You wrote: "Despite being a user for over 20 years, like so many other you evidently haven't read eBay's explicit warning to buyers in the user agreement that that they do not guarantee the quality of items sold here, or that items will be safe, legal, or even exist. " A bold and rather rude conclusion from someone who doesn't even know me... But yes, I was caught out, and I will be more careful in future.
Quite clearly eBay and/or PayPal could pursue my complaint if they chose to, but that would lead to an unmanageable amount of work, so I understand why there has to be a cut-off point after which they will not pursue a claim on my behalf. However, this encourages users to believe that therefore there is nothing more that they can do, but that's not true: the Consumer Rights Act of 2015 gives buyers protection, and sometimes it is not time restricted.
So all products - whether physical or digital - must meet the following standards:
- Fit for purpose: The goods should be fit for the purpose they are supplied for, as well as any specific purpose you made known to the retailer before you agreed to buy the goods.
- As described: The goods supplied must match any description given to you, or any models or samples shown to you at the time of purchase.
- Satisfactory quality: Goods shouldn't be faulty or damaged when you receive them. You should ask what a reasonable person would consider satisfactory for the goods in question. For example, bargain-bucket products won’t be held to as high standards as luxury goods.
So I am not restricted in my claim because neither eBay nor PayPal will pursue it. I know it's only £30, but that's not the point. I am not expected to just "put up with it and move on" but I can pursue it if I choose to, and I'm going to without PayPal's or eBay's help. I hope others will be encouraged by this and not let unscrupulous sellers get away with it...
