eBay purchase

Question

I purchased an item on eBay (for £620) and paid by PayPal, the item was supposed to arrive by currier within 3 days but it did not arrive? The seller insists he sent it and that it was delivered - what are my legal rights?

Answer

Purchasing items through e-bay is one of the safest online market place especially for buyers, simply because e-bay offers good protection and also provides an elaborate mechanism for launching disputes for non-delivery of goods. If the indicated shipping method was a tracked service, ask the seller to provide evidence of delivery and ‘signed for’ indication. If they are unable to do this, then that should be sufficient proof that the item was either not shipped or was shipped to the wrong address.

If that is the case, then a strict legal remedy should not be your first option. Provided 30 days have not passed from the due date when you were supposed to receive the item, you are eligible to raise a dispute with the seller for non-delivery whereby you either ask for specific performance or a refund. If the Seller does not respond within the time limit or in the event you are unable to agree on a solution, you may then escalate the dispute to the eBay team for resolution. In most instances if you have a genuine claim eBay will refund your full payment plus shipping costs to your PayPal account and debit the seller’s account. Only when this process fails should you seek legal remedy against either the seller or the seller and eBay jointly.

Disclaimer: This does in no way constitute legal advice and this info is added for general information and illustration purposes and should not to be used in specific cases. Please seek help from a solicitor as no legal case is identical and the law changes regularly.