Collected an item and found damage at home

[TigerLilysbadday]

I have had enough of Ebaying! I had no idea it would be this much of a hassle.

I sold a Brompton folding bike for £880 which the buyer collected from my parents’ house when I was not there yesterday evening. My mum met her and I joined by phone. The bike was serviced in December and I’ve ridden it a couple of times since then, then I cleaned it to sell and it was in great condition. The buyer looked at the bike at my parents’ house but she did not even unfold it and she did not ride it because it was dark and raining, so she just put it in her car. She got home and now claims it is damaged. She says the bolt that closes the hinge is bent and that the handlebars wobble and that she wants a partial refund. I am sure it did not have any damage when I left and my mum assured me that it’s been untouched in the spare room since then (only my parents are at home) so I think the most likely cause of the damage is when it was in her car. From the pictures she has sent it doesn’t actually look damaged but she is certain the bolt is bent and it wobbles. Should I still give the partial refund? I can’t prove it was fine when she collected it because I wasn’t there and it was serviced 6 weeks ago and I’ve ridden it and cleaned it since, so I guess that’s not proof anymore either.

The listing description was very clearly just for the bike and the pump. But one of the photos also showed my bag on the bag-mounting-block to show that the bag-mounting-block is in good condition. The buyer asked for the bag and I explained (on phone loudspeaker) that the bag was not included as it said in the description. She checked the listing and agreed but my mum said she seemed angry. I actually sold the bag as a different listing and it was £75 so if she genuinely thought she was getting the bag too as a package deal then I understand why she would be annoyed, but the description was very clear and £880 is a pretty good deal for the bike anyway because they’re usually £950-£1050 on EBay. I am wondering if she might be trying to get some money back due to “damage” because she thought she would get the bag that she will now have to buy. I haven’t replied to her message yet because I’m not sure what to say.

I would be inclined to take the bike back, give a full refund, fix any damage and sell again. Two reasons:

1. don't give her the satisfaction of (maybe) scamming you
2. If you think they are actually selling for more, you may get it next time around, which could recover the cost of repair (if any)

No she returns it and gets refund.

How did she pay you?

She paid through eBay pay. If I give her a refund, do I have to collect the bike from her or does she bring it back? Will eBay refund me their charge? I got £770 after eBay took their cut so I can’t really afford to take it back and loose that cut again when I sell it again.

Ask her to send a video of the damage. Then you can see for yourself

If the listing was "buyer collects" then I think she has to return it to get her refund. You also don't need to give any "discount" without seeing the so-called damage for yourself. Either way she has to bring the bike first.

These days you can give the refund online while she watches, if necessary. Yes, you will get your eBay fees back.

I would say ‘sold as seen’ I’m afraid. She had the opportunity to expect it and chose not to. Is eBay able to access the money anyway and refund her along with her keeping the bike? That would be my main concern.

• inspect it

@RudsyFarmer EBay transferred the money to me now so it is in my bank account. I don’t think they could take it back now.

She's trying it on.
I would rather lose a few quid than let a pisstaker win!
I would tell her to return it for a full refund.

Who collects an 880 item but doesn't check it until they get home? Surely you instructed your parents to offer to show her how to open and close it? If she declined this then her issue.

Although if you worry you'll be left with no bike and no money get her to bring it back.

You need to see evidence of the problems. Sounds to me like she’s trying to scam you.

Unless you put "No returns" on the listing you have to take it back.

You have a direct debit agreement with eBay so if she were to file a dispute with eBay then yes they can take the money back from your account.

I'd call her bluff and say you'll refund in full if she brings it back (unused) within 7 days. Don't discuss the (maybe) faults.

@filka are you sure? What’s to stop people buying something, collecting it, breaking or using it and then getting a refund?

The fact that she’s asking for a partial refund jumps out at me. If it was broken/faulty she would want to return it for a full refund. As she’s only asking for a partial refund, I think she’s taking the piss and trying to get the price down.

If what you’re saying is true about it being serviced, ridden and cleaned, I’d be surprised if there’s anything wrong with it at all.

I totally agree with previous posters. Don’t negotiate but say she returns it for a full refund. If she was relatively local, personally I’d want to go and pick it up pronto.

Ebay is a nightmare now. Apart from the huge fees, there are so many chancers. I recently sold a projector. Brand new. It says on all my listings no returns. The buyer then contacted me to ask to return it as he didn’t like it. I told eBay no, there’s nothing wrong with it. I am not a shop and I’m not ending up with a second hand item simply because he didn’t like it. I am extremely wary of all buyers these days.

Insist on full refund and pick up the bike yourself.

