Sold laptop need some advice.

Soldato
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This reminds me of when I sold our flat in 2005, the girl who bought it from us rang us 12 months later to tell me the toilet wasn't flushing and could I arrange to get it fixed. I started laughing and she got all upperty because she was serious.
 
Caporegime
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This reminds me of when I sold our flat in 2005, the girl who bought it from us rang us 12 months later to tell me the toilet wasn't flushing and could I arrange to get it fixed. I started laughing and she got all upperty because she was serious.
Hahaha amazing how stupid people can be.
 
Associate
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23 Nov 2018
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Bought a gaming laptop for my daughter recently and the guy had wiped it using Windows 10 restore but it had restored to the latest Windows 10 but kept the old Asus gaming center software on and other crap. Needless to say it was slow, freezing and I couldn't right click on the desktop due to the contextual menu not working properly on the latest Windows 10.

Wiped it, rebuilt it and then put throttlestop on and it works great now. God only knows what people would have said to him if they didn't know anything about computers!! They would have said its broken.

Paid 375 for it and it is a 1060 based Asus strix model and I thought I got a good price. 25 quid more for a 1070 I'd be happy with that.

Still need to repaste the gpu and cpu but for now it's not throttling any more and seems to run well.

I'd not even think about asking for a refund on it and I can't believe the cheek of some people! It's unlucky but I deffo wouldn't be giving them any money back as it was sold as seen and he needs to get it fixed himself. Buy brand new or take a chance.
 
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Caporegime
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21 Jun 2006
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38,372
What if he goes to the bank for a chareback and the money gets taken out of my bank? Will I do the same thing?

you can't do a charge back on a bank transfer. only on credit cards.

which is why cash in hand or bank transfer is the only payment method i accept when someone is collecting. i don't even let them send by paypal unless it's paypal gift.

he can't do anything to you.

i'd also say most of the advice here has been spot on. when you sell privately it's sold as seen. you should test or demo anything before buying it. if you don't like it then you shouldn't buy it and walk away. he was happy to buy.

tbh it sounds like the laptop was in a right state. how did you manage to mess up the heatsink and all the screws? you shouldn't ever need to touch either on a laptop.
 
Soldato
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Hahaha amazing how stupid people can be.


Some years ago I had somebody phone me up a month after I had carried out a car service because they got a flat tyre.

Really, seriously!

I laughed too!

(No harm in losing them as a potential future customer, some people simply aren't worth the powder!)
 
Soldato
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31 Dec 2007
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The TARDIS, Wakefield, UK
OP he cant do anything you went above and beyond on the sale. You sold it with no warranty from yourself (you are not a business) so as soon as he walked away from Costa it was solely his responsibility.

Ignore the emails you are getting he cant be that nice if bordering on threats. Also he hasnt done his homework as its not covered by any Consumer acts anyway.
For all you know he has spilt something on it or dropped it.

Move on and forget and dont worry.
 

A2Z

A2Z

Soldato
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Earth
Should have been paid cash. Anyway just tell him you won't be giving any refund as it was sold as seen and it's been 3 months. Then block him. Let him do whatever he wants.
 
Man of Honour
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How would he take me to court not knowing where I live? Do the court just track me down?
No he needs an address (probably fairly easy to find though using various searches if he knows your name).

Let him take you to court. He will get laughed at.
 
Associate
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How would he take me to court not knowing where I live? Do the court just track me down?

Honestly OP, you need to listen to what everyone here is telling you. The sale was sold as seen, no warranty has been implied or should even be expected in such circumstances. It sucks that his battery is degraded now but I purchased a used laptop and had to replace the battery because it wouldn't last more than 20 minutes and that issue wasn't even advertised and I could have probably chased it but life is too short! It's not that expensive to replace and as others have said it has been 3 months since the purchase date which reinforces the point further that this is absolutely ridiculous.

You say he seems like a nice guy but resorting to threats of Consumer Law and Charge Backs does not make him sound like a decent person, often people like this resort to such threats without any knowledge or desire to actually see them through. And for info, unless you are trading as a business and the purchase was made via a credit card these conditions literally do not apply under any circumstance. He could try a small claims court settlement, as is the right of any person, however it would almost certainly be laughed out of court, you are in a strong position.

The fact that you are posting here and sharing your worries evidences the fact you are likely to be a decent person but unfortunately there are people out there who are chancers and will try to push their luck and force people to resolve their problems. I'd suggest telling him what you have already been told and blocking him. You will not face any legal recourse if what you have told us is accurate. The guy is a douche, you also deserve a medal for a 3 hour demo of a laptop that is not normal and he is probably working that angle that you are a good person to try and screw you further.
 
