to claim, you should respond stating that you paid within the eBay timeframe, then counterclaim your own expenses.

I'm assuming this is not a regular seller?

shadytrade

pinkshoes wrote: »

Did you receive a letter before action of any kind?

I can't believe you paid the £10 to check CCJs!!

The seller could have opened a non paying buyer much earlier but didn't, so you have paid in full within the deadline.

The seller has NO CLAIM whatsoever against you and is bull sh*tting. If he is stupid enough to claim, you should respond stating that you paid within the eBay timeframe, then counterclaim your own expenses.

I'm assuming this is not a regular seller?

I can't believe you paid the £10 to check CCJs!!

I get very worried about anything negative on my credit history, as I am hoping to buy my first house in about 2-3 years.

Did you receive a letter before action of any kind?

Not yet, they claimed to have opened the request on Friday. After I paid for the item they said they would contact the court to see if they could stop the claim but they 'would not be responsible' for any of the fee(s) they owed.

They could have been lying as they did change their tune after I paid. Before payment they said they were going to wait for the court to receive their money and that they would not send the item until the court tells them too. They also told me not to pay via Paypal and if I sent them the money it would be classed 'as a gift'.

After payment they said they would 'talk to the court reception to see if the claim against you can be withdrawn and it is unlikely that there will be zero cost'. They also said they will post the item on Monday.

The seller did open a non-paying bidder request, but I paid within that timeline.

I'm assuming this is not a regular seller?

Actually they have 500+ feedback.

What's weird about this is I have some good sellers that I deal with abroad, in France and the US and they are much more lenient, I.E they are happy to wait until an agreed time for me to pay because I buy in bulk on a regular basis.

Rach1509

wrong thread reply

unholyangel

If your girlfriend is a solicitor, why on earth are you asking here?

Your gf should have told you by now that:
1) Even if you went to court and lost, no ccj would be recorded against you if you paid within the time given by the court (usually a month)
2) That due to the seller not sending a LBA, even if you lost you'd be able to ask for the judge to award costs against the seller because they have not complied with pre-action protocol in line with the Civil Procedure Rules
3) That he can't claim for wasted time
4) That legal aid is extremely hard to get nowadays, certainly for a claim like this
5) You can only recover fixed legal costs in small claims. The claim needs to exceed £25 in order to claim fixed legal costs and this claim doesn't exceed that amount.

If the seller isn't a private individual selling off old personal goods, it was buy it now and the goods are not exempt, why not just cancel under the CCRs.

glider3560

They're clearly a chancer. Going to court for £12.50 is ridiculous, especially since they are still in possession of the item. And to add on "time wasted" is also nonsense.

As others have said, don't worry about CCJs or your credit record. The CCJ only stays on record if: a) the case goes to court, and b) you lose, and c) you don't pay within the time ordered by the court.

unholyangel wrote: »

why not just cancel under the CCRs.

Just to be a PITA to the seller, I would recommend this and send the item back, if it isn't too expensive to do so. Then they'll have to refund the full item cost, and be out of pocket for the outbound postage charge.

steampowered

It sounds unlikely that this person has actually issued a small claim.

I wouldn't worry about it, until such point as you actually receive a claim.