Ebay related question (Legal Advice perhaps)

Godlike

Godlike

Godlike

Associate
Joined
24 Oct 2007
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11
Just joined up here on the #1 Forum ^^, Have a question about something thats been bugging me recently, any advice is appreciated -

I've recently had an item on eBay, and a chap won it (in Germany), i'm in the UK, and not shortly after the auction had ended, something arose and I was left unable to sell the item to him. Now, I emailed the guy immediately and informed him that, due to this problem, I couldn't sell the item any longer, and told him not to send the money, and apologized as I was genuinely sorry. I got an email from the guy not long after threating "Scotland Yard" (how original) on me for not honoring the eBay contract, and soon after that a supposed letter from a solicitor representing him, and informed me that the item is valued much greater than it was sold for, and the guy wanted to sell it, and make approx. 14000 Euro Profit, so his Solicitor kindly advised me to pay this amount to his bank account, so the matter would be resolved. Anyway, thats the story.

I got another nagging letter today asking for the money again.

Previous to that the guy said he had sent the money to me, when he infact didn't anyway, so I've not taken any of his money, but I can't send him the item. So its just a dud sale, report me to eBay if he must, im a Powerseller though, and he has about 10 feedback as it is.

Now, can he go any further legally with this, as in try and sue money out of me from Germany, or is it likely he is just miffed and written them letters to try and scare me into sending the item, which again, I havent received payment for anyway.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and any useful advice would be appreciated.

/Godlike
 
Claimed.

And I don't think he can do anything, no. Expect bad feedback, but nothing else.
 
Godlike said:
...soon after that a supposed letter from a solicitor representing him, and informed me that the item is valued much greater than it was sold for, and the guy wanted to sell it, and make approx. 14000 Euro Profit, so his Solicitor kindly advised me to pay this amount to his bank account, so the matter would be resolved. Anyway, thats the story.
Click to expand...

Wtf, lol. He can't just 'claim' his supposedly potential but now 'lost' profit from you. That's just hilarious. If his 'solicitor' advised you to pay this amount to him then I think you can rest assured that he's about as much of a solicitor as my arse.
 
The government dont take issues on ebay as a "crime" as they see ebay as a private sellers website, not a contract binding aggreement as ebay claim, you cant be prosecuted over the matter your experiencing, dont worry about it dude, not an issue.

As for the solicitor, tell them to summons you to a court, until that happens dont worry...

EDIT: Fogot to add, WELCOME!! To OcUK! You'll enjoy your stay no doubt..

AND!!

CRAP!! fogot to claim..
 
LOL ignore it at worst you will get negative feedback, but dont forget you can challenge his feedback and get it removed by the bay. yeh if he's telling you the truth you should get his payment, just sent his payment back, make shure you keep all email's form him as evidence. LOL who get's a solicitor ILMAO. In my ebay setting i dont allow anyone outside the uk to bid, also i dont allow anyone with strike's against them to bid.
Just i thought for you if you haven't got that setup :)
 
Only to get negative feedback removed, i bought a dvd player a few months ago and it wasn't what was advetised in the guys listing so i left him negative and he took it to ebay lol, to cut it short he left nasty feedback for me but the bay removed it, thats why i say keep all email's also take a shot of the listing page whenever you buy stuff it helps in these situations. since then i never allow ppl with strikes to bid on my stuff and never ppl outside the uk. And yes i did claim once on a playstation i never recived, i was refunded by P*ypal.
 
Ignore it nobody will be interested.

I won some alloys for the wifes Merc a few months back and the seller refused to let me have them as he wanted them to fetch more. I contacted Ebay with his emails and they are not interested unless money has changed hands via Paypal.
 
What the hell was it that he could make 14,000 Euros by reselling?

There is no way he is going to be able to claim. Send him a counter-claim for the emotional stress caused he has caused you.

He is justified in leaving negative feedback imo.
 
Interesting...has there ever been a case of an ebay sale being evaluated by the courts?

Because on the face of it you would think there is a binding contract. You agree to as much by putting up the item and letting it run until close. So if there is a contract and you've broken it (unless it's been frustrated) then theoretically he could sue you for damages. And damages would be the amount he would have received had the contract gone ahead, subject to any mitigation.

Now if he could make almost £10k by reselling it may well be worth his while to take action against you. For the sake of a few hundred pounds court fees it may be worth a punt although it does sound like his "solicitor" is probably imaginary.
 
The item, was an Antique Pocket watch, which was originally sold and then 2 days later after the auction finished we realised that the watch belonged to my brother so I had no right to sell it, an honest mistake.

Since the auction finished though, the guy has never sent any money to me, so he himself hasnt completed the contract on his part either.

Any more replies are always appreciated, thanks guys.
 
Johnny Girth said:
Interesting...has there ever been a case of an ebay sale being evaluated by the courts?

Because on the face of it you would think there is a binding contract. You agree to as much by putting up the item and letting it run until close. So if there is a contract and you've broken it (unless it's been frustrated) then theoretically he could sue you for damages. And damages would be the amount he would have received had the contract gone ahead, subject to any mitigation.
Click to expand...
A nice roundup of contract law 101 there HOWEVER you've missed out a vital step - you've presumed there's a contract. For there to be a contract there must be two things:
1. intention to create legal relations
2. consideration

There's undoubtedly intention to create legal relations, however, there has yet to be any consideration - no money has changed hands. If there had been consideration already then you would be correct as there would be a legitimate expectation - although he'd probably have had to show he had a buyer already lined up. In addition to this it may be possible to claim mistake, making the contract voidable. The seller thought that he was selling his watch, when in fact he was selling his brothers watch - not a normal difference in the product as you'd normally see under mistake I agree, but it would probably worth having a go at it.
 
If there was a contract, it would have be "frustrated" due to you finding out the goods were not yours to sell.

Mr HelmetSchmeller hasn't got a leg to stand on, because for a contract under the Sale of Goods act to stand up, you have to have the right to sell the goods to start with.

Ignore him, he'll go away eventually.
 
Hi Fini

Make sure that you aren't confusing the presence of consideration with a part-executed contract. A contract will not generally come into existence if it provides for no consideration but if two parties reach an agreement and it provides for consideration to move from the promisee then it doesn't matter that the consideration hasn't actually changed hands yet. The requirement is that it will do at some point in the future.

The Sale of Goods Act doesn't say that you have to have the right to sell the goods, it implies a term about title into the contract.

But the contract is very likely void for initial mistake. A mistake as to title in the goods will almost certainly render the contract void.

So you should be safe.
 
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