Advice needed please!

[sophiecat]

Bought a P&T double buggy on ebay recently having seen it listed on a mumsnet ad. Paid a fair amount for it, £230, but it arrived with an obvious rip in it, which is pretty noticeable as its at the front and quite large (couple of inches).
Emailed the seller who insists it wasn't damaged when sent and will not issue a part refund (claims she has no money?!). Not sure what to do as I know it was damaged on receipt.
Am hoping to sell it on after a few months as we won't need it for long and this will really affect resale value. Also it looks pretty tatty.
Paid by paypal, can I approach them for part refund, since the item is not as described?
Hope someone can help, am gutted!
TIA

look at this

you ask for a full refund. This is item not as described.
The seller has the responsibility of making sure the item reaches the buyer in the condition it was sent. She has to refund you and if she believes it was damaged in transit then she can make a claim herself.
If she didn't package it correctly she won't be able to claim.

paypal will want you to return it back to her and you must get proof of postage - recorded delivery with tracking number. There may be something about the original packing too - have a look and see what it says.
Once you have proof that she has received it ie tracking number paypal will refund the money.

You may wish to point this out to her and ask her if she would prefer to send a partial refund as opposed to the return/full refund option

Thanks for the advice, plowder cant get your link to work?

It did work, I think the lady on the other thread must of asked MNHQ to pull the whole thread. The thread was from a lady who had the reverse of your problem. I have looked all over and haven't found the thread. Sorry

Do you know what the upshot was or the advice given? WOnder if its my seller?!
The seller has now offered to claim from the courier but nothing coming my way until claim has been made and money refunded, which doesnt seem right...

it's not right - they should refund first then claim

Thanks again slm for your advice, but I have no idea how to make this happen, the refund to me that is, the seller doesnt seem to see it that way, claims she has no money (not sure what she did with the £230 I paid for it). Its all v stressful on top of looking after 3 week old baby and toddler...
Do you know of any links on ebay I can refer her to? Have had a look just now but cant really find the info I need, ebay help pages bit muddled IMO.

have you opened a pyapl dispute? if so make sure you have escalated it to a claim

No I havent yet, was thinking of waiting to see what happened with the courier claim, perhaps that is not the best thing to do?

I dont like disputes and was keen to avoid this but perhaps it is better to do open one now to cover myself? Was trying to keep on good terms with the seller as I really believe the damage was caused in transit.

no do it NOW, if she empties her paypal account then you may struggle to get your money back.
I bought a p & t off ebay it was advertiseted as ex con but was tatty and awful i opened a dipute, escalated it to a claim. You get the option of aking for a partial refund and enter the amount partial refund youd accept.

then the seller has to let yopu return for a full refund or give you the partil refund.

but please do it now before she takes the money out of paypal

I don't actually need a full refund, just enough money to buy a new set of covers to replace the damaged ones.
I feel a bit bad about this as she is a mumsnetter, but I suppose I need to put myself first.
Horrible situation, would find it easier if I had bought it from ebay with no mumsnet link.
I know she is selling other things on here at the mo so think her paypal account will be active.
She has asked me not to go via paypal as she has no money, and I said I would wait to see what the courier did about the claim, subject to timing, but am I being soft?

well if it was me id open the paypal dispute, you can always close it cant you.

I agree - open the dispute. If she sends you a partial then the dispute can be closed.

She is going about things the wrong way round and just needs nudging in the right direction.

Disputes aren't as horrible as you may think - I'd let the dispute take care of it for you rather than have the stress yourself of wondering whether she's going to get her act into gear.

Now go and give that baby and toddler of yours a big hug
three weeks? aww [broody]

fwiw she is a fairly regular mumsnetter and I don't think she's trying to be unfair, and is finding the situation as awkward as you are. maybe best not to discuss it further on here as it might make it all turn nasty?

I know she is not trying to be unfair, I have never said she was - its a bad situation for both of us and I dont want it to turn nasty, which is why I havent yet opened a paypal dispute. Have changed my name hoping to be as discreet as poss.
Hard to know how best to deal with but do feel I need to cover myself.
Thanks for all the advice everyone. Will go and tend to my LOs....