Item not as described, how best to proceed

bluep

Sigh, am a relatively experienced ebayer, but not been in this situation before and want to proceed in the best manner.

I bought and paid for this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=320199100651&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=011

It came without the wall charger, manuals and maps/software on a homemade disc rather than the originals, and no additional 256mb memory card as stated in the auction. Pretty useless to me without these bits to be honest. With a little more exploration, I now see that the seller actually bought it themselves 2 weeks earlier, and just relisted with the same info copied across and then bought themselves another one of the same 5 days before selling this one - DOH.

I paid via paypal from a Mastercard and the auction states they qualify for up to £150 paypal protection (the total cost was £51 plus P&P). So what's best?
a) communicate with seller first to send back and get refund with the risk of them clearing their paypal account?
b) open paypal dispute to claim funds back then contact seller?

I don't really know the right steps in the right order - can someone give me a point in the right direction? I presume if paypal do their usual "not enough funds in the sellers account to refund you" (as they always seem to do when the buyer is in the right lol), then I can go to my credit card company as a last resort?

Many thanks

Mozette

I would say communicate with the seller first - must give them a chance to put it right - and do this via ebay - then open an 'item not as described' dispute.

slipp_digby

always try and resolve it yourself before starting a dispute.

i am not entirely clear, do you want the missing bits so you can use it or a full refund?

i am presuming the seller bought it, found it was incomplete and then decided to 'pass the parcel'?

bluep

Thanks for the replies guys, yep Slipp_digby that sounds just like what he's done. The pocket pc is now of the age where you can't buy the accessories for it, so if it was the case that I could pick up a wall charger from ebay and they sent me a memory card for it, I'd consider just a partical refund, however you can't get the chargers for it anymore plus the map/navigation cd is a copy and this just rings warning bells to me that the software is going to have authentication problems etc...

So really I want to return it for a full refund as I don't think the seller can provide the missing bits and I can't go and buy them for a part reduction.

slipp_digby

firstly he sold to you for what he paid for it (about £50), seller also paid out for a pocket PC mains adaptor which i presume wasnt included.

try and resolve it first. have you contacted the seller?

they will probably offer some money off to try and fob you off. stick to your guns, tell them you want all of the items listed on the auction, although I notice the advert says that there is only 64Mb of memory onboard (nice wording).

i fear the seller is going to refuse and you will need to start a dispute on the basis of 'item not as described'. These can go either way, so make sure when you do this you include all of the reasons why it is not as decribed. as its a used item i would suggest you don't labour points about condition, but do state that the missing accessories make it impossible to use the item.

soolin

Anything particularly stated as being included in the auction should have been received by you. In the first instance contact the seller explain that the auction stated that xx nd xx was included and these are missing and ask that they be sent ASAP or if they are lost to issue a full refund.

bluep

Thanks guys for the replies, I have emailed him with a list of outstanding items and said that as I can see he bought it, knew they were missing and relisted, I was assuming that he didn't have them to forward to me, and to please issue a full refund and I will post back recorded.

I know he sold it on for what he paid for it, however I bought it on the basis of what was included! I've just seen actually that he's changed the description to car charger rather than wall charger...so that knocks that out of the window, but still the fake software discs and no memory card?!

The auction states
"320 mb (64mb onboard and 256mb memory card)" which I read to mean that it included 64mb within the device and the memory card of 256mb - would you think this could reasonably be interpretted the other way?

EDIT: Well, pleasantly suprised here, just got a reply email saying that they will refund me on Friday when they get back home. Fair enough!

Mozette

Result! Brilliant!

bluep

lol yeah..hopefully....(healthy cynicism at this end...)Then again, his recently bought items include not 1 but 2 bibles so maybe he's had a pang of conscience.

molerat

bluep wrote: »

The pocket pc is now of the age where you can't buy the accessories for it, so if it was the case that I could pick up a wall charger from ebay ..... however you can't get the chargers for it anymore ....

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MIO-168-CAR-MAINS-SYNC-USB-CHARGER-3IN1-TRAVEL-KIT_W0QQitemZ160194399286QQihZ006QQcategoryZ48674QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Just one example it uses a standard charging port.

slipp_digby

bluep wrote: »

EDIT: Well, pleasantly suprised here, just got a reply email saying that they will refund me on Friday when they get back home. Fair enough!

communication, the key to society. you ask, you get.

i will cross my fingers, as this may be a fob off.