There was an eBay transaction where I sold an item and received payment for it. I shipped the item via USPS, but since moved and don't have the records anywhere. The receiver states that he never received the item, and wants all his money back. We went rounds on this and then I mailed him $200.00 of the $500.00 he demanded. Just recently, today, I received an email stating that he went to my website and contacted several people who I've done business with. (not sure if he spoke about alleged debt). He said he's going to call police and California AG office about this. Is his communication an attempt to collect a debt? Should I send him a validation letter, to include everything about the transaction? If he talked to people I do business with, would this be a violation? Please let me know. He said he will give me until Friday, to "suffer the consequences".
Basically he is outta luck, Ebay is a cavaout emptor type deal.. Buyer Beware.... In other words, even if u intentionally scammed him. (which i know u didnt). Its his problem not yours. So dont lose any sleep, but expect some negative feedback. If he was that concerned about recieving it he would have insured it.
By the way, the police will tell him not to shop on ebay..As they laugh him out of the station. Then make crude comments about him as he leaves.
jlynn hinted at the answer to your question, and I agree with her entirely. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act concerns itself with the debt collection activities of third parties (i.e., collection agencies). Essentially the FDCPA regulates how CAs can and cannot behave. Unfortunately for your situation, the statute's provisions (i.e., validation, etc.) don't apply to debts negotiated between individuals. Of course civil law does apply, and it sounds like you have the makings of a civil lawsuit, or perhaps the other party has grounds, depending upon who's at fault. Through the years I've spent considerable time on eBay buying and, to a lesser extent, selling (mostly collectible stuff). From that vantagepoint, I'm wondering why in the dickens you refunded the guy $200. Did he agree to a partial settlement regarding the disputed transaction? If not, did you just take it upon yourself to decide that you were 40% in the wrong? Somehow, any refund at all implies that you are acknowledging a role in legally damaging the other guy. For what it's worth, I would recommend that you never refund an amount unless: 1) it's agreed between the parties, 2) you're truly at fault, and 3) you've negotiated how the feedback will be handled (although that last item is always a risk). As for feedback, I never leave feedback first, ever, because I want to retain the leverage in case something goes wrong. Good luck to you! Keep us posted. Doc
hey psychdoc was it u who sold me those baseball cards... I want a refund darn u.. And i agree. DONT EVER refund any money. Its not ur fault the post office didnt send the stuff..
It was my fault. He paid for shipping with insurance, but I couldn't prove that I had the insurance paperwork. It was a mess. I moved several times and got married, etc. I told him I wanted to go half way, but that I didn't feel it was my error. It wasn't even on my eBay account. He keeps threatening me with his "attorney" will make my life miserable. This is so out of proportion. I did not intentionally screw him, but I thought it would be fair to split the difference. I can't prove that he never received it either. Make sense??? Not sure what to do.
I'm not sure, so do I wait until he serves me with a Small Claims action? If he can prove that he paid for shipping with insurance, and I can't prove that it was shipped or with insurance, doesn't it fall back onto me? I just want this darn thing to go away. I don't want to get sued either, frivolous or not.
How much time has elasped since the sale of your item and your buyer claiming item was never received? If you have moved several times and gotten married I would assume a few months, at least, have pasted. A buyer waiting that long to contact you about not receiving an auction would raise red flags to me. Unless you are certain that you are in the wrong NEVER EVER refund any money on e-bay. After five years of selling I've found out that there are people who will try to get something for nothing. I would recommend that you go to the e-bay community discussion boards. They are very experienced and would be able to help you.
