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Question about taking ebay to court?
 

I am wondering if this is a viable option or how do I proceed with my predicament?

I sold a phone, long story short the guy said it didn't work and opened a case, eBay found in his favour, charged me £97 to refund him and also let him keep the phone.

Doing the only thing I could do I decided to blacklist the phone only to be told by O2 they couldn't do it, it has apparently been used long enough on another network that it has become registered and they can touch it. And the guy said the phone doesn't work.

I have contacted customer services who palm me of with excuses, contacted via twitter and facebook they don't reply. Emailed the head office at Tanya.lawler@ebay.com again don't reply, sent a recorded letter and again they don't reply.

They know they are in the wrong and will not acknowledge the fact and will be charging me for a phone they decided to give away.

Is court an option? I can no take the buyer to court as he is not in the UK.

Below is the phone that supposedly does not work, its still being used.


http://i.imgur.com/L7dVlTH.png

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

would of thought you could take ebay or the buyer to small claims court. Why don't you try one of those online solicitor sites.

Bit old fashioned but why don't you just go knock on his door? I had someone claim something was ⊗⊗⊗⊗ that I sold that had authenticity codes on, uploaded pics of authenticity codes and a invoice from the manufacturer and ebay still refunded them without me getting it back.
Was only about 40 minutes from him, knocked on his door and the money was in my paypal account within 2 hours, never seen anyone go so white

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

You must stress all your options available before taking them to court. Did you appeal the case as advised on your other thread? I'm sure eBay will make that statement in court that they give sellers the option to appeal any decision eBay has made and you have not appealed the case.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Tell the buyer you believe they are conning you because you know the goods are working. You can report him to his local police force for obtaining goods by deception.
Tell the buyers you will be doing this and then go ahead and do it. It may seem a petty crime to involve the police but they investigate crimes worth far less.
You know the guys address etc so you should know his local police station and ID.
I guess the effectiveness of the police depends what country it is.
You have nothing to lose . Taking ebay to court is not worth the hassle.

If you have written proof from 02 that the phone is working then you can email that to the cops who might pay the guy a visit.
I should keep the story to the police short and sweet- simply tell them the guy bought it on ebay , said it didn't work , got his money back but you know the phone is working.
This is theft plain and simple.
Job done.

Alternatively , the written proof from 02 should be of interest to ebay. Have you not shown them it?

Or tell 02 the phone was stolen.

Once you get the money or more likely the phone back I should report the guy to ebay.

And don't sell things like phones to non UK buyers.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

since o2 cannot block the phone because it is on another network, cant you call all other networks and get it blocked that way?

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

I personally would call it a cost of doing business and move on. You can spend thousands of dollars in time chasing this down and may not or most likely not get anywhere.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

I did appeal, they said they would get back to me in 24 hours, that was on Monday I think, still heard nothing.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Lol, all part of the ebay lie book , its in their special manual, ignore questions , stick to script, and never reply.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Best bet sounds like contacting the networks in the country its being used and let them know the phone is stolen.
You could take ebay to court but the costs invoved in getting them there really wouldn't be worth it

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

A couple thousand to start

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

lol.

Its £50 for small claims court.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

You have to get them there, served etc...
I don't know about on your side of the pond but in the USA we have to sue ebay in their state so for almost all of us expensive travel or an attorney.

I don't think I can travel to file papers in court for a grand round trip from my location. 4 hours drive to an airport, very expensive state to travel to(ebays location) and then rental car, etc... and then a couple days time.

Then do that again to show up for court and if I am fortunate to win over ebays TOS I have to pay to collect on that judgment if I do not get paid quickly.

But maybe on your side it is different.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

I think in the UK it is that they have to deal with the court that you use

But personally if it hurts this much I would still try the citizens advice and find out what consumer rights you have as in this case you are the customer that is being ignored and ripped off, aided by ebay. Ebay are offering a service and no matter what their terms say your consumer rights still apply, as will be on their terms someplace in the small print probably knowing ebay.

But what ever action you take do not be surprised to find your account being hit for some none related reason so I hope you have your back ups ready

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

I would just say that you should SERIOUSLY think about it. The time and effort to take them to court is going to be significant and eBay can use tactics to delay the case and drag it out for years, with you having to pay more in legal fees, court costs and filing fees every step of the way.

Suing should always be the LAST resort. I know it sucks to lose money, I have been there and done that. I would just caution that you may be buying yourself a whole boatload of stress for relatively little money, and that is if you WIN. If you lose, you could end up with thousands in costs. Of course, I am speaking of the legal reality in the US, it could be somewhat different in the UK.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Is the financial loss about $150?

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Y'all are all commenting from a different country. Its very simple in the UK, depending on value, you go to Small Claims Court, around £50. You make representations youtself, and most of the time don't even have to attend. No real stress, just an evening filling in the forms and collecting the evidence.

For £50 I would take that, and I am currently doing that over a £200 GSP item that they never delivered to me, but refuse to retund.

If you are suing them for say, financial loss or something huge, then yes it would be more complicated but that is not what the OP is talking about.

