Consumer Rights in a Private Transaction?? Confused!

efunc

Hello all, to cut a long story short I bought a £60 car part off a private seller on an internet forum on December the 14th and paid with PayPal. 2 months later it still hasn't arrived. After filing a complaint Paypal decided in my favour.

HOWEVER, Paypal are unable to recover any funds from the seller's account because it’s empty, and as far as they’re concerned the matter is now closed! (FWIW, Paypal state in the User Agreement that recovery of funds associated with a Buyer Complaint (not on eBay) cannot be guaranteed but is on a 'best effort' basis. ie they will do nothing!)

The seller in question informs me that the item has been lost in the post, but that he did not personally loose it and will not issue a refund and as far as he is concerned the matter is closed (he didn't keep any receipts and says he cannot even claim the £34 compensation from the royal mail, nor did he send it recorded delivery or insure it for it’s full value!).

My first question is, does the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumer Regulations 2002 apply to private sellers? According to this "the goods remain at the seller’s risk until they are delivered to the consumer. Thus the supplier is liable should the goods not arrive." Furthermore "If no date is specified, delivery of goods must be within 30 days of the order. If they don't arrive you are entitled to cancel the order and receive a full refund." If this applies to him I can pursue him through legal action.


I wish to take him to court to recover my money but I’m thoroughly confused about what rights, if any, are applicable to consumers buying goods from Private Sellers on the internet. I assumed that the above statutes will still apply in my case, but I can find no confirmation anywhere. Does anyone have a link to relevant Acts I need to cite on the Small Claims N1 form? Will any case be laughed out of court?? I’m getting somewhat worried about this now.

Thanks all for reading this far. All advice is welcome.

Blacksheep1979

sale of goods act etc applies in so much as the goods have to be as described. Even if this was a company doing the selling this is not covered by the sale of goods act more by simple contract law - you've paid for something and not received it. If you have the guys address and proof of the deal ie emails/messages from the forum I'd be writing to him explaining that you want your money or the part and if he fails to do so within a reasonable period of time you're going to have to go through the small claims court (with possible additional costs to him)

efunc

Thanks for that. Common sense would suggest he is liable for something, however I'm trying to identify the specific statutes that he has violated, if any. I'm getting conflicting info about whether it's Sale and Supply of Goods or Fraud or something else.

I know the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumer Regulations 2002 does apply to private transactions, but I can only find reference to 'goods not as described' ie from car boot sales, etc, but not for something that was never even received.

peter_the_piper

Have you contacted Paypal to find out if they can help in anyway? Tha SOG act does not apply to private sales but PP might be able to help. Did you fund PP from credit card? if so a chargeback may be possible.

pinkshoes

efunc wrote: »

The seller in question informs me that the item has been lost in the post, but that he did not personally loose it and will not issue a refund and as far as he is concerned the matter is closed (he didn't keep any receipts and says he cannot even claim the £34 compensation from the royal mail, nor did he send it recorded delivery or insure it for it’s full value!).

You've paid for something, and not received it. It's the seller's responsibility to prove that you signed for it, and until it arrives at your address and is signed for, it's the seller's responsibility to track this parcel.

If it's got lost in the post, then the seller should give you a refund and claim back the value of the item through the royal mail. If it was worth £60, then it should have been sent via suitable postage method for an item of this value. If he didn't do that, or didn't keep the receipt, then that's his problem and not yours.

Email them and tell them that unless you receive a full refund by the end of the week, you'll be taking them to the small claims court.

efunc

peter_the_piper wrote: »

Have you contacted Paypal to find out if they can help in anyway? Tha SOG act does not apply to private sales but PP might be able to help. Did you fund PP from credit card? if so a chargeback may be possible.

The PayPal issue is now a moot point. I have already won my Paypal dispute against the seller, but dispite that Paypal won't actually refund my payment. I funded the payment from my existing Paypal funds and as stated in the PayPal User Agreement, "recovery of funds associated with a Buyer Complaint cannot be guaranteed." They tell me that they will make their best effort to recover the funds in question if they become available in the seller's account in the future, but that the matter is now closed. ie They will do absolutely nothing. :mad:

efunc

pinkshoes wrote: »

Email them and tell them that unless you receive a full refund by the end of the week, you'll be taking them to the small claims court.

Unfortunately they are no longer responding to emails or private messages. However, after a few days of investigation I have revealed the sellers real name, his address and phone number. So I will write him a letter sent recorded delivery. I intend to fill in the N1 ready for filing, and send him a copy advising him that unless he pays up within 14 days, the next communication from me will be the same, but through the courts.

The problem I have is that the N1 form is a legal document and I need to present a clear case citing the specific statute that he has violated under common law and the legal precedent for this.

This is where I'm stuck because I don't know what area of the law he has violated.

Vomityspice

He has violated contract law.

You had a contract to purchase the item (£60), you paid and did not receive the item. You now wish to repudiate the contract (i.e. get your money back!)
That should do it!

Blacksheep1979

sod what law he's broken - just plainly set out in a letter what he's done and what you expect, if you have to go down the small claims court route simply put what happened ie you paid and didn't receive the item - you don't have to go quoting laws in the small claims court.