sold an item and then the buyer accused me of cheating an ebay invoice

[reallyhardtofind]

I recently sold an item and as usual I sent the invoice the same way as I have been doing since 2007 then the buyer starts ranting that I have tried to charge them with AU$ instead of US$ and they accused me of charging more buy billing them in AU$ than US$....they then went on to say they will take the matter up with pay pal...So having nothing to hide I said call paypal do what ever....what I find amazing is I sold the item from australia in AU$ and then some how I changed the currency...for the first time ever I was confused as I didn't know I did anything wrong all I did is sent an invoice like I have always done....What bothers me is the accusation that I have cheated an ebay invoice.....then after all the fuss the buyer pays for the item and gives me no reason why they paid and or what paypal said....I refunded their money as I dont want to deal with people like this.....I have reported the messages to ebay and now awaiting neg feed back from this moron  .....what a crazy person accused me of cheating an invoice thens pays for the item then expects me to complete the deal....no way why the bloddy hell would I trust this person at all.......another good buyer I guess....

[digital*ghost · Accepted solution]

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@crikey*mate wrote:

refunding their money without court direction or by mutual agreement was an illegal act.

It is against the law and you are now in breach of contract.

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Just out of curiosity, would it be a breach of contract if a seller stated within their TOS something along the lines of "reserve the right to refuse service to customers who are...." (eg rude, disrespectful, demanding goods or services outside of those offered etc).

I get that terms like "rude" and "disrespectful" are subjective, but there are probably more apt terms that are less open to interpretation that could result in the same message being conveyed. 

[reallyhardtofind]

cool and slander isnt

[reallyhardtofind]

crikey is of reading another post right now, trying to stick it up someone else, lol, but I'm sure they will get back to you.....

the fact is Im not comfortable after the messages from this buyer and if they want to go legal bring it.....disrespectful is the word I'd use

[*crikey*mate*]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@crikey*mate wrote:

refunding their money without court direction or by mutual agreement was an illegal act.

It is against the law and you are now in breach of contract.

---

Just out of curiosity, would it be a breach of contract if a seller stated within their TOS something along the lines of "reserve the right to refuse service to customers who are...." (eg rude, disrespectful, demanding goods or services outside of those offered etc).

I get that terms like "rude" and "disrespectful" are subjective, but there are probably more apt terms that are less open to interpretation that could result in the same message being conveyed. 

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out of my league now digi.

just guessing

I think it would still be in breach of contract as once the purchase was "made or the auction ended" the contract was formed and the customer was "served" anything that happens after that is outside the formation of the original contract.

the inticasies of the electronic method of auction make this tricky. but I would say that it would go back to grass roots of the contract.

seller advertised.

buyer bid/purchased

auction ended

contract formed

seller needs to send to fulfill their end of the contract.

[*crikey*mate*]

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@reallyhardtofind wrote:

cool and slander isnt

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it's not slander until a third party is made aware of it (and not by you) and they believe it to be true.

however, even if that did occur, just because they break the law, that doesn't give you free range to also break the law.

to be compliant with the law, you need to fulfil your end of the contract and then raise a claim of defamation as a separate action.

[*crikey*mate*]

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@reallyhardtofind wrote:

crikey is of reading another post right now, trying to stick it up someone else, lol, but I'm sure they will get back to you.....

the fact is Im not comfortable after the messages from this buyer and if they want to go legal bring it.....disrespectful is the word I'd use

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you forgot to stomp your feet and pout.

i did not "stick it to you"

I pointed out how you broke the law so that in future you may be able to refrain from doing so in order to protect yourself against legal action.

[digital*ghost]

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@crikey*mate wrote:

out of my league now digi.

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Ok, no worries.

I think it harks back to some of my earlier queries and discussions (you'll remember the main one - about at what point, if any, a seller does not have a legal obligation to fulfil the contract made on eBay - situations where the buyer didn't pay notwithstanding). 

I know the things I personally think and feel don't change the law, but I have to say I really do have empathy for sellers in situations like this, and I do think it would be reasonable to reserve such a right, if allowed within the scope of policies / law. 

[thecatspjs]

Ebay policies and guidelines as to how transactions should be conducted also come into play here.  Whilst not forming part of the contract, buyers and sellers must conduct themselves in manners congruent with those policies - including in relation to communication and dispute processes.  Think there is a ruling in some case somewhere that cites how they come into play ??? might be wrong though ...

Based on the details outlined OP I would probably do as the OP has done and refunded.

[*crikey*mate*]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@crikey*mate wrote:

out of my league now digi.

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Ok, no worries.

I think it harks back to some of my earlier queries and discussions (you'll remember the main one - about at what point, if any, a seller does not have a legal obligation to fulfil the contract made on eBay - situations where the buyer didn't pay notwithstanding). 

I know the things I personally think and feel don't change the law, but I have to say I really do have empathy for sellers in situations like this, and I do think it would be reasonable to reserve such a right, if allowed within the scope of policies / law. 

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I agree with you dig (and yes I remember that convo) but the law has to apply equally to everyone. As you said those terms are very subjective and therefor open to abuse both intentional and not. Consequently I can't see the law being changed to allow those untrained in it to interpret it at their discression, thus why a court needs to make the decision to end a contract or to allow it to remian on foot.

[*crikey*mate*]

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@thecatspjs wrote:

Ebay policies and guidelines as to how transactions should be conducted also come into play here.  Whilst not forming part of the contract, buyers and sellers must conduct themselves in manners congruent with those policies - including in relation to communication and dispute processes.  Think there is a ruling in some case somewhere that cites how they come into play ??? might be wrong though ...

Based on the details outlined OP I would probably do as the OP has done and refunded.

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eBay policy doesn't trump the law.

anyway, I'm not doin this game again.

exhausted it last time

was just trying to help the seller so as to avoid a tricky situation in the future.

all I got was smart **bleep** comments for my efforts.