Ebay buyer wants money back

rs033

I sold an Aga cooker for my Dad in mid-November. The listing said that my Dad had used it for 26 years and was selling it because he had air source heating put in and the Aga ran on oil, so he couldn't use it anymore. It was collected on the 15th November by the buyer. 

On the 10th January I received a message from the buyer saying that it was faulty, and that it had cost the buyer £700 to get it to work properly

We have been going back and forth. My Dad thinks that the buyer is trying it on. The buyer does have an engineers report, but he verbally said that he bought the Aga because he had one the same and his had broken. I can't find any messages saying this, so he must have said it when he collected it. So it is possible that the engineers report could relate to a different item. I sympathise with the buyer (assuming he is genuine), but I think that too much time passed after the purchase before the buyer said there was an issue (almost 2 months), and also he took it upon himself to get it repaired without contacting us. The buyer says he is now taking me to a small claims court. Ebay obviously don't want to know. 

Any advice would be welcome, thanks. 

Alderbank

Established Agas are notoriously difficult to get working again once they have been relocated. A lot of experience and specialist knowledge is needed to take it apart and reassemble it again especially if it has been in use for several years.

Who disconnected, disassembled and actually moved it?

It is quite likely that it was in perfect working condition in your dad's house but the move and subsequent reassembly has damaged it, so it could be true that when the engineer was called to examine it because the new owner could not get it to work he found that substantial repair work was needed.

Assuming you are a private seller, if all the statements you made to the buyer were true at the point of sale, for example 'It has worked OK for 26 years, has never been disturbed and is currently in working order' then you have complied with your legal duties and will be fine.

rollingmoon

I'm assuming the buyer collected it? In that case tell him he can return it to you for a full refund. That'll be the last you hear from him.

Emmia

rollingmoon said:

I'm assuming the buyer collected it? In that case tell him he can return it to you for a full refund. That'll be the last you hear from him.

I wouldn't say this, depending on the sale price it may be worth returning, and the OP then has a broken Aga to dispose of at their cost.

Also it's a private sale.

savergrant

Added to that could you be sure that you'd get the same aga back that you sold? The buyer said they were replacing a faulty one.

soolin

If you are happy that it was not 'oversold' and that no false claims or guarantees were made and buyer collected  then let them take you to small claims. 

Meanwhile take a good screen grab of the original listing and in particular the full item description and what condition it was sold under. Make sure the original sale date and collection date is noted. 

vacheron

Buyers from private sellers have 30 days from the date of delivery to raise a return. Just politely tell them that that time has long since expired.

They also should have contacted you when they recieved the £700 quote, not after the work was completed. This also means that the unit has been modified by the buyer, so even if they did return it it would not be in the same condition that it was when they collected it.

Agree that they are trying it on. Just follow eBay's policies (which constitute the buyers contract of sale) and you will be fine.

pinkshoes

rs033 said:

I sold an Aga cooker for my Dad in mid-November. The listing said that my Dad had used it for 26 years and was selling it because he had air source heating put in and the Aga ran on oil, so he couldn't use it anymore. It was collected on the 15th November by the buyer. 

On the 10th January I received a message from the buyer saying that it was faulty, and that it had cost the buyer £700 to get it to work properly

We have been going back and forth. My Dad thinks that the buyer is trying it on. The buyer does have an engineers report, but he verbally said that he bought the Aga because he had one the same and his had broken. I can't find any messages saying this, so he must have said it when he collected it. So it is possible that the engineers report could relate to a different item. I sympathise with the buyer (assuming he is genuine), but I think that too much time passed after the purchase before the buyer said there was an issue (almost 2 months), and also he took it upon himself to get it repaired without contacting us. The buyer says he is now taking me to a small claims court. Ebay obviously don't want to know. 

Any advice would be welcome, thanks. 

@rs033 Why are you going back and forth?

What is the buyer actually claiming for?

How much did the buyer pay for it? They sell from £100 to £1000+ on eBay second hand.

Was it collected? When was it last running? 

Have you seen the engineers report?

If it was faulty, then the buyer should have contacted you long before getting it fixed if they were planning to take action. Spending £700 on something that cost say £500 would be ridiculous. In which case, you could always say that if the buyer returns the Aga in the condition they bought it, you will refund them the £500 they paid. Do NOT go offering to pay the repair bill!

Or more sensibly state that they bought an Aga that had been used for 26 years as stated in the advert, they inspected the Aga, and were happy with the Aga. They have had the Aga for 4 months, and you will not be paying for any damage that was likely caused in transporting it. 

rs033

Thanks very much for the replies everyone.

@Alderbank I am not actually sure who disconnected it. I don’t want ask my Dad because I don’t want him to know there is a problem, but if it requires any skill to disconnect, then he would have got a professional to do it. He can do basic DIY, but wouldn’t attempt anything complicated. The buyer disassembled and moved it (with several others).

I am  a private seller. The listing description detailed how  old the item was, and that it was working when in use, being sold due to the change of heating system.

@rollingmoon I was tempted to suggest that he return it, but knowing my  luck, he would actually return it!

@soolin thanks for the suggestions. Because the listing is so old, it can’t be viewed on Ebay anymore. Ebay Live Chat sent me all of the text from the description though, and I have the listing date, sale date and collection date. The buyer took a copy of the original listing, so I am sure he will provide it as evidence if he proceeds. 

@pinkshoes I’m not sure why we are going back and forth. I have politely refused a refund multiple times, and each time he increased his efforts (asked nicely, asked nicely but more firmly, threatened to get Ebay involved, threatened small claims court). 

It cost £750. It was a nice colour and in excellent cosmetic condition, so I think that was a fair price. I have no idea why he spent almost the same amount again on a repair without even mentioning anything to me! 

It was collected on the 15th November. I can’t remember when my dad got his new heating, but it was listed on the 8th October, so probably no more than a few weeks before that.

I haven’t even asked to see the engineers report because I don’t believe that I should be refunding the buyer, so I didn't see the point. 

I think that answers everything.  Sorry if I didn’t answer anything. I have read all of the comments and they are very helpful and reassuring.

Thank you very much again. If I don't hear anything back, I will probably forget to update you, but I will definitely update if it goes to court. 

rollingmoon

Emmia said:

rollingmoon said:

I'm assuming the buyer collected it? In that case tell him he can return it to you for a full refund. That'll be the last you hear from him.

I wouldn't say this, depending on the sale price it may be worth returning, and the OP then has a broken Aga to dispose of at their cost.

The buyer claims to have spent £700 getting it repaired; on that basis it seems unlikely that they would further increase their losses by returning a working Aga at their own expense. No, they're trying for a partial refund.

RFW

rs033 said:

The buyer says he is now taking me to a small claims court. Ebay obviously don't want to know. 

Any advice would be welcome, thanks. 

You've had sound advice so far. I doubt they will take you to small claims but people like throwing money away some times and can be unpredictable. The fact that Ebay don't want to know is probably a good thing for you.

Has the buyer asked for anything specific, it seems as though they've said a lot and threatened a lot but not asked for a specific amount. Are they asking for a full refund, the repair charge or something in between?