EBay - Seller taking me to small claims

Teacup269

I bought a tv on eBay for £400 (RRP £1000) It arrived mostly fine but realised one of the screws was loose when I mounted it to the wall. Left it for a few days before realising I wanted to return it. Opened a not as described case and the seller disputed this as I had already told them it had been mounted to the wall and sent photos showing this. We failed to reach an agreement and I asked eBay to intervene. EBay decided in my favour and refunded me from the sellers account. Time has elapsed and the seller didn’t send an eBay retrurn label in time and so eBay closed the refund request. The seller got a bit panicked and they tried to send a separate Evri courier pick up which I ignored. I’ve now got the tv and refund and eBay haven’t told me I need to give both back. I received a letter before action from the seller saying they intend to take me to court. This feels like an empty threat but want to get others views as to what I should do. Does the seller have a compelling case?   

fwor

The TV is their property, not yours. It will never become yours. It's not an empty threat, but whether they will think it's worth pursuing is anyone's guess. Why do you want to keep the TV when clearly it doesn't belong to you?

elsien

Teacup269 said:

I bought a tv on eBay for £400 (RRP £1000) It arrived mostly fine but realised one of the screws was loose when I mounted it to the wall. Left it for a few days before realising I wanted to return it. Opened a not as described case and the seller disputed this as I had already told them it had been mounted to the wall and sent photos showing this. We failed to reach an agreement and I asked eBay to intervene. EBay decided in my favour and refunded me from the sellers account. Time has elapsed and the seller didn’t send an eBay retrurn label in time and so eBay closed the refund request. The seller got a bit panicked and they tried to send a separate Evri courier pick up which I ignored. I’ve now got the tv and refund and eBay haven’t told me I need to give both back. I received a letter before action from the seller saying they intend to take me to court. This feels like an empty threat but want to get others views as to what I should do. Does the seller have a compelling case?   

The phrase having your cake and eating it comes to mind.
Any particular reason why you feel you’re entitled to a free TV? And is it now back up on your wall by any chance? 

Ms_Chocaholic

Opening an item as not described for a loose screw !!

I'm with the seller on this one. You can't have the TV and the refund. To avoid going to small claims court you need to give one back.

Keep_pedalling

Thanks for reminding me why I don’t sell anything on eBay anymore. Either get the TV back or give back the money. If you do the latter also buy yourself a screwdriver. 

If this goes to the small claims court you are going to loose. 

savergrant

"The seller got a bit panicked and they tried to send a separate Evri courier pick up which I ignored"
You requested a return and when ebay ruled in your favour you refused to hand back the goods when the seller arranged to collect them. 

soolin

Both you and the seller are at fault here , but you can rectify it.

Seller should have responded to the case, letting it time out was very foolish on their behalf and this would have all been a non issue if they had arranged for item to be collected when the dispute was open. They could then have appealed against the ebay decision whilst at the same time have the TV back in their possession. A business seller in good standing may well have won an appeal if the SNAD was frivolous, but even if they hadn't, they would at least have the TV.

However you refusing to hand the TV over when a courier was sent has not helped at all and personally I would now go back to the seller and offer to have the TV ready for them to send another courier. You don't have to get it back for them, but you need to show you have worked with them to allow collection, if you no longer have the box mention that to the seller as well so they can make arrangements for the courier to bring something.

messia07

you got a refund. It’s time to return the item.

 imagine the roles were reversed, wouldn’t you be unhappy if you were forced to give a £400 refund and the buyer was refusing to return the item? 

NotArobot24

If this was a sale from a company then they might have had an obligation to pay for collection, a loose screw is something you could have invented and very hard to prove. According to you It did not stop the TV from working but somehow you won an ebay ruling.

It seems to me you are blocking the return and if it were me I would not only take you to small claims court for return of money but for any deterioration or consequential loss, including the cost of the EVRI which you refused. 

It is not your product, you have been refunded, you have no rights to the good but you do have a duty of care to keep them in good condition.

soolin

NotArobot24 said:

If this was a sale from a company then they might have had an obligation to pay for collection, a loose screw is something you could have invented and very hard to prove. According to you It did not stop the TV from working but somehow you won an ebay ruling.

It seems to me you are blocking the return and if it were me I would not only take you to small claims court for return of money but for any deterioration or consequential loss, including the cost of the EVRI which you refused. 

It is not your product, you have been refunded, you have no rights to the good but you do have a duty of care to keep them in good condition.

In eBay if a seller wins an SNAD case, and doesn’t let it time out like the seller in this instance , then seller always 
has to pay for return. 

sonearandyetsofa

At £400 they likely feel it's well worth the ~£50 court fee to get either their money or their property back, and they do have a good case as you're not entitled to a free TV. If they file and they're successful they might also be able to reclaim the cost of filing the case. I think they stand a good chance of success, there's no legal route that would entitle you to the TV unless they forgot about it for over 6 years - which they clearly haven't.