Never be put off taking them caught, they need to be broken to make fairer policies, little by little.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

yeah but he is talking about a ninety quid phone and the fact he has to take ebay not the buyer to court so I still think the court option is silly and may just have his account slammed shut on his fingers if he wins or looses.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Why would you say it is silly? Ebay are not likely to make representation, and in this case, the OP would probably win anyhow, and the court costs would be met by Ebay and his own initiation costs.

He could also put in a loss for time spent on the case.

I would do it. Everyone who bows down to the greatness of 3bay allows them to become bigger and stronger. Until people make a stand, then they will be allowed to get away with anything they want.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Everyone's time has a different value.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Uderstandable, but if a few hours of an evening is worth so much, you must be MINTED! Success story :) When you take it into account posting on a forum, how much do you bill your minutes at at that rate?

Jokes aside, to be honest, principles always mattered more to me though, and I like to fight when I have been done over, but thats just me, ill probably need valium when im 60 though :)

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Everyone I have seen win these little victories in the past have ended up kissing goodbye to their accounts, and never for the reason they won their victory so it is great to chear on the champion for the cause but if they do it then make sure they have alternative accounts set up, as ebay tend to go nah nah na nah nah at the end of it all.

You really want to hit ebay then go to some TV/radio consumer program where they end up with a spokesman trying to deffend themselves.

And as has been said on other threads recently the amounts you are talking about are nothing to ebay.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Yeah good point on the account front, guess its just about principles in the end.

There is a wonderful documentary being put together about eBay, better than Watchdog, should be a good watch when they are finished!

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Who is making the documentary?
I hope paypal receive an equal amount of justified bad mouthing

Any complaints about suspended accounts will be justifed by ebay people as maintaining security.
We know the BS they trot out. It would be nice for somebody to get some real comments. Hopefully they might use an undercover person to highlight ebay practices

Where and when will this be shown?
I hope its not going to be on ITV. Their sensationalised crap rarely has any depth.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Anyone who can take on Ebay and their Lawyers.....please do.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Can't tell any of that, but i can say its not been commissioned for ITV.:thumb:

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

I look forward to it then.
Rough estimate as to when it may be on?

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

I dont trust you buddy at all, due to this and your posts on the other thread you have been frequenting, so you will see it when you see it, no need to think about it again until then :thumb:

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Court fees let alone INTERNATIONAL lawsuit is going to be quite pricey

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Still think court is silly but for those Americans unsure of the costs

https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/overview

And more info here

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/la.../small-claims/

I still say bellow is the way to go or to the press, maybe a radio four show if they dont like the attention.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/co...mer-contracts/

Any contract they try to cling to when you have such proof of wrong doing is nul and void in my book.

But whatever you do make sure you have your other accounts open as ebay is like a spiteful child

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

don't understand why people in this thread are making out taking ebay to court is expensive and you'll never beat ebays super special lawyers. Think it costs £15 to take someone to small claims court.
Theres proof that the buyer has been using the phone that ebay agreed doesn't work. Good game, case won

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Case won but you think money will be easily paid?

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

ITs £50ish as I mentioned buddy, not sure where you get £15 from!

But yes, its an easy win for the claimant.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

It probably would, because if it isnt , the case can be sent to the High Court, and once sanctioned, we have High Court Sheriffs who have more powers than the police who will retrieve the money, and are allowed to break in the commerical premises to take goods to the value of what they can sell at, ironically, AUCTION to make up the balance owed.

That would be SO MUCH fun to watch that! I'd do it just for giggle :)

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

See if this works fees as of today acording to gov website

Claim amount Sending form to court centre Using Money Claim Online Up to £300 £35 £25 £300.01 to £500 £50 £35 £500.01 to £1,000 £70 £60 £1,000.01 to £1,500 £80 £70 £1,500.01 to £3,000 £115 £105 £3,000.01 to £5,000 £205 £185 £5,000.01 to £10,000 £455 £410

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Sorry if not agreeing with your opinions means you don't trust me although I'm not sure how a rough transmission date could be used for any purpose whatsoever.

Maybe spending too much time on here has made you as paranoid as you seem to be

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

So you've been watching The Enforcers and Can't Pay We'll Take it Away too?

You should have also picked up that the cost involved in getting High Court collectors to get your money would be many times more than the cost of the debt itself ( in this cast at least) which is why the High Court is seen as a last resort- because it costs so much and is usually a last desperate measure for people who want action taken as quickly as possible

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

You'd make that £97 back quicker by going out tomorrow and dancing in front of the courthouse for couple of days and just look kinda sad homeless person, make a sign or whatever works best.

Just time... Man, how do you find so much time to think about ACTUALLY taking eBay to court over £97?

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Are you back on the sugar again? Everythings quieter when you don't eat sugar, so filling out a little paperwork, takes around two hours, so thats essentially around £47 an hour. Pretty good odds...and comes with the satisfaction of getting something back from ebay. Thats a win for me.

If you would rather pretend to be unfortunate and homeless, well, thats a very cruel thing to do, don't chance karma brother, you might never know where you will end up.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Everything is a matter of perspective. I see it as an absolute waste of energy and time even at just 2 hours.

Re: Question about taking ebay to court?
 

Ill stick up for wired here, sometimes its not the money or time thats important, but the principle.