Soldato
OP
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Chadderton, Oldham
I just feel bad because I did sell a product that wasn't in full working order, but I did disclose what was wrong and also quoted him to repair costs, I just did not take on the repair quote from Mendit UK myself as I felt rather than stress with it all I'll cut my losses and sell it as seen, and kept lowering the price I was selling it.

There was a new issue that was listed in the description, I literally spilt a drop of coffee on the keyboard and it took out a section, I spent hours trying to fix it and it ended up one key dead, but I also fully disclosed this to him in the 3 hours and he was happy with the laptop, paid me the funds and went off, still have the FB messages from prior to the sale also.

I'm not too worried, just it's annoying, I don't like been labeled as a con man or told I'm screwing someone over, I sold it in good faith and then he expects me to provide after sales support and replacement parts.
 
Permabanned
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Like you've just said though you sold it in good faith, was extremely honest with him and let him test it for 3 hours too. I don't know of anyone who would willingly let someone test something for so long so hats off for that.

Whilst it's a shame it needs a new battery after a short time of him owning the laptop it's his laptop so so it's his responsibility to repair it.

And as long as you know you didn't con him then that's all that matters. What he thinks doesn't matter as he bought it knowing of it's faults and batteries are not expected to last forever either way.
 
Soldato
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London
Chargeback likely wouldn't apply here since that's for credit card payments, not cash on hand. It's regarding reversal of transactions and there wasn't a transaction using the bank here, so there's nothing to reverse.

From memory, so please don't take this as the final word - consumer law DOES apply. However, only for things that are not as described. If you sold it as fully working, and it clearly wasn't, then you would still be liable. From what you've said though, you were completely up front about all the issues etc., so you'd be fine.A business needs to ensure that the item isn't faulty and 'fit for purpose', but a consumer sale only needs to look at whether or not the item was as described. I know that definitley the position under the Sale of Goods Act. I *think* it's the same under the Consumer Rights Act, but haven't checked.

I disagree with the posters that he'd get laughed out of court. I've been to and argued in court on ridiculous claims and the vast majority of the time, there is a proper hearing on the matter. 3 months on doesn't matter. My guess is what it'll come down to is proving that you explained all the faults and issues to him. If you have e-mails etc. about this (not just the in-person chat, which comes down to a 'he said she said' unless there are witnesses), then I reckon you should be fine. Just a question of how much hassle that's worth etc.
 
Soldato
OP
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Location
Chadderton, Oldham
Chargeback likely wouldn't apply here since that's for credit card payments, not cash on hand. It's regarding reversal of transactions and there wasn't a transaction using the bank here, so there's nothing to reverse.

From memory, so please don't take this as the final word - consumer law DOES apply. However, only for things that are not as described. If you sold it as fully working, and it clearly wasn't, then you would still be liable. From what you've said though, you were completely up front about all the issues etc., so you'd be fine.A business needs to ensure that the item isn't faulty and 'fit for purpose', but a consumer sale only needs to look at whether or not the item was as described. I know that definitley the position under the Sale of Goods Act. I *think* it's the same under the Consumer Rights Act, but haven't checked.

I disagree with the posters that he'd get laughed out of court. I've been to and argued in court on ridiculous claims and the vast majority of the time, there is a proper hearing on the matter. 3 months on doesn't matter. My guess is what it'll come down to is proving that you explained all the faults and issues to him. If you have e-mails etc. about this (not just the in-person chat, which comes down to a 'he said she said' unless there are witnesses), then I reckon you should be fine. Just a question of how much hassle that's worth etc.


I Don't have any emails, I have a transcript where I've told him the issues, he's accepted that and then met me and took the laptop, then contacted me about new charger and battery 2.5 months on.
 
Soldato
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London
I Don't have any emails, I have a transcript where I've told him the issues, he's accepted that and then met me and took the laptop, then contacted me about new charger and battery 2.5 months on.

Can get a bit tricky and dependent on exactly what was said. "It's fully working and perfect except for 'x' and 'x'" for instance would be different to "There are some issues with it. 'x' and 'x' are the obvious ones. I'm not aware of any others" since one is promising there's nothing wrong and the other just speaks to what you know and you didn't mis-sell anything.

Sorry, should've been clearer. By e-mails I just mean anything in writing that can be used to prove and support the position that you were upfront about the issues. If he says "Willhub never told me there was anything wrong", you providing evidence that that isn't true would protect your position.

None of this is legal advice of course - just some stuff to think about that might be helpful :) It's down to him to take any action rather than you.
 
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