Had a serious mess up

[Hyper]

Hey all,

I sold my Sapphire X1900XTX 512mb graphics card on that well known auction site last week, I sent it last week via Royal Mail Special Delivery and it cost me £7.75.

Now this is where it all goes horribly wrong, I received an e-mail tonight saying:

Hi Sam,

I have not received the item yet, I have checked the Royal Mail website and it states the item has been delivered and signed by someone called Matthew ???.

No idea who he may be, can you chek your end that the delivery address is correct.

At first I thought this person must be a scammer because it clearly states on the royal mail website it had been delivered and I thought nothing more of it.

So I replied asking him to check with all his neighbors as it is more than likely that one of them have signed for it and not brought it round for him.

I then got a reply saying:

Thanks Sam,

none of my neighbours are called Matthew, but I will check in the morning and let you know.

Now at this point I began to get a bit worried and started to look for my Royal Mail reciept. I finally found it and checked the address and to my horror I noticed I had infact sent the item to a person called Matthew. So I check in my paypal history and I should have sent it to someone called David and after a little bit more checking I find Matthew to be the person I sold another item to earlier that week for £13.

So this Matthew person has got quite a bargain at £13

Anyway I quickly sent off an e-mail to Matthew explaining the whole situation and gave him the Davids address and told him I would send him some cash via paypal if he would be willing to send the card off asap.

I got a reply this morning saying:

HI Sam,

Hate to be the bearer of bad news - I have a lot of parcels which arrive daily - this one was attempted delivery friday - i went to pick up on saturday - i was expecting it to be something else -anyways when opened there were no details of who it was from or anything like that - there was an invoice which i checked my paypal for however no details matched up - i rang royal mail to see where i stood with this and they advised as it was addressed to me i was the legal owner and could keep it, as i use the computers here at work I had no need for it & based on this and the fact there were no details of who it was from i gave it to my mate to sell at the car boot which we split the 60 quid made 50/50.

I send my apologies for this, but unfortunatley this means I can not assist with the below, Massive apologies, if I had recieved this mail before sunday I would have assisted.

Once again massive apologies.

Matt

Now then I am totally stumped on what I can do, any ideas?

 

[JN]

Bad luck mate, that's pretty damn sucky.

Maybe look into the thing about it being "legally" his. If someone accidentally delivered a car to your house, I doubt you'd be able to claim it as legally yours. I don't know tho...just speculating.

 

[Rastalovich]

Aw fudge sticks!

There is something about an item going through the mail service where the addressee is the legal owner. Might be more intwined with personal deliveries tho.

If u`d only put u`r own details in with the package (sender info), it`s a case of the guy being an arse tbh, and put tamely.

 

[Hyper]

There was a return address on the package and he had bought other items off me earlier that week so he could have done something about it.

 

[Rastalovich]

Sounds to me like he knew full well where it`d come from and etc. Nobody receives a parcel, especially with a bit of kit in it, and knowingly sells it on so quickly, without knowing what they`re doing.

 

[Mr. Smith]

If your return address was on there then he is at fault.

Also, due to previous transactions the guy knows you and this would go against him too.

CAB? Citizens Advice... Worth a try.

If you have his address contact the police. Keep David informed too.

I'm a bit worried about my dominator rma... Its been forever and a day and I've heard nothing...

 

[Pat123]

im sure you could get your mone off him or something. Im sure he is at fault because he knows exactly where its come from. he was bang out of order, this should have been returned instantly.

 

[equk]

Unlucky

Altho as Kemp says the bloke has admitted he knew he hadn't ordered it and so took it with full knowledge that it wasn't his. I'm not sure where it lies legally tho because I guess you did send him it.

I think he has covered himself a little by saying it had no details of where it had come from. (surely there was a return address on it tho?)

when opened there were no details of who it was from or anything like that

what would you have done if you were in his situation?

 

[Hyper]

It did have a return address on as do all special delivery items.

 

[Rastalovich]

U can find a source of a special delivery.

Pursue it tbh.

 

[Mr. Smith]

You totally have this guy by the short and curlys.

Firstly get written confirmation from Royal Mail regarding SD - how they make you attach a return address. You have the proof that he signed for it.

Then you have proof he lied about no return address as your RM email//letter states you did.

Contact the police and explain the situation, they will advise you further. Give them his address.

Check your rights with CBA.

Don't sit on this. Action needs to be taken now.

Lastly, if all else fails give Mr. Smith his address and I will demonstrate how to perform a spinning roundhouse and introduce his face to my foot

(sadly I can't or I'll be in trouble)

Seriously, get on this.

