Advice please

[yardworx]

Hi, the buyer bought the lawnmower on February 25, 2024 for £399. After 2 months, on April 24, he writes to me that he used it for the first time (if this is true) and the mower stopped working after 2 hours of use. The mower was sold as used, in very good condition and worked 100%. The return period was 30 days. He expects me to return his money and takes me to court if I not return money . I wouldn't mind if he wanted to return the mower within the return period but not after 2 months... Please advise

[tressygirl]

Ignore the threat of court as you do not have to refund here.

Send the buyer a polite message that this was a second hand item,  working perfectly when sold,  but they had, under eBay rules of their 30 day MBG,  Money Back Guarantee policy, to return the item within 30 days if faults were found.

Explain neither you nor eBay are responsible for any guarantee after that period lapses.

[papso22]

The seller is a business seller, the buyer has statutory rights over and above the eBay money back guarantee, including for second hand items. 

[jckl1957]

As you state, the buyer is outside of the period allowed by the Ebay Money Back Guarantee.

However, even if they had frequently used the mower, they could reasonably expect it to last longer than a couple of months. It was not a cheap item.  The Consumer Rights Act, which covers a multitude of products, tells buyers they should expect the offer of a refund, replacement or repair for a minimum of six months.

The buyer may not actually take you to court, although the small claims court procedure is actually relatively easy and cheap to start, but they may go to their payment source and instigate a chargeback as they have bought something that is not fit for purpose.

It's your choice now. You can refuse to engage with the buyer and hope they don't take further action, or you can arrange a return and refund.

[*vyolla*]

Personally, I'd try to reach a compromise with this buyer, they are in a position to issue a chargeback if they funded their payment with a debit or credit card, which they likely did. 

If they do this, they will end up with the mower and a refund and you'll also be charged a £16 admin fee.

Even if the buyer had used it more than once it should've lasted more than 2 months.

On that basis I'd let them know that they can return it at their expense (let them know of a suitable courier) and the mower will be checked over and, if a fault is found, a full refund will be issued. 

[4_bathrooms]

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@*vyolla* wrote:

Even if the buyer had used it more than once it should've lasted more than 2 months.

On that basis I'd let them know that they can return it at their expense (let them know of a suitable courier) and the mower will be checked over and, if a fault is found, a full refund will be issued. 

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I agree with the rest of your post but as the buyer is within six months of receiving their item the OP is responsible for bearing all costs relating to repair or replacement of the item including shipping fees.

I'd advise the OP to direct their buyer to open an INAD case via eBay. I believe buyers have 90 days from the latest EDD they were given to do this - only the first 30 days are covered by eBay's MBG. The OP can then send a pre-paid return label and take it from there.  

[tressygirl]

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@papso22 wrote:

The seller is a business seller, the buyer has statutory rights over and above the eBay money back guarantee, including for second hand items. 

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Aaah fair dos,  that'll teach me for not checking the profile before answering !

[tressygirl]

@4_bathrooms  wrote:

I'd advise the OP to direct their buyer to open an INAD case via eBay. I believe buyers have 90 days from the latest EDD they were given to do this - only the first 30 days are covered by eBay's MBG. The OP can then send a pre-paid return label and take it from there.

Yes, a seller can vountarily still make a refund up to 90 days from sale date,  but the buyer cannot open an INAD in that time period once 30 days have lapsed.

[eleby_64]

In any case, he took all the risks. He should have made the return within two weeks. Besides, the product was sold as second-hand. Which means no one is immune to breakage.
So he can't prove anything in court. Although I doubt he'll even sue.😁

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https://casinoplinko.com/ 

[4_bathrooms]

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@eleby_64 wrote:

So he can't prove anything in court.

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He can prove he had a legal entitlement to a repair or replacement under consumer law. Within six month's of delivery the onus is on the business to prove the item wasn't faulty when it was received; it is not the buyer's responsibility to prove that it was. If I paid a business £400 for something that failed on first use and they refused to honour their legal obligations I wouldn't think twice about paying the £50 to make a small claim knowing the law is overwhelmingly on my side.

[4_bathrooms]

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@tressygirl wrote:

Yes, a seller can vountarily still make a refund up to 90 days from sale date,  but the buyer cannot open an INAD in that time period once 30 days have lapsed.

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I'm pretty sure buyers used to be able to open a return request up to 90 days following the sale. However, looking in my purchase history I can see it states "Return window closed on x"; x being 30 days after tracking indicated delivery.

[tressygirl]

Buyers can ask for a refund within 90 days the facility is there for a seller to do this,  but after 30 days,  it cannot be enforced,  leaving it up to the seller to agree or disagree ,to the refund after 30 days lapse.

@4_bathrooms 

[4_bathrooms]

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@tressygirl wrote:

Buyers can ask for a refund within 90 days the facility is there for a seller to do this,  but after 30 days,  it cannot be enforced,  leaving it up to the seller to agree or disagree ,to the refund after 30 days lapse.

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I can see that's how it works now. There isn't actually a specific option for the buyer to request a refund; just a "Contact seller" link.

This obviously complicates things for the OP. They can arrange to send a pre-paid return label via eBay messages which will enable them to receive the item back and examine it. If it can't be repaired or replaced and a refund is the only resolution how would the OP do this if the 90 day limit subsequently expired?