I'd be concerned that she will damage the bike out of spite though.

I’m really worried that EBay will just return the full cost to her and I’ll never be able to get the bike back so I’ll be left with neither. Can they do that? What can I do to make sure it doesn’t happen?
Does she have the right to insist on a partial refund if I’ve already offered a full refund? Could eBay decide to give her the partial refund without my agreement?

I had something a bit like this a few years ago. Sold a childrens wardrobe in excellent condition. Buyer sent a random man with a van to collect it. Man with van hauls it unceremoniously into van and drives off. Two hours later buyer messages to claim wardrobe is faulty and "fell apart" on arrival. It was obvious he was trying to scam. Ebay were great, said it was the buyer's responsibility to check condition at collection and there was no refund due on my part. If this woman chose not to check the mechanism etc on an £800+ bike before payment then that's her look out!!

No, eBay won’t just fully refund her or partially refund her. She would have to open a request for a return/refund and eBay would involve you before any refunds were issued.

I assume she hasn’t opened a return request but has simply messaged you. I think she’s chancing her arm at getting some money back from what is a very expensive item.

I would say that you aren’t prepared to offer a partial refund but will issue a full refund on return of the item. Ask her to open an official return request and then you can sort it out. You may well find that when her plan hasn’t worked, she’ll back down.

I maintain that if you can and it’s relatively local, I would want to pick this up myself asap.

Yes I'd be tempted to let her go to dispute. You can show the bike was serviced so recently, there was no damage when you had the bike and she had the chance to inspect the bike at collection.

Ebay will insist she return the bike before refunding if they make that decision.

I see two ways to do it.

1. You just offer her a refund, to be given when she returns the bike, with the proviso that it's within 7 days and in as-sold condition (I suppose except for the specific damage of which she complains)
2. You tell her to raise a dispute with eBay who will read the arguments put forward by both parties and decide whether to let the transaction stand or give a refund on return of the bike. My preference would be option 1 because you are more in control of the transaction and outcome.

But no partial refunds - that's a try-on.

I phoned her today because coincidentally I happened to be a couple of miles away from her (she actually lives about 90km away) but I had to drive through her town on my way home. She asked me to come round and see the damage. It is damaged but I am 100% sure it is damage that my mum would have noticed when she was showing the buyer how to unfold it because you can’t screw the pieces together properly. The buyer and my mum both confirmed that the bike was unfolded at my parents’ house so I told her that was evidence it had been damaged in her car. She was insistent that it must have already been bent and that my mum propped it up at an angle to disguise the damage, even though she couldn’t show me the damage-disguising angle. I offered her a full refund and that I would take the bike with me but she started to explain about how unusual it is for these bikes to come up for sale in her budget and outside of London so she didn’t want the hassle of waiting for another one. She made quite a big thing about how I would have to buy the replacement part if I refunded the bike anyway. She said that in similar situations in the past the seller has made a goodwill payment.
She also told me that her husband only has a few months left to live and that she had come straight back from hospital to meet me and made a rather glib comment about how the cost of replacing a bike part is nothing compared to someone’s life. It was very awkward and uncomfortable. I left without giving her a goodwill payment and she said she felt she would have to give me negative feedback. I was quite anxious before but I came away just feeling uncomfortable.

You did the right thing. That was story on top of story on top of story. You offered a refund and ti take the item there and then. There is no way she can ask for a partial refund now. I would also query negative feedback on ebay.....If you can ask them to remove it then i would. She sounds lile a chancer.

She said that in similar situations in the past the seller has made a goodwill payment.

This is the key to it all. She’s a chancer and pulls this stunt all the time to get things cheap. When it didn’t work, she started with the emotional blackmail.

Get eBay involved. She’s a piss taker.

Did she send photos of the supposed damaged bolt before you said you'd come to her? I would have immediately asked for proof in her first request for money back. My guess is that the physical damage you got to see in person was done intentionally, in a rush before your arrival and wouldn't have matched with any evidence offered beforehand.

I would contact eBay and let them know what has happened, what she said about others usually making goodwill gesture payments (indicating she's done this before) and that she may make a fraudulent claim for money back.

You have proof of the service just before sale and believe that the damage was done in order to scam money off you. If she does make a claim back then offer a full refund and get your bike back. At least you can sell it again for more money. Next time, have video recording of condition on pick up including buyer inspection and acceptance. All you need is a phone propped up by the front door or make the handover outside in view of something like a ring doorbell.

How dare she use a sad story to manipulate you. People who do that are obvious chancers. Fuck her. Query the negative feedback with eBay or leave it up as a message to other chancers.