The item was stolen after delivery, and now the buyer is threatening to take me to civil court

[telkavintage]

This is my first time posting here in 11 years of selling on eBay, as I've never encountered a situation like this before. I sold a £100 item and shipped it via Royal Mail 48-hour tracked service. It was delivered with photographic proof showing it outside the buyer's apartment.

The buyer initially opened a claim saying the item wasn’t received and was stolen. I won the case. They then escalated by filing a payment dispute with their credit card company, which I also successfully won. However, the buyer is now threatening to take me to civil court.

I’ve opened a case with Royal Mail, but they haven’t provided a refund since the item was classified as stolen, not lost.

What should I do in this situation?

[maturin.surprise]

It's worth mentioning, I always use Tracked 48 "With Signature" for parcels in the UK. It negates any issues of parcels being left outside people's doors. Costs a little more, but I factor this into the price/P&P of the item.

I only use standard Tracked 48 for Large Letter size items, since the majority of the time the Postie can stuff those through the letterbox safely.

[insidethe93]

It's legitimate for you to ask "where's the police crime reference number, how long did you allow police to investigate it, what was the police advice?" The best time to ask is before it goes to court.

To me it's beginning to sound like the buyer's persisting in the hope that you'll settle out of court. (Most court cases are settled before they get to court, or during, usually to the mutual dissatisfaction of both parties.)

Realistically £100, plus any associated costs, isn't a large sum court-wise, no really, which means the buyer's unlikely to employ a professional to handle their case. Most self-handled cases don't fare well, though the internet means info's more widely available. A solicitor's initial interview fee could wipe out that £100, depending (some solicitors offer a free initial interview but they recoup it by offering a junior solicitor or higher end fees).

Unless they happen to be a solicitor or are very confident of themselves, only *nearly* going to court is as far as an amateur tends to go (that's from my experience of when I worked for solicitors).

You followed the rules of the selling platform (eBay) and won, which weakens their case.

Certain people/would-be solicitor-clients can't see things in proportion, are too emotional, and hate to lose face - they'd rather spend in the (unrealistic) hope of winning - wanting to persevere beyond common sense. (Especially true in matrimonials = divorce.)

I'd advise not giving into the stress the buyer's causing you (sounds like causing you by deliberate strategy), and not offer to settle either partly or wholly. Good luck.

[insidethe93 · Accepted solution]

You don't need to reply at all at this stage, in my view, other than to ask for the police crime ref. no., how long the police expect to investigate, if the police has given any info/advice. It's quite OK to tell the buyer you're not entering into further communication.

The more someone says, the more verbal ping pong, the more words at risk of being misconstrued tnen used to trip them up, so if it starts getting/sounding legal, it might be a good idea to add "without prejudice" to your communications. Anything you say, say it as if a court is reading it (and less whether the buyer is reading it), because eventually a court might.

If you do decide to settle, these terms are useful (suggest you look them up otherwise this post gets far too long and officious-sounding) - "without prejudice", "full and final settlement", don't admit liability. Occasionally someone thinks of something else and re-opens chasing you.

It does seem unfair of the buyer, given that the seller has won so far and can't even ask the buyer "can you prove the item was stolen?" Sellers shouldn't, even by implication, be held liable for the actions of thieves (real or imagined thieves).

[telkavintage]

Thank you everyone, for your advice and input. I requested the police reference number, but they haven’t even sent one. I informed them that they’re welcome to proceed with the civil court if they wish, as there’s nothing more I can do at this point. 

[ett1954]

If you haven't already done so; put this buyer onto your blocked buyer list asap.

[papso22]

They lost the payment dispute because eBay will have covered it as you had previously won an ebay case for the same reason.  That doesn't mean they didn't get a refund from their payment provider though.  That refund would have come from  ebay.

Assuming they are not trying to get the  money twice, they clearly failed to convince their payment provider that the item had been stolen, which shows the level of their  'evidence'.  Payment providers don't just go by tracking. 

As a business, do you have insurance that would cover legal action, or include some legal advice?