Buggy warranties - not original owner

[lme30005]

Hi

Just after some advice on whether anyone has been through this or knows anything.

I bought a Babystyle oyster from an online retailer in September, decided I had bought too many buggies so sold it on ebay brand new as it was cheaper than sending it back.

The person I sold it to has just contacted me to say the backrest doesn't work (she is looking after her grandaughter so has only just started using it).

I contacted the online retailer to ask if it can be returned as it's within Babystyle's 6m warranty but they refused as I am the original owner and I had sold it on. I asked if the buyer sent it back to me, whether I could send it back then as I would still be the original owner but they refused as they know someone else has been using it.

Any ideas? I'm really not happy, as they don't provide details of the warranty when you buy it, and if I hadn't been honest and told them I'd sold it, I could have refunded the buyer and sent it back myself and they'd be none the wiser. I'm wondering if I can use the Consumer Goods Act somehow.

Thanks

Louise

[SecretNutellaFix]

The contract with the retailer exists between the original purchaser of the item concerned and the retailer, not the eventual user of the item bought.

[sazm]

TBH most companies state that the warranty is limited to the original purchaser somewhere,
i would have got the buyer of the pushchair not contact them and say they are you (at different adress,how would the online retailer know)
or as you said
either that or say it was bought as a gift.

now that you have told them you sold it on,its not possible to do either,i would contact babystyle directly,and tell them you bought it as a gift,and its now faulty,and the retailer you bought it from wont accept you returning it as see what they say. do you have the receipt?

[lme30005]

Hi

I think that's my only option, to talk to Babystyle and hope. Otherwise I might have to refund them and take it back, but then I will have it back second hand when I sold it new and I will have lost money on ebay fees/couriers. And then be left to pay repairs for it, and sell it again at a big loss.
That's the last time I sell a new buggy!

Thanks

Louise

[tutu100]

How long ago did you sell it?

[sazm]

have you just sold it then?and the lady opened it and it wouldnt work?so its totally unused?
or has she already been using it?

if she has been using it then its not your responsibility,
if i sold or bought a brand new buggy on ebay then i would expect the receipt to be included(this should have been stated in the item description),and if there was a problem after i'd been using it a while,then i would sort it out,unless it arrived with the problem,in which case you would be responsible.

[lme30005]

I bought it in September and eventually sold it brand new in November. I checked it before I sold it and it all worked but not with a child in it. The lady has used it a couple of times and says the back rest mechanism hasn't worked since the beginning - doesn't stay upright with the child in it

It's a bit of a grey area as she has already used it so if I take it back, it's not as I sold it and she's had some use out of it. One of us is going to be left with a useless buggy unless I can get it repaired.

I am trying to get the online retailer to fix it as Babystyle told me that the warranty is on the goods and not the person, so fingers crossed.

Thanks

Louise

[sazm]

ah thats good, make sure you get her to return it to them though,dont get her to send it to you and then send it yourself,as it was fine when you sold it,she may have broken it and you could end up well our of pocket.
if she has had it since november,she could have been using it everyday for all you know.she might not be clicking it in properly andthats why it wont stay upright,

[lme30005]

They have at last agreed to repair the pushchair but have said I need to pay for the costs to send it back and have it redelivered.

Obviously I have lost the ebay fees from the sale but not sure what else I should have to pay. There will be courier fees to get it to me, then courier fee to get it to retailer, then courier to get it back to me when its fixed, then back to buyer.

Should I refund the buyer if they don't want it back? I would end up with a second hand buggy then and lose even more money trying to sell it again.

I want to be as reasonable as possible but without losing a lot of money

Thanks

Louise

[ENormaSnob]

Tbh if she has had it since November and has been using it I would say it is her that has broken it.

Ridiculous for you to refund after she has had it 2 months.

[sazm]

you shouldnt refund her,if she wants it fixed she would need to send it back,not you and she would need to pay courier costs.
its no longer your responsibility

[lme30005]

Hi

She has come back to me saying she doesn't want it fixed and I should take it back, get it fixed and resell it even though she's used it (as the problem wasn't her fault). She said she's spoken to ebay (she's out of the 45 day resolution period) and they offered to write to me, whatever that means.

