Can he do that?

[iNeo]

I recently sold a iphone 3GS 16GB on eBay for £350
-it was listed as new
-it was with the box and accessories
-it was in great condition
the guy didn't exactly pay through eBay he just sent me the money through PayPal after I sent him an invoice, he sent the money as a voucher, at the end of all the fuss I had only £300 in cash.
the buyer then receives the item and then says that there is problems with it, he says its unusable, when I clearly had jailbroke it and download apps from Cydia onto it, even Facebook etc.
He then asks for a refund, I say no as i put no refunds and plus the phone was sold as described, great condition.
Later on a couple weeks after he then says hes going to take me to court in 12 days unless I give him a refund of £320.
What I am thinking Is how can he do this, maybe the phone had been dropped during delivery, maybe he messed with it?
Can he take me to court for such a thing?

[bobright]

Why would you list it as NEW when it's open? He can dispute a claim through paypal and most likely get his $$$ back

As far as court doubt it that's prob just a scare tactic

[iNeo]

I listed it as new because the phone had been recently bought and had literally only been messed around with for an hour or so and that was to check if everything was working.
It had everything, The only thing i would say it never had was that plastic casing you get over the box when you buy it from the shop.
The reason i sold was because of the release of the iphone 4, i was going to buy that instead.

[Wilbourn]

New=New In Box, never opened and with the Shrink wrap on it... He may (I said MAY not does) actually have you since your auction was misleading and you falsified your statements regarding the condition of the phone. Plus, New iPhones don't come Jailbroken out of the box from Apple, ATT, Best Buy or o2 with cydia installed.

The only thing that you have going for you is the fact that you can say; since you mistakenly misrepresented the condition of the iPhone and the fact that the Buyer didn't pay the full price as agreed upon at the conclusion of the Auction, the 50 pound reduction from the final price will used to represent the mistaken condition of the iPhone as reconciliation between the buyer and seller. Also, you have in your corner the fact that it was 12 weeks later that he demanded a refund there by degrading the quality and condition of the iPhone and inadvertently canceling his argument that the iPhone was not in New condition because it can no longer be proved due to his use of the phone for 12 weeks. But your main weapon in your arsenal is his attempt at extortion but demanding 320 pounds (when he only paid 300 pounds) in refund or else he will take you to court. No person in their right mind would go to COURT and pay the COURT AND LAWYER fees (which would be a hell of a lot more) for a 300 pound iPhone because it condition was Misrepresented in an eBay auction... Unless the condition of the iPhone was GROSSLY MISREPRESENTED in the auction (I.E. You say its Brand New In Box and still shrink wrapped, he buys and you send him the remains of an iPhone after making and appearance on the "Will it Blend" series web series).

He did screw you out of your money and failed to pay the price he agreed to pay so he really cant argue other than he just wants his money back and he is using this misrepresentation of the condition of the iPhone as due course for a return... I wouldn't worry about his threats, he got an iPhone in good/great condition (NOT NEW) for 50 pounds less that he was supposed to pay and probably below the average going price (so he got a deal I'm sure) so is it really that big of a deal that the overall condition was misrepresented ( purely by accident I'm sure)...

I listed it as new because the phone had been recently bought and had literally only been messed around with for an hour or so and that was to check if everything was working.
It had everything, The only thing i would say it never had was that plastic casing you get over the box when you buy it from the shop.
The reason i sold was because of the release of the iphone 4, i was going to buy that instead.

If that's the case then you should had put "like new" for the condition and explained in the description how you literally just purchased the phone and played with it for an hour before turning it off and putting it back in the box..

[bobright]

^Yup the best advice i can give on future things is be as descriptive and honest as you can with everything on ebay. Dont try to use things that might misinterpret your auction for just a few more bucks, or to make it sound nice. It will only bite you in the butt. Also always be sure you purchase confirmation, insurance and/or signature confirmations for bigger sales.

