Why can't sellers be honest
Discussion
Have bought a few cars off Ebay and never had any trouble until this last one.
Saw a nice Audi 80 V6 cab in an Ebay auction - too far away to view before auction end so contacted the seller and asked lots of questions, especially about dents, scratches and general bodywork condition. Get assurances that there was one 1p size ding on o/s front arch and a tiny blemish on o/s rear wing.
Bid on the car and won it, paid £250 deposit by bank transfer (big mistake I know) and drove the 120 miles last Sunday with the balance and to collect the car. The ding was like a fist sized crater and the blemish was in fact a 2" by 2" lump of rust that had been crudely touched in and there was also rust around at least 1/2 the edge of the rear arch.
Told him there and then I was not buying and he apologised for the inconvenience and promised to refund the £250.
Now he is saying that I entered into a legally binding contract, he is getting an inspection of the areas of dispute by his local Audi dealer and he is going to sue me. I'm sure the damage is easily repairable but I think the outcome rests on whether its seen as a blemish or a sodding great scab of rust.
By my reckoning he broke any contract by initially not being honest with his description so I have put a claim in via Money Claim Online this morning, the £250 plus £25 fees and interest at £0.13 per day.
I clearly demonstrated intent to purchase by arriving at the agreed time with the balance to complete the transaction - surely the only reason I wuld not complete the purchase is if there was something wrong with the car. The person who is selling the car said that I was obviously "iffy" and clearly had no intention of buying - so that is obviously why I paid £250 deposit and made a 240 mile round trip then
Can see this one dragging on and fully expecting him to lodge a counterclaim. In the past I'd have marked down to bad luck and let it go but this time I'm standing my ground.
Saw a nice Audi 80 V6 cab in an Ebay auction - too far away to view before auction end so contacted the seller and asked lots of questions, especially about dents, scratches and general bodywork condition. Get assurances that there was one 1p size ding on o/s front arch and a tiny blemish on o/s rear wing.
Bid on the car and won it, paid £250 deposit by bank transfer (big mistake I know) and drove the 120 miles last Sunday with the balance and to collect the car. The ding was like a fist sized crater and the blemish was in fact a 2" by 2" lump of rust that had been crudely touched in and there was also rust around at least 1/2 the edge of the rear arch.
Told him there and then I was not buying and he apologised for the inconvenience and promised to refund the £250.
Now he is saying that I entered into a legally binding contract, he is getting an inspection of the areas of dispute by his local Audi dealer and he is going to sue me. I'm sure the damage is easily repairable but I think the outcome rests on whether its seen as a blemish or a sodding great scab of rust.
By my reckoning he broke any contract by initially not being honest with his description so I have put a claim in via Money Claim Online this morning, the £250 plus £25 fees and interest at £0.13 per day.
I clearly demonstrated intent to purchase by arriving at the agreed time with the balance to complete the transaction - surely the only reason I wuld not complete the purchase is if there was something wrong with the car. The person who is selling the car said that I was obviously "iffy" and clearly had no intention of buying - so that is obviously why I paid £250 deposit and made a 240 mile round trip then
Can see this one dragging on and fully expecting him to lodge a counterclaim. In the past I'd have marked down to bad luck and let it go but this time I'm standing my ground.
As far as I know you will not have to buy the car if it is not as described. This wording is a little ambiguous as one persons "slight blemish" might be a fist sized hole to another.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's a legally binding contract when you win on Ebay Motors. I think different rules apply to motors than other items.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's a legally binding contract when you win on Ebay Motors. I think different rules apply to motors than other items.
bmw535i said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's a legally binding contract when you win on Ebay Motors. I think different rules apply to motors than other items
^^^this. Definitely 100% correct.
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/non-binding-...
calibrax said:
Thought this but my employers computer system wouldn't let me go on Ebay during work hours to confirm 
TBH it's not really a legally binding contract to buy ANYTHING on eBay because the reality is that it's impossible (in practical terms) to force someone to pay for something they don't want anymore.
As for your MoneyClaim - if he contests your claim (likely) he's also likely to ask that it be heard at this local court and not yours (that's how it works - the defendant gets to choose the location) so be prepared to travel for that too.
Then be prepared for him not to show up!!
Also - be prepared for any judgement you get to be rather hard to collect.
e.g. Hopefully the thick brown envelope containing a legal demand will be enough to make him return your cash.
As for your MoneyClaim - if he contests your claim (likely) he's also likely to ask that it be heard at this local court and not yours (that's how it works - the defendant gets to choose the location) so be prepared to travel for that too.
Then be prepared for him not to show up!!
Also - be prepared for any judgement you get to be rather hard to collect.
e.g. Hopefully the thick brown envelope containing a legal demand will be enough to make him return your cash.
calibrax said:
I love their choice of example - which basically focusses on eBay not returning fees and not the Seller having their time and money wasted.They could be a BIT more subtle about how they don't give a f
k about sellers, couldn't they?bmw535i said:
As far as I know you will not have to buy the car if it is not as described. This wording is a little ambiguous as one persons "slight blemish" might be a fist sized hole to another.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's a legally binding contract when you win on Ebay Motors. I think different rules apply to motors than other items.
Yup, distance selling so our PH'er is well within his rights and the seller has to refund the money in full at the next possible convenience.Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's a legally binding contract when you win on Ebay Motors. I think different rules apply to motors than other items.
If the seller is going to sue then they're an even bigger bellend than has already been established. Let them, sit back and laugh.
Thing is 90% of people would describe their car as mint & full history despite there being 1-2 stamps on a 9 year old car and there's scraches, chips and dog hair all over it.
Deva Link said:
andy665 said:
Bid on the car and won it, paid £250 deposit by bank transfer (big mistake I know)..
Good on you for admitting it. But what possessed you to not use PayPal?calibrax said:
bmw535i said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's a legally binding contract when you win on Ebay Motors. I think different rules apply to motors than other items
^^^this. Definitely 100% correct.
http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/non-binding-...
We bid and won a Fiat 500, 1970 ish, looked good, seller put "No Rust or Rot", went to pay for it and bring it home and guess what, it had significant bubbling of the paint, crusty edges and generally wasnt a patch, bodily on the claims. I told him straight that I didnt want the car, he argued that I had already bought it and that regardless it was now mine, it was a short argument as I just said that no way was I paying the bes tpart of four grand for a car that was not as described, he argued it was but I had it printed out and showed him the line about "No rust or rot" which was re-iterated a couple more times on the ad, you cant make a selling point out of something that isnt the case.
He asked me to show him the rust I had found, so I did and found some more, it had a respray abotu 5 years ago and was nice and shiny but had loads of bubbles and crazing under the paint which is evidence of rust, paint had broken in a few places, he concurred and we left.
It turned up with a more accurate description and went for a grand less, turned up then fully restored for seven grand.
Basically dont hand over a desposit and get over and look it over, if it isnt as described, walk but be reasonable, some leeway has to be given as not everyone is an expert.
Could all be avoided if peeople were honest and realistic.
He asked me to show him the rust I had found, so I did and found some more, it had a respray abotu 5 years ago and was nice and shiny but had loads of bubbles and crazing under the paint which is evidence of rust, paint had broken in a few places, he concurred and we left.
It turned up with a more accurate description and went for a grand less, turned up then fully restored for seven grand.
Basically dont hand over a desposit and get over and look it over, if it isnt as described, walk but be reasonable, some leeway has to be given as not everyone is an expert.
Could all be avoided if peeople were honest and realistic.
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