Could do with some legal advice regarding a transaction

Soldato
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I'll keep this short and to the point initially...

I listed some items on ebay. Someone contacted me saying that if they did not sell they would be willing to give me XXX for these items as a one off outside of ebay transaction. They did not sell at auction and hence we delt outside of ebay. I said I did not want to use paypal due to fees, and they agreed and used bank transfer. I sent the items to them. They are now saying they want a full refund because the items are not up to scratch. (The items are fine obviously). At no point did I suggest (even in the ebay listing) that I do returns especially given the nature of these items. They are sending threatening emails suggesting they are going to take legal action if I do not refund them the full amount. (They are in posession of the goods still). They have my name/mobile number/bank transfer details (don't think they have my address though, but worryingly they have my work address and are claiming that they are going to write to my work informing them that I used them to pay for the courier. I did not do this, I used work as collection address only and paid for it all myself.).

What can I expect? We dealt outside of ebay and paypal remember.

Cheers
 
Soldato
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The person is complaining about an item being secondhand (i.e. slight marks) when it's second hand surprisingly. I can assure I have been completely legit throughout and have 100% positive ebay feedback since like 2002. I'd rather not give out loads of details about it in case anything "legal" comes of it. I sold them as "good to very good condition" considering age and they obviously disagree. I completely dispute their claims to the "poor" condition.
 
Soldato
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Firstly - don't sell outside of Ebay.

To be honest, I would have had more hassle going VIA ebay or paypal here I think though. They tend to stick up for buyers to the point where the seller is labelled as guilty straight away with money being taken back out of your account using paypal. This is NOT why I went outside of ebay deliberately though. In fact, it was more them that instigated it.
 
Soldato
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He won't take legal action.

Assuming they try to start something along the lines of legal proceedings....what can I actually expect worst case? A letter askng me to come to small claims court? (Not sure how all this stuff works to be honest as never had anything like this.). I'm just a bit concerned for the well fare of my family.
 
Soldato
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Worst he can do is take you to small claims court, if your interpretation of good condition is agreed with by the judge you have nothing to worry about.

Got any pictures of it before you sent it? Could help if he tries any funny business.

Chances of anything at all happening though are pretty slim, he knows he is on thin ice and is trying to bully you into doing what he wants. Typical buyers remorse.
 
Soldato
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Worst he can do is take you to small claims court, if your interpretation of good condition is agreed with by the judge you have nothing to worry about.

Got any pictures of it before you sent it? Could help if he tries any funny business.

Chances of anything at all happening though are pretty slim, he knows he is on thin ice and is trying to bully you into doing what he wants. Typical buyers remorse.

I have high res pictures of all items but I'm not sure any picture is going to show the condition fully as to the bits they are complaining about.
 
Soldato
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Why don't you ask them to return the item(s) to yourself and when you are in receipt of them, you will initiate the refund?

Because they didn't sell on ebay and I don't want the hassle of reselling them with fees etc, and just wanted to get rid of the items (like any seller would). I listed these items at considerable time and expense for myself and due to the nature of the items I do not want them back having them been in the hands of someone else. I know this may sound dodgey, but I'm really not. It;s just the nature of the sale.
 
Soldato
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Buyer beware really in that case - as good as buying something advertised in a post office window, etc.

Can he actually take legal though through small claims court and let a judge decide? But he could have ruined the product by now and it would be your word (+ any photographic evidence of no scratches etc) against his. In which case, it really depends how far he wants to go.

Edit: answered above.
 
Soldato
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The amount the person paid was under £100 just to put this in perspective. Assuming they follow up their threat with contacting ebay, I would assume ebay would ban us both for trading outside of ebay, if they got involved at all that is? The other person also has 100% feedback with a score of over 50 positive so it's not like they have nothing to lose.
 

bum

bum

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ebay won't ban you. ebay will not take any responsbilities for trading happened outside ebay, let along ban you for trading outside ebay.

The best thing for you to do is ask them to send back the item, and if it's still in the original condition, refund the buyer. This way, both of you would be happy.
 
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