[iNeo]

Thanks for that advice.
So i should offer him a £50 refund for the mistaken condition and leave if from there?
What happens if he does not agree? Can something like this even escalate to court?
Or is he just trying to scare me?

[ikesmasher]

if he doesnt agree, then its too bad. they are correct, new is considered still in box and in great condition. Mint better describes yours, and in the description you say it was never actually used for more than an hour etc...

but yea if he disagrees you refund him or go to court. your choice.

[cpjr]

Still though I doubt he can take you to court, however he can probably file a claim with ebay and/or paypal, in which I can almost guarantee he will win as they always side with the buyer.

[i.Annie]

Court is a definite NOT GONNA HAPPEN. I've had issues with buyers like that before even though the item I sold is exactly as described and clearly says no refunds. He can file a claim with PayPal but you can dispute it as well. I fought with a buyer before and won. I agree with everyone that the item shouldn't be listed as "new" if it was opened and used even for just an hour, it should've been listed "like new" or "mint condition" but that was a slight misrepresentation. You have described the item as 100% functional and in great condition cosmetically. You can win this over and not have to give a refund if you let PayPal investigate and tell them your side. Although it's true, Paypal is more likely on the buyer's side. But I have won myself as a seller before. I showed proof that my listing was not misleading and the buyer is being unreasonable. I even showed the emails we had that showed proof I wasn't wrong. If it says NO REFUND it was the buyer's own risk to purchase. Especially if the item was sent out functional, you've done nothing wrong. Sure it was "misleading" you said it was "new" but it isn't like it was used for a week.

If I were you, I would ask the buyer what is wrong with the device and ask what he did with it once he received it. I feel like he probably broke it on his own and doesn't want it anymore cuz he doesn't know how to fix it... :/

[moneysh0t09]

Yeah he isn't going to take you to court! But since you listed it as NEW, that was not a good decision. Worst comes to worst he is going to do a charge back with his credit card. Try and resolve this with the buyer... get his number and call?

[whereswaldo]

I don't think he can

[Imahottguy]

Did he win the auction? Or did he agree to pay you the £350 or whatever on the side? Meaning, did you end the listing and then just send him an invoice through paypal to the email he provided? If so, then he has no ground to stand on. Papypal will protect him if he bought it through ebay by winning an auction. If you list it as new then you are saying it is new. However, if you put in the description that you did take it out of the box to jailbreak it and such, then it clearly cannot be NIB with the shrink wrap. If he had done any research, he would know that no iPhone will ever come NIB with cydia installed, its just not possible. My guess is that since he is threatening to take you to court he did not win the auction. The whole court thing is just a scare tactic. Stand your ground and you will likely prevail.

I had an incident where someone did win the auction for a used 3G that he had remorse over. He lied to paypal, and they took him at his word, without requiring any actual proof. He had broke the device and then said that something else had been wrong with it. I ended up on top by taking it to apple and having them replace it on the spot for free.

So I guess the number one question is whether or not he actually won the auction.

[iNeo]

Yes i canceled the bid and sent an invoice which he completed, he didnt even pay the full £350 which was requested, but i didn't mind.
plus it has been at least 2 months since it has happened now.
the pictures clearly showed the iphone out of the box, also i took a picture of it on, showing the cydia app just to prove it was jailbroken.
i am thinking he must of droped it or broke it somehow, maybe even swaped it, and is now trying to claim his money back with these threats.

[chizzle187]

Dude he broke the phone or just don't want it anymore.... He will never win anything by waiting 2 months ... If he would have complained as soon as he received it then maybe but probably not even then, so just don't even worry ... My wife bought a fake coach purse off ebay that the lady said was 100% real and was 100% fake ... Anyway my wife did everything to try and get her $400 back and it never happen !! I dont care what anyone says you cant wait 2 months to return nothing... Even in a store with a receipt you cant return after 30 days.....

[Imahottguy]

Ok, now he has no legal ground to stand on. Neither ebay nor paypal will protect him. Taking you to court is laugable. You'll be fine. Tell him to eff off.