Re: Re: Question about eBay item Ok, well I admire your honesty. That being the case, if you didn't follow through as agreed (shipping with insurance, which obviously includes retaining paperwork, etc.), then it sounds like you owe the other party a full refund. A few more observations: 1) Of course nobody is going to make you refund the fellow. This is a case of your word against his. Probably the worst thing that will happen to you is an exchange of negative feedback. It's doubtful that the other party will spend the money to retain counsel, investigate the matter at a long distance, prove damages, etc. Although anything's possible in that regard, it's not likely. 2) So what's probably at stake here isn't your legal position. Instead, what's really at stake is how you feel about screwing up a transaction and not following through all the way. Presumably, the other party may indeed be telling the truth -- stuff occasionally does disappear in transit, and that's why we sometimes elect to buy insurance in the first place. What if your buyer really never did receive the item? Since he paid for insurance, and you can't rise to that occasion, the burden of proof is yours. Why should someone like your buyer send his money off to you, not receive the merchandise, and then accept a 40% refund? 3) Since you're asking for a plateful of opinions, some of which you may accept and others of which you won't, I do feel free to offer some advice. Go ahead and refund the rest of the money. We're not talking about paying a creditor; this was your customer, and you admit that your performance as a retailer was fatally damaged in this instance. 4) Reminder: I'm not passing moral judgment here. See note #1 above for proof. What I am suggesting, though, is that you might want to step back, reexamine your own behavior, and consider following through differently. I don't expect that everyone would agree with me, but at least you'll receive a variety of opinions on the matter which is presumably what you're after. Doc
Re: Re: Question about eBay item Not true. I had someone "not send" me an eBay item about 3 years ago. His eBay account was suspended and he would not return emails. EBay would not do a thing. This person was a resident of Virginia. I phoned the VA State Police and filed a report. They visited him the next day and suggested he make good- they told him about 'wire fraud', etc. the amount was over 200.00 so it was considered a felony. While they did not arrest him, they let him know what he could face. I recieved a phone call from him that evening. While he was incredibly ticked off, he sent me a money order for the amount of the item (I lost shipping) the next day. An eBay sale is a contract, and accepting money for the purchase binds you to it. In my opinion, the partial refund was a really bad move. Any judge would see this as an admission of guilt (unless you two had aggreed upon it as a settlement). There is a third party company called "SquareTrade" that will mediate eBay disputes. They are a little slow, but they do work. I would start a reolution through them soon. If this guy is as determined as he sounds who know what he will do. It's not worth it, especially for a few hundred dollars. FYI- If you did send the item, and I am not saying you didn't, the Post Office will be able to help you. Especially if you paid by Credt Card (cash transactions can be tracked if you have the approximate date you mailed it). SS
Re: Re: Question about eBay item Thank you all for your insight. Couple of things. I can go look into the post office, because I know I sent it. He filed a complaint with the BBB. He doesn't have a bad record with the BBB also, and I checked his eBay feedback, all was good. I have decided to deal with it, and hope to get him to remove the BBB complaint as well. Thanks everyone. Finished with this thread.
Re: Re: Question about eBay item I believe Ebay has Buyer Protection Insurance for cases like this. Have either of you inquired about it?
Re: Re: Question about eBay item I once sold a laptop on ebay. and when the buyer received it, he claimed that the screen was darker than he liked and wanted his money back AND wanted to keep it!?!? I laughed and thought he was on crack. I told him that i would refund the money once i got it back. he said ..wait and see ill get my money back and im keeping it! Sure enough... He paid via paypal, his credit card. Called them up and disputed the purchase. With out getting a single call, the money was taken from my paypal account. I think TO THIS DAY, i have a negative 700.00 there...that i owe them! They sold it to a collection company that said they would settle for 75% of the debt. I just trashed the mailing. i complained to anyone i could, they all said YOUR S.O.L. -J
Re: Re: Question about eBay item yes ebay is a scam sometimes. Laptops are mostly fenced on ebay, hell ebay is one of the biggest fences on the planet. such items shouldn't be dealt with on ebay. never the less. The burden of proof is on you. Morally you are responsible to insure and thus require signature. You should do the right thing and return the money. Even if the guy is a scammer, ya screwed up, the rules are defined, you agreed to them, you didn't follow through. Some Ebayers prey on such people. not to be harsh, but there's a suckah born every minute, and ebay is full of crooks and suckahs. Hence why i use signature required ups tracking insured through my work (yah i reimburse them) so point A to B it's covered if its lost. Damage is another story, but to this date i've had ONE package lost by ups. Sorry, gone, we can't help you, here's you "insured amount" back. Good recordkeeping is a must. Good selling is a must too "AS-IS", "Insurance is optional and the responsibility of the buyer to elect", delivery confirmation et all. Sucks but thats the price of doing business online. If you ordered a package from amazon.com, say a computer, and it didn't show up, and amazon.com had no proof, what would you do in that position? you'd want your full money back, pronto. .. and as a fair and moral company they would rightly reship you another item or refund your money. you might be able to write it off your business (ebay sales are business sales) as a stolen item i spose.
Re: Re: Question about eBay item From my experiences on Ebay, good record keeping is key and should be kept forever. That said, I get it's not helpful to say it now. I would ask him to file through Ebay's system. If he can't or won't and keeps threatening, I'd return the money. The law is serious and the burden of proof would be on you.
Re: Re: Question about eBay item I've made arrangements to pay him. Done... I've learned so much from this board about CMRRR, that I'm addicted to using it for any transaction. It sucks to mail a check, and spend $4.42 to mail it. LOL. Thanks for everyone's input. I've done some background on the guy, and he did purchase the same item shortly after our purchase had issues. Consistent with someone who wants an item. Thanks everyone, now I'm just busy compliing a list of all the OC's, CA's and PULLS, soft and hard on my report to organize, pp or npp. This is such an addicting board.
Re: Re: Question about eBay item Once again I am amazed at the horrible advice given on this board. The burden of proof is on the buyer to show they mailed the goods. Especially with something that costs $500.00, you should have sent it to Priority Mail with the delivery Confirmation, at the very least. Maybe ebay will not do anything, but flag your account as a non-performing seller, but they could revoke your right to sell if they think you are purposefully trying to defraud buyers.
