Legal advice regarding regarding Ebay sale/purchase

[It's a me]

Hi all,

I've just received a letter from a seller on Ebay, with regards to me not completing on an auction in which I won.

I was bidding on a few cars at the time and ended up winning one, I then performed an Hpi check and found out the car was previously an insurance write off.
With this information, I contacted the seller to say I would not be completing as I was not aware of this fact. (I know as a private seller, they don't have to declare this fact unless asked)

From what I gather, the letter is stating that if I do not complete on the listing, the seller is going to take me to small claims court, and make me complete. The seller is also stating Ebay listings are legally binding.
I'm sure all sales of Motor vehicles are excluded from this.

Unfortunately I'm not in possession of the letter to give the full details, I will update with what it says later.

Any information greatly appreciated, I'm of the opinion the seller hasn't a leg to stand on but could be wrong.


Vehicle cost is just over £2000

[JustinP1]

What's he taking you to court for exactly?

Specific performance of the contract? The Judge would laugh at him, and probably advise on being more honest in future.

And that would be your home court too. You can make him come to you.

So it won't happen.

[10 Pence Short]

If the purchase was contingent on a satisfactory HPI check, why didn't you ask the seller about the history before placing the bid?

If they told the truth you may have chosen not to place the bid and if he lied you would have a route to cancelling the transaction.

[magnum555]

Not sure what the legal implications are but surely asking the right questions beforehand would have given you all of the information not to bid on the car.

[robinessex]

Tell him to go fk himself

[Amused2death]

Ebay motors bids are NOT binding.

IIRC It does state that somewhere in their T&C's

[It's a me]

I'd not asked (stupidly I admit) as it was a last minute decision to bid, the seller claimed not to know about it's history, but had apparently bought the car from a dealer so I find this hard to believe.

I'll update on the reason for taking me to court when I see the letter.

[Randomthoughts]

Amused2death said:

Ebay motors bids are NOT binding.

IIRC It does state that somewhere in their T&C's

This.

http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/non-binding-bi...

Whilst yes, you should be asking these questions before proceeding, you are covered for such things as eBay are aware of the ability to photograph a vehicle 'well' to hide any relevant damage. Pertinent point is the second paragraph:

eBay said:

All bids made in the Real Estate and eBay Motors vehicles categories are considered non-binding

[ging84]

Has the seller been through the ebay process for a non paying bidder with you, that would need to be the first step, if they haven't done that i'd expect the court to tell them to jog on.
I'm not sure anyone can take you to court and force you to buy a car, only to recover the loss they have suffered through you braking your agreement to purchase it.
Through ebay after reporting a non paying bidder there are 2 things you can normally do, you can do a 2nd chance offer to any non winning bidders, and you can re-list the item for free.

[ging84]

Randomthoughts said:

eBay said:

All bids made in the Real Estate and eBay Motors vehicles categories are considered non-binding

I'm not sure this is correct the link you provided is ebay.com, here is a link to ebay.co.uk

http://sellercentre.ebay.co.uk/non-binding-bid-pol...

where it says " Certain eBay listings involve non-binding bids, such as items listed in Property and eBay Motors classified listings "

[It's a me]

The seller hasn't been through any of the non paying bidder processes. I'd have happily paid for the listing fee as way of apology. Obviously the seller wants more.

[Snowboy]

It's been said.
But I'll just add another voice.

Ebay car auctions are nit legally binding.
Tell him to bugger off.


Incidently, no ebay auction is legally binding in the way that you MUST buy an item you bid on.
The worst you can get is banned from ebay.

[barker22]

The item was not as described, there may well have been a few small stone chips on the bumper which the seller failed to mention in his ad
But as others have said, non binding anyway.

[otherman]

ging84 said:

I'm not sure this is correct the link you provided is ebay.com, here is a link to ebay.co.uk
http://sellercentre.ebay.co.uk/non-binding-bid-pol...

where it says " Certain eBay listings involve non-binding bids, such as items listed in Property and eBay Motors classified listings "

Ebay's T&Cs don't all conform with the law though. There's all sorts of stuff they have in there which contravenes Distance Selling Regs, for instance. There an ongoing legal debate about whether ebay sales are enforceable contracts or not...although so far there have been very few test cases to establish rules one way or the other.
In this case OP I can't see how OP can be forced to pay.

[Whiskeydog]

If the seller wanted a "hassle free" sale, he should of declared it being a previous write off. I can fully understand the OP not doing an hpi check prior to winning the car, he'd of wasted his money if someone else won the auction.

[10 Pence Short]

I don't think it's a legal question as much as a decency one.

It seems pretty naff to bid on an item with the intention of following through only if the items pass an arbitrary test after agreement to purchase has been made.

If I were a seller I'd be pretty miffed, too.

[3Dee]

Chill!

The seller is obviously chancing his arm! ..and he knows he is rumbled. There is nothing he can legally do anyway.

For the cost of sending a letter, he is gambling on you rolling over due to his threat of legal action, and you making an offer of money to make him go away!

Then he would make a nice fat profit and get to keep the car. Bet he has done this before.

Let him chunter on! You may even get more letters and threats of action, so just put them to one side, and if he starts getting abusive, or harasses you, you can then use this against him.

For completeness, I would now raise a seller complaint with Ebay if what you say is true, thus cutting him off at the pass, so-to-speak, just in case he tries to get a black mark on to your Ebayers record!

On another point, due to the instantaneous nature of ebay bidding, I would suggest that it is not reasonable nor essential for the buyer to have to complete exhaustive enquiries on any vehicle they are bidding for. It is entirely reasonable to presume that the vehicle is 'as described' with no major 'issue' affecting it's value or desirability to the purchaser. It is also reasonable to expect the purchaser to conduct such enquiries immediately after winning the bid.

Was he a trader or a private individual selling the car?

Either way, I would have expected the seller to have done his own checks when purchasing said vehicle himself (unless the write-off happened whilst in his possession!), therefore he must have known! If he didn't, then it is his problem not yours.

Edited by 3Dee on Tuesday 16th April 14:03

[anonymous-user]

10 Pence Short said:

I don't think it's a legal question as much as a decency one.

It seems pretty naff to bid on an item with the intention of following through only if the items pass an arbitrary test after agreement to purchase has been made.

If I were a seller I'd be pretty miffed, too.

Seems pretty 'naff', not to say dishonest, to try to flog a car without mentioning the rather significant fact that it had been written off.

[7db]

Tell him to bring his action. Regardless of whether this advice is best for you, it is more entertaining for us.

[Jaroon]

10 Pence Short said:

I don't think it's a legal question as much as a decency one.

It seems pretty naff to bid on an item with the intention of following through only if the items pass an arbitrary test after agreement to purchase has been made.

If I were a seller I'd be pretty miffed, too.

Do you sell alot of cat d cars without mentioning this fact in the advert, only to be "let down" when a successful bidder, who carries out a bit of due diligency (a HPI check is not arbitary) only to find they are being lied to by omission or at best buying from someone who failed to do their own due diligency?

As stated ebay motors are non binding so don't waste everyones time and money by trying to pull a fast one. I suppose it occasionally works or they wounldn't try it on.


Edited as I'm dyslexic and my first draft read "lied to by emission" which is even worse!!

Edited by Jaroon on Tuesday 16th April 14:42

Edited by Jaroon on Tuesday 16th April 14:44