Advice please... Sold saddle now buyer demanding refund

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Lej09

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I sold a saddle about 2 weeks ago through Preloved and Paypal. I gave a full detailed description along with photos to support the description. A lady contacted me interested and asked loads of questions which I answered and along with more photos which I took and emailed to her for queries she had. I would hear from her one day asking for the saddle to be posted then not another word for a week etc. This went on a for a while.

Anyway, after all the photos and emails, she eventually sent the money through Paypal and I posted the saddle for next day delivery (after having to take time of work to get it to her quickly as there was no notice). She emailed to say she was very happy with the saddle when she received it.

One week on and she says she has had a saddler look at it and the saddle and it has a bulge under the pin and the owen pannels were not even when it was tried on her horse (no idea what owen pannels are tbh). She says the saddle isn't fit for the purpose it was sold for and is demanding a full refund. Any advice would be great!
 
She has sent through some photos with a profile of a piece of paper infront of the saddle under the pommel, I presume from the saddler. How do I know she hasn't damaged it?
 
Do you have photos of the same place on the saddle which you sent to her? If so, mention these and the condition you sent it in. If it was damaged in transit, then I thought it was responsiblity of the buyer to claim this back, but may be wrong?
 
I would say 1 week is too late, unless you are a pro/business. You sold the saddle in good faith and she accepted it when she received it. It's a 2nd hand item so can't expect something new unless stated as new. Why can't the panels be reflocked if they are uneven? It's regular saddle maintenance to reflock. Is her fitter a SMS fitter or an "alternative" fitter who might be unable to reflock?

An Owen panels is a half panel (the front does not extend all the way to the bottom).
 
I don't sell goods this way - but I do buy them. Would she not be covered by the PayPal gaurentees? If PayPal decide to give her her money back my understanding is that the seller has little recourse?
 
I see. It was a close contact dressage saddle so that would be the owen panel then. I am a private seller and it was a second hand saddle, used for about 18months. I gave her as much detail as I physically could. I have emailed her back with so just waiting to hear back now. I would have thought the pannels can be re flocked surely? That thought hadn't occured to me at the time but every saddle wears differently depending on the horse and rider. It really is putting me off selling things!
 
Shay said:
I don't sell goods this way - but I do buy them. Would she not be covered by the PayPal gaurentees? If PayPal decide to give her her money back my understanding is that the seller has little recourse?
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Thats a good point Shay. If Paypal send the money back then I guess I have nothing to stand on?
 
I would just say no. It clearly just doesn't fit her horse and shes looking the money back. PayPal will hold the money if she opens a dispute but it will then be up to you and her to sort it out anyway. She saw the pics and she decided to buy it.
 
I'm not sure if I a friend of mine complained about a fake pair of converse trainers she bought and I'm sure she was given a full refund but still kept the shoes. This may have been through eBay though. I have emailed the lady back saying no, I am sure I will get an email back later on.
 
If you sent her pictures that showed what she is talking about, she looked at and agreed to buy, sold as seen. I have no idea about paypal though. A private sale should in theory be OK.
 
If she opens a dispute in PayPal, just request she returns the item through the dispute.

This way, she has to provide proof of delivery when the item is returned before she gets her money back.

Any advice you need, ring PayPal - they are brilliant over the phone.
 
redfoxhunter said:
If she opens a dispute in PayPal, just request she returns the item through the dispute.

This way, she has to provide proof of delivery when the item is returned before she gets her money back.

Any advice you need, ring PayPal - they are brilliant over the phone.
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Yes, but OP only has to accept return if the item is not as described so the buyer would have to establish that 1st.
Actually not even sure of that as it's not through e-bay so a private sale.
 
Was it paid friends and family/gift to avoid there being a fee? Because if so PayPal will do nothing.

Advice to anyone selling privately, insist on being paid as a gift. There is a button for it.
 
I sold the saddle as "purchase of goods" as I wanted to make sure we were both covered. The panels are flocked, so easy to adjust.

Still not heard back from her which is odd...
 
Lej09 said:
I sold the saddle as "purchase of goods" as I wanted to make sure we were both covered. The panels are flocked, so easy to adjust.

Still not heard back from her which is odd...
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The only person covered in the above scenario is the buyer.

Not so odd to hear nothing considering she's taking the pee and you have said No.

You are a private seller, so as already stated the Sale of Goods Act requirement to be "fit for purpose" is void. The risk is hers. She was the one who chose postage rather than inspection and collection.

Check Preloved website. Last I saw they covered for paypal "not received" but did not cover for "not as described" in their selling rules.

Anyway, paypal "not as described" doesn't apply to this situation. It's a second hand saddle. Saddles mould to the back of the horse they are used on. She received what was described.
 
I would suggest that she sells it on... I had a similar request after selling a saddle on Preloved, when the buyer then said she had her saddler look at and the saddler wanted to open it up to check the tree. She said she'd like me to pay for this check and then refund her if there was any damage.

As someone else said, buyer beware, sold as seen...
 
If you've got photos of the exact area where she's claiming damage, you will be covered, other wise you may find it easier to say you will offer a refund if the saddle is returned, and if it's returned in the same condition you sent it, you will refund them.

I sold a saddle to a lunatic who claimed it was a different size to what it was advertised as, and that it was no totally no good for her. She wanted a refund, I only said if she sent it back in the condition she received it in. They had 7 or 14 days to respond. In the mean time the cheeky Cow had it for sale on fb for twice the price she'd bought it for (fair enough I can't stop that), but with the statement it fitted her fine, and claimed it had only been used a few times (which was a lie!) no one purchased the saddle so she sent it back.

I really wonder where idiots like this come from???
 
I would not be offering a refund. Saddle was sold in good faith and she had lots of pictures etc from you to show its condition. If she opens a case for a refund PayPal will require her to show its been significantly missold. Also make sure you keep the emails she sends you, especially the one where stated she was very happy with the saddle, might just come in handy!
 
Iv stopped selling most things now unless it has a good value due to the idoits out there.
Rambo rug as new condition, lot of pics to prove this and the buyer paid a fair price which is what I wanted due to its value. I had a e mail about a week later asking for money back because her horse had torn.
I sold a group of items, don't want to say what as the buyer was a nutter and bombarded me with nasty txts. She viewed all items and checked them all which was all complete. Happy with the lot and paid full price, later in the evening I had a txt saying I haven't got this bit and this is missing etc when everything was complete plus she came to view/pick up and checked it all. Said she wanted half her money back. People can be very odd at times and I do think now id rather chuck away then sell with some of the trouble iv had.
 
She hasn't got back to me so I presume I won't hear anymore from her. Thank you for all of your help. It has certainly put me off selling!
 
I darent sell anything online thats worth more than £50 any more due to the fact paypal and ebay will happily refund buyers money!! Happened to me before where I sold some miniture dolls house furniture was well over £100 and they said it was damaged (made sure it was properly packaged), so i lost out on £100 of dolls house stuff and they got their £100 back in their pocket!!! So technically i was £200 out of pocket!!!
 
If you still have her initial email where she tells you she is happy with the saddle she has no leg to stand on re a dispute. Maybe she has realised this. Fingers crossed you hear no more.
 
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