Question about taking ebay to court?

[dj9928]

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.

[dan_ebay]

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

[revenge]

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.

[stuartalex]

Originally Posted by dj9928

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.

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.

[Bunneh]

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

[yankee]

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.

[dj9928]

Originally Posted by revenge

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.

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

[wired]

Originally Posted by dj9928

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

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

[stuartalex]

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

[yankee]

Originally Posted by stuartalex

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

A couple thousand to start

[wired]

Originally Posted by yankee

A couple thousand to start

lol.

Its £50 for small claims court.

[yankee]

Originally Posted by wired

lol.

Its £50 for small claims 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.

[isitworththestress]

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

[jeffweico]

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.

[yankee]

Is the financial loss about $150?

[wired]

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.

[isitworththestress]

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.

[wired]

Originally Posted by isitworththestress

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.

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.

[yankee]

Originally Posted by wired

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.

Everyone's time has a different value.

[wired]

Originally Posted by yankee

Everyone's time has a different value.

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

[isitworththestress]

Originally Posted by wired

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.

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.

[wired]

Originally Posted by isitworththestress

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.

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!