Buyer is saying I misrepresented the item I sold him

cdwordy

I recently sold an item via Facebook Marketplace and the buyer checked it over before making payment.  He has now contacted me to say it is misrepresented.  The faults he is saying it has would have been visible when he checked it over and he didn’t try it to check it worked to his satisfaction being paying the money.  He is threatening the small claims court, unless I am prepared to pay almost £500 for a repair.  Does he have any case?

The_Unready

Not if you are a private seller and he had the opportunity to check the item prior to him picking it up (I'm assuming he did pick it up, rather than you posting it?).

Wonka_2

'Item' and 'faults' are very broad brushes in this case - especially where £500 is also involved. Is it a £10k item with small physical damage that could be repaired to bring it to A1 condition or is it a £500 item that's worthless because a certain function doesn't work ?

Given you're suggesting the fault would have been visible had he checked it were you aware of it and did you declare it ? 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Private or business sale?

How does the advert compare to the faults the buyer is noting?

If you are a private seller then omitting information is fine but stating something that's not correct isn't.

So if an ad said "TV for sale" and it doesn't work my understanding is that would be OK and the fact you omitted it was broken is OK but if it says "TV for sale, perfect working order" and it doesn't work that wouldn't be OK as it doesn't match the description. 

cdwordy

It was a private sale. Buyer picked it up, checked it over, said it was fine and paid money by bank transfer.  It was a saxophone, which he paid over £1000 for.  He is claiming the pads are completely destroyed, which they are not, as my son passed two grade 8’s on this, something he would not be able to do if the pads were not of good quality, which is how I described them on the advert.  He is disputing the good condition I described them as, even though he could have checked each pad over himself before purchasing it. I know for a fact that two pads were changed at the last service and that complete change of pads is a once in a lifetime event (doing this would put the sax back into as new if not better condition than when new).  He said bell was twisted and then in a later message said it was the neck which was twisted.  My sons professional sax teacher says that he never felt there was an issue with any of the pads or any twisting of any parts.  The buyer asked me if it played from top to bottom, which I said it did, as it would not have gone my son to grade 8 otherwise.  Getting to the lower notes is not easy on a sax and requires a high level of competence.  Again this is something the buyer was able to test before purchasing if they wished.  I have advertised the sax correctly to my knowledge.  Buyer has not given me any evidence of this work that he has been told needs doing and is just demanding money.  

tightauldgit

Possibly just a bit of buyer's remorse - if you are satisfied that the item is as described then I would probably just let him pursue his small claims action if that's what they want to do. I think it's always worthwhile to politely reply saying you are sorry that they aren't happy with what they bought but that you believe the item is as described and that they had the opportunity to inspect the item on collection and were happy with it. 

I would imagine 9/10 threats of court are empty threats so probably nothing would come of it. If they do go to court then it would be up to them to show that you are in the wrong. Of course terms like 'good condition' are entirely subjective anyway so quite hard to enforce and I think it's quite a high bar to prove a private seller was deliberately misleading in an advert. 

I think I'd just very politely fob them off and leave the ball in their court. 

GadgetGuru

The fact that you are a private seller, and the fact that this was a private sale whereby the buyer inspected the item before purchase, means there is no recourse for the buyer. The item is in effect 'sold as seen'. 
If the buyer did not check everything over properly when they had the opportunity then that's his problem. He had the chance to do so and decided not to. 

Small claims court is most likely a threat. Inform him you are happy to go to court if need be (you can always get statements from the professional teacher who inspected the unit beforehand).

What you need to be careful of is any chargebacks. I understand it was a bank transfer so not sure what the process is, but I do believe he could go to his bank and ask for advice RE a chargeback?

tightauldgit

Highly unlikely a bank would reverse a bank transfer because you're unhappy with what you bought. 

soolin

IftiBashir said:

The fact that you are a private seller, and the fact that this was a private sale whereby the buyer inspected the item before purchase, means there is no recourse for the buyer. The item is in effect 'sold as seen'. 
If the buyer did not check everything over properly when they had the opportunity then that's his problem. He had the chance to do so and decided not to. 

Small claims court is most likely a threat. Inform him you are happy to go to court if need be (you can always get statements from the professional teacher who inspected the unit beforehand).

What you need to be careful of is any chargebacks. I understand it was a bank transfer so not sure what the process is, but I do believe he could go to his bank and ask for advice RE a chargeback?

No you can’t chargeback a bank transfer, it’s basically the same as sending cash.