Wrongly advertised

[oskadajetski]

I recently had the winning bid on a high end Spa (hot tub). The spa was advertised as in complete working order with the exception of 1 of the 5 pumps. Which we understood and were happy to have repaired /replaced.

Once in its new location at my place, fully connected and ready to switch on, nothing on the spa worked.

Long story short, after some initial messaging, I received a refund.

Problem that I have is that the seller had his broken spa removed by me for free, while it coast me $800 for the removalist plus a bill that is increasing on a daly basis for th spa repairs. Keep in mind that it could have cost him well over $1500 for the spa to be removed.

I am now well out of pocket and looking to understand if I have any further options in regards to further re-inbursment.   

[stickerswa]

Since it was 'pick up' then no, you have no come back on the seller at all. This form of sale assumes you see the item, tested the item and were happy with the item which is why you took the item . Seems unfair that you got stuck with a dud but you should have inspected the spa and tested it before buying.

[springyzone]

My understanding (and this has happened to me as a seller) is that pick up or not, the buyer does have some rights to a refund of money paid. I'm talking paypal here.

Whichever way you paid though, you have said you were given a refund & I have not heard of any seller on ebay being liable for more than refunding in full. 

That refund would cover the purchase cost.

If you are looking for a refund of the $800 removalist bill as well, I don't think you are going to get it, or not via paypal or ebay in any case. That is something you arranged privately, nothing to do with the seller or the sale.

I am not even sure that pursuing something in law would be worthwhile, would probably cost more than it is worth, but someone who knows more about the law would be best to advise you on that.

Since you were the one who removed the spa, it probably would have been a good idea to have the owner run it before removal, just so you could check what was working & what was not.

The owner has refunded you in good faith but could possibly counter claim you damaged something in the process of removal.

[digital*ghost]

---

@springyzone wrote:

I am not even sure that pursuing something in law would be worthwhile, would probably cost more than it is worth, but someone who knows more about the law would be best to advise you on that.

---

It sounds like the item was auctioned, and if the seller is not a registered business, they can't really be held legally liable for other costs via consumer laws. Not as far as I know, anyway.

The OP mentions rising repair costs, which makes it sound like when all is said and done, they will have full ownership of a functioning spa? (Otherwise, there would be no point in paying for repairs).

If that is the case, from the seller's perspective they pretty much just gave away a spa. (I understand it was not functioning as advertised, and removal / repair costs are [presumably] now above the initial outlay and expected expense to repair, but legally I don't think the seller can be forced to be liable - but, as I'm not a lawyer, I would suggest the OP consult with one to be absolutely certain). 

[countessalmirena]

@oskadajetski,

Is the seller a business? It does not sound like it. This sounds like a purchase from a private individual - a consumer-to-consumer transaction.

Under consumer legislation, you can be compensated for loss or damages if the business could reasonably have foreseen the problem. It's simply that this case doesn't appear to fall under that section. "The Australian Consumer Law does not apply when a consumer buys from a private seller (and the item is not sold in the course of their business)."

You say it cost you $800 for the removalist; do you mean that that was the cost of removing the spa from your home? Why would it cost you $800 to remove it if you were able to remove it from the seller's home yourself?

Oh! EDIT AFTER SEEING DIGITAL*GHOST'S POST: oskadajetski, have you actually returned this spa to the seller? I took it for granted that you did so.

Did you pay by cash or by PayPal?

Note that the seller could have said that you damaged the spa during the local pick-up, since you removed it yourself and presumably transported it yourself to your home. That isn't covered by eBay's MBG. Since you appear to have been refunded, you're fortunate that the seller didn't put this forward. Additionally, eBay's MBG doesn't cover compensation for loss or damages.

While your answers to these questions would help to clarify the situation, I very much suspect that you have no further recourse - but please do reply so that responders here can have the chance to consider your options from an informed perspective.

[springyzone]

My understanding from the first post, countessa, was that it was a private sale of a used item.

And that after complaining to the seller, the buyer has been refunded in full for the purchase price and allowed to keep the spa. So no, I don't think the spa has been returned.

There seems to be an undercurrent of suspicion (though I could be wrong) that the seller's description was not honest and by selling this way, they managed to avoid heavy removal fees of up to $1500 and were lucky to get the spa taken away for 'free'. I can't reconcile the $1500 estimate though with the $800 the buyer paid, unless the buyer means that they did all the removal work themselves and $800 is their transportation/tool cost?

But the bottom line is they got a free high end spa & by the sounds of it, with repairs it could eventually be in working order.

I can understand their disappointment as they would probably never have bid if they knew they would have these troubles but it is always a bit of a risk buying second hand items with moving bits & pieces. I think their next decision has to be-if the repair bills are mounting up, with one thing after another faulty and they have not been given a total repair quote, is it worth continuing or would they be best to bite the bullet & buy new? sell this one off as parts.

[beerandpizzaplz]

For all anyone here or anywhere else knows it may have actually been working at the time and been damaged during removal or transport.

I'm not saying you or anyone else is lying - there is simply no way of knowing - even if the possibility of the damage occuring during removal/transport is nearly zero percent.

If you have been fully refunded I cant see how you can demand more of the seller, even though it may have cost you more in repairs than you had thought it would.

After all - from the sellers prospective - its quite possible that the last time they used it there was only the fault that they stated - they may have actually described it exactly as it was.

Now they dont have that asset to resell or money from its sale.