I don't want things to start getting bad between us as I can understand her position, but if I take it back, get it fixed and then have to resell it second hand I will lose about £150 with all the courier/ebay fees and the loss from it not being new, which I can't afford.

I can understand that she doesn't want to pay out for something that she says is not her fault, but it was fine when I posted it and she should have checked it when she received it so I feel that is her fault.

How can I suggest a compromise without it getting nasty? I'm thinking that I offer a refund at a second hand price and accept the hit on the courier/ebay fees.

Thanks

Louise

[tutu100]

Don't take it back. You are not a shop, you are a private seller. You sold the item in perfect, working order. It was brand new. It is up to her to get it fixed, if she'd bought it from a shop brand new it would be her responsibility to liase with them to get it repaired.

The risk you take with buying things from private ebay sellers is that if they stop working you don't have a warranty. That is the risk you take to get things at a cheaper price. She is lucky that Babystyle are offering to fix the pushchair at all.

You do not owe her anything. You do not know how she's been using the pushchair for the last 2 months. I would politely explain that you have done all you can with regards to transferring the warranty over to her and that she now needs to contact Babystyle to arrange the repair. If she then no longer wants the pushchair she can sell it on.

DO NOT REFUND HER.

[tutu100]

Oh, and if it hasn't worked since she recieved it, then she should have contacted you sooner. She is pulling a fast one and she knows it. She is just chancing that you will refund her money - she knows she is out of the 45 day period. If something really was wrong with it that wasn't her fault she would have contacted you sooner.

[lme30005]

Hi

Thanks for putting your view on it and making me not seem unreasonable. I e-mailed her saying I was willing to get it repaired (the retailer says I have to sort it as I bought it and not her) which is what any retailer would do within the warranty period. I didn't want to imply she might have broken it. But I'm a bit worried that if I send it back to be fixed that they may say it has been broken and it's not a manufacturers defect.
She should have contacted me sooner. I always try out a new buggy indoors before I use it to make sure it's ok.
It doesn't help that the retailer is trying to make me pay for the courier fees there and back to get it fixed (which is also incorrect)
I hate all this, I'm usually so careful with ebay and never have any problems so I'm sat here stressing about it now.

Thanks

Louise

[tutu100]

If you really feel like you have to help her out (which you don't), could you book a courier to collect the pushchair from her and send it direct to Babystyle? I think you can get a courier for around £10 (so you wouldn't be down too much), then if Babystyle say she has broken it, it is her problem. If not and it is a genuine fault they will repair it and she will get a fixed buggy back.

[LIZS]

Did you sell it with warranty ? If not isn't it caveat emptor since she's out of time to reject it now. Agree with SecretNutellaFix , the retailer is under no obligation to honour a warranty to a third party.

[lme30005]

Trouble is, the retailer want it to go through them so I have to send it back to them as they need to claim on the warranty through Babystyle. I have asked them if I can arrange my own courier so then I could get it sent straight from her to the retailer.

If they do send it back to me and if I give a partial refund (they still haven't got back to me) should I wait until Babystyle say they will definately fix it (ie it wasn't broken) before I refund?

I know I'm probably being too reasonable but I feel a bit bad even though it's not my fault. Depending on what they come back with, I may become less reasonable!

Thanks

Louise

[sazm]

why can she not send it to the retailer?? its really not your problem.
i would not offer any sort of refund at all.

[LIZS]

The retailer has no obligation to deal with a third party ie the e-bay buyer, whatever the fault. If you get involved now you will have to see it through whether the manufacturer accepts it is their issue or not. Realistically because of the time involved the buyer may want a refund. You may yet get it back and find she simply isn't doing the right thing to secure the back and this is hassle for nothing.

[ENormaSnob]

She's taking the piss imo.

Bet she broke it and is trying her luck.