Facebook marketplace buyer threatening Small claims court

Avay2018

HI All,

Hope this is the correct forum.

We sold a TV on Facebook marketplace. It was described as "Samsung 40" smart tv"

Description was -

Samsung 40" smart Tv
Complete with black tilt swivel stand
Remote included
Collection Cambuslang

Buyer collected and saw it working including plex app and netflix. She did say she wanted it to work with a Samsung tablet which we told her we where unsure on as our house is all Apple products and had never tried it. She also commented that it looked small (It is a 40" screen).

She now wants a full refund as the tablet doesn't connect to her TV, the stand isn't the original and the plug is a sky branded one and not Samsung. She also says the picture isn't the best but it's fine it's just not 4k.

As well as posting on loads of facebook buy & sell sites saying we are liars and cheats and she has now handed us a letter saying she is taking us to the Scottish small claims court.

The TV was sold for £175 and my wife is now worried about the legal proceedings and possible extra costs.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

RFW

First, I'm not too familiar with Scottish small claims, as I understand it's a bit different to the rest of the UK.

That said I would doubt that you'd end up there, it's more a case of them trying to scare you would be my guess. If it did go to court they'd probably be laughed out, you sold a second hand TV that is working.

If you can, get some legal advice and see if you can threaten to counter sue for libelling you with their public comments.

ThinkingOfLinking

Might it be worth seeing if you can see other items the buyer has bought from Facebook and speaking to those sellers to see if she has done something similar to them?

I'd be going to Citizens Advice too if I were you. Don't be panicking yet though as surely she had the chance to inspect the goods BEFORE paying and taking them away so it's entirely her fault and would be seen this way if it did go somewhere by some miracle?

Brynsam

If she wanted it to work with her tablet, nothing to stop her bringing the tablet with her when she came to view/buy the TV.

Scare tactics. Ignore the suggestion of threatening to counter sue for libel - pure paper tigerism.

jevoudrais

Did she pay cash when she collected it please ?

RFW

Brynsam wrote: »

Scare tactics. Ignore the suggestion of threatening to counter sue for libel - pure paper tigerism.

I'd suggested getting legal advice prior to doing so, Also, if someone is calling the OP a cheat/conman on open Facebook posts then it is libel, unless they have any proof that they are.

jevoudrais

RFW wrote: »

I'd suggested getting legal advice prior to doing so, Also, if someone is calling the OP a cheat/conman on open Facebook posts then it is libel, unless they have any proof that they are.

Is anyone on mse suing facebook ?

Carrot007

Small. Yes modern 40 inches are small. That's because they removed decent speakers to have a small bezel and sell you a soundbar to make up for the crap sound. Not looking forward to replacing my 40 (42?) as I will need at least a 50 to be the same size (front footprint not screen) and a soundbar.

Connecting her tablet. Looking up the make/model will have told her about this. Nothing a £5 dongle won't solve anyway. Well unless she want's to do something unsupported like put up sky go. Though even in that case a cable will usually do the trick. Wireless is just one option.

I doubt she will get anywhere, especially if you take copies of her facebook diatribe, but you could always take it back after an inspection to check she has not damaged it for an easy life. Facebook is a bad place for selling things. People expect Harrods service when shopping in Lidl.