 

[Hyper]

Thanks for all the comments so far, trust me I am not going to let this one drop.

Just informed Ebay with the situation to see what their view is on it.

I also spoke to Barclays legal advise and they said that Matthew is fully responsible for either returning the item to me or paying the full value of what the item was sold for. They told me to first of all send him a formal letter explaining what I plan on doing and if I still dont get a reply to take it to the small claims court where it will probably cost around £30 to £40 initially but it will probably all go in my favor.

 

[Mr. Smith]

Sweet.

I love it when punks get busted

If it goes in your favour he pays the SCC costs too.

Good luck mate, keep me/us posted.

 

[Elven]

Keep us informed on how you get this guy.

 

[Pat123]

Yeh keep us posted on the happenings He just fancied some quick cash the little p****, he had no rights to sell on something with a return address attached.

 

[Hyper]

Just had an e-mail from him basically stating how he thinks he is covered legally.

Please find attached an excert from the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 - which i was advised to review by my legal department - address for this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Protection_(Distance_Selling)_Regulations_2000

Unsolicited Goods. Where goods are sent to a consumer (this requirement is redundant here) with no contract stipulating delivery, the "recipient may [...] use, deal with, or dispose of the goos as if they were an unconditional gift to him"[14] and "[t]he rights of the sender to the goods are extinguished"[15].

it then goes on to reference :

Criminal Liability of the Sender[4]

Under the Consumer Protection Regulations 2000 it is a criminal offence to:

Assert a right of payment for the goods.[5]

Threaten to take legal action with regard the goods.[6]

Threaten to Place the recipients name on a 'black-list'.[7]

Invoke or threaten to invoke any collection procedure.[8]

apparently parts of the the above is still true with the 2000 act - although this isn't stated on wikipedia, as such you may have already commited a criminal offence - however i won't be taking you to court, so don't worry.

As you have confirmed you don't want the 30 pounds which I offered - which according to the above i didn't have to, i now consider this matter closed

I would reccomend seeking better legal advice in future, the free services provided by credit cards and home insurance, banks etc, they are normally untrained and unqualified people who don't know little if any detail quoted in legislation, as such they can end up costing you money and time, i know as i have been there and done that.

Please don't make any calls on my work number (which was called 3 times today), all calls are recorded on this number (as stated on the calls today) failure to comply with this request may lead to me filing a harrasment, and based on what has been posted on the web site link you sent, possibly a slander suit, if you do see fit to contact me regarding the above matter please ensure it is only by e-mail.

Alternatley you can contact my current, contact details available:

http://www.cordnerlewis.co.uk/

I now consider the matter closed with no monies payable by myself.

Thanks

Mr M Green

I dont think he will have the same tone once a letter turns up on his door step

 

[prosser13]

LOL

Read the exemptions:

These Regulations do not apply to contracts:

* involving the sale or other disposition of land.[17]

* concluded by automated vending machine.[18]

* concluded with a telephone operator by public payphone.[19]

* via auction.[20]

Err..pwnt!

 

[Pat123]

He only says no work calls so he dosent get busted, he thinks u will drop it but dont keep pursuing him for aslong as it takes..

 

[Ham]

His 'legal department' use wikipedia as a source?

Urm...

This is nothing to do with the distance selling act anyway. No money or contract was drafted up for it. What invoice did you put in with it sam? Surely it would have had the real recipiatns details, as well as yours? email addresses at least.

He should have realised this and returned the item to its sender. Not gone and '[given] it to my mate to sell at the car boot'

And ffs, what moron would sell a X1900XTX for £60...

Edit: This law was written by monkeys. Im sorry, but it is.

Under the 1971 Act, the recipient as obliged to the reasonable of the goods for a period of time.

What hell does that mean. I notice he left it out of his 'quote'. I'd bet that its something to do with the recipient have too hold the item for a certain amount of time.

Also the 'Its criminal to threaten legal action.' Wtf again. Ok, no warning we'll just leave a summons on your doorstep, no threat involved.

Send this his way sam:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unjust_enrichment

Add the note 'Look i can use google too!' (dont really)

Another moneky written sentance

This is important as if the individuals is not aware that they have legal title to the goods, they may unjustly enrich the sender. The fine amounts up to Level 5 on the standard scale, besides the first offence which is measured up to Level 4 on the standard scale.

 

[Hyper]

Thanks for the advice Ham, I am sending him a letter tomorrow which gives him 14 days to either return the card which he 'sold' or refund me the full amount the card was sold for on ebay (£120).

If he doesn't reply to that then the small claims court will be getting involved.