Ebay advice wanted!

[JonnyBoy]

I ordered a shiny new all-singing-all-dancing micro system on ebay on Tuesday, from "Panther.uk.ltd", which is the ebay ID of Panther Online, a company which has gone into administration and appears to be flogging lots of stock very cheap. (This stereo is £190-230 elsewhere and I paid £105 including delivery!)

A parcel arrived yesterday, which was impressively fast; however it's the wrong item - they've sent me a 15" LCD TV/DVD combi (Akai cheapo nasty) rather than the micro system. This is where the problem started...

The company's advertised phone numbers just ring and ring and ring and are never answered. After a bit of Googling I found a number that presumably used to be theirs but that now goes through to some bloke in the same building (who doesn't work for the company). This chap gave me their sales number, which I rang and actually got an answer. Spoke to a chap in sales who took my details and said he'd check it out on the computer and ring back "in 2 or 3 minutes". Of course, he didn't, so I rang back yesterday. He then told me that his colleague would call me back next day (today) to sort it out - this hasn't happened either! :bang:

Getting annoyed now... Rang the sales number today and a different bloke answered who didn't know his arse from his elbow, all he could tell me was that "the guy who deals with the online sales, he's not here". He didn't know/wouldn't say when the sales bloke would be available, took my name and said he'd pass on the message.

Based on their current performance I have no faith whatsoever that they will call back . Nobody in the company (or what's left of it) seems to have any interest in correcting their mistake, so my question is one of what to do next. Luckily I still have the TV...

1. If they ever actually call back and arrange to exchange for the product I actually ordered, where do I stand legally if I refuse to return the TV until the stereo is delivered? Given how little use they've been so far I don't think it'd be wise to send the TV back and trust them to deliver the stereo.

2. How long should I leave it before I make a complaint to Ebay/Paypal?
(This is tempting - I once complained about a laptop bought on Ebay that had less RAM than advertised and got a refund from Paypal, but neither they nor the seller asked for the laptop back! )

3. If 1) and 2) fail, should I just whack the TV on ebay to get my money back (it's worth about £150ish)?


Any opinions/ideas/offers to go round there and swipe the micro system (ok, maybe not the last one!) would be appreciated!

 

[custard]

go with a paypal item not as described and you will have to return it to them but use a trackable method.
they may offer to collect but i would then insist on a straight swap @ collection as you would have little proof of return

 

[sludgeguts]

If you paid by Paypal then I would go with Item not recieved rather than SNAD. SNAD requires you to return the parcel at your own expense (in the hope of this company refunding you).
You have recieved unsolicited goods from the company which they must arrange to collect.
Your legal stance for the parcel they sent is that you write to them giving them 7 working days to arrange for the item to be collected, after which time you will dispose of the item any way you see fit.

I've been down this route with Readers Digest and other similar companies sending out unsolicited goods & Trading Standards advised the letter.
As far as you are concerned, you paid for a stereo, they have yet to send a stereo.


If you signed for the parcel, check the recorded delivery number online to see what is said but at the end of the day it is INR.

And if paypal get a bit snotty because they have a tracking number (which could have been anything really, an empty box, a housebrick, anything) and you paid by credit card, then ask your card company if they will reinburse you.

 

[herpsuk]

if you are owed something or anything along those lines by a company that is in administration/Liquidation then you will struggle to get anything out of them as the administrator/liquidator has powers of everything. most commonly people or are owed money by the company never get it back. i know this as my dad runs an insolvency firm lol.

anwyays best bet would also to be claim with paypal and find a number for the administrators and give them a call. best bet realy.

 

[JonnyBoy]

Cheers for the replies!

Custard: if only I could get someone at Panther to give me a straight answer then that would be ideal - they send the stereo, I give the delivery man the TV to return, everyone happy! ... just requires an employee who gives a s**t, that would be the flaw in the plan

Sludgeguts: Interesting idea that; is that 7 days legally binding then? And is it completely their responsibility to arrange collection? (i.e. do they have to collect when it suits me and not when it suits some courier)

In any case I'm not willing to hand the TV over until I have either a refund or the stereo.

Jonathan (Herps): I have actually tried to contact the administrator, her name is given on their website (which in spite of everything still looks fully functional?!) and a bit of Googling gleaned the number of the firm she works for. However... in an all too familiar manner, she wasn't around and her colleague assured me that he's pass on a message and she'd call me back

To put it bluntly... FFS! :bang: :spin: :nutter:

 

[herpsuk]

do you have the administration companys name? if not ill see what i can do

 

[JonnyBoy]

do you have the administration companys name? if not ill see what i can do

Don't want to post it on here as its not their fault,b but will PM it to you in a mo

 

[custard]

did you fund paypal via credit card? if so your covered by your CC regardless really

 

[JonnyBoy]

did you fund paypal via credit card? if so your covered by your CC regardless really

I did, but that's a last resort - I'd much rather they sent the £200+ stereo that I paid £105 for!

Plus I refuse to have that TV shipped back to them at my expense - if they want it back it's up to them to arrange and pay for a courier.

 

[beau]

well id try get a refund, and sell the tv

 

[JonnyBoy]

well id try get a refund, and sell the tv

That'd be nice, at least flogging the telly and getting a refund would effectively give me enough cash to buy the stereo elsewhere at full price!

However... legally it's dubious, and not all that likely anyway.

 

[beau]

but as you said, what ever happens dont send the tv back imo, as its just too risky, afterall the tv has got to be worth £105?

 

[custard]

but as you said, what ever happens dont send the tv back imo, as its just too risky, afterall the tv has got to be worth £105?

beau you no expert on ebay tellys

 

[sludgeguts]

You can't sell the telly, it doesn't belong to you.
Once you've given them the opportunity to arrange collection & they fail to turn up THEN it belongs to you.
Sadly, if you give them chance to collect & they don't deliver the goods you wanted then you're screwed - no telly, no stereo & no money.
I'd be into paypal NOW, start INR & escalate to a claim immediately, this freezes any money in their account - although the official receivers have first dibs, (then suppliers & the victims who can't afford to lose money end up with nothing) I reckon even they'd have a job getting money off paypal.

At least you can try via paypal.
As I said earlier, if you get no joy from PP, ask your credit card company to chase the money - just tell them you paid for goods that weren't delivered, PP won't refund (maybe don't mention the company going bust) & the card Co will claw the money off PP.
PP won't like this & will send you a nasty email (you'll see their tears as they'll have lost the money out of their £million profit)

 

[sludgeguts]

afterall the tv has got to be worth £105?

Tesco, £60 jobbies

 

[jug]

use a paypal dispute to get your money back and keep the tv.

 

[Stu DemonD]

This Company?

Name & Registered Office:
PANTHER (U.K.) LIMITED
PANTHER HOUSE
1 PANTHER DRIVE
DRURY WAY, BRENT PARK
LONDON NW10 0JP
Company No. 01758724

In administration, dealt with by:

Practitioner name: ROHILLA, RINA
Practitioner address: THE RICHMOND PARTNERSHIP
82-86 SHEEN ROAD
RICHMOND
SURREY
TW9 1UF

That is all in the public domain, took me 1 minute to find it.

 

[herpsuk]

This Company?

Name & Registered Office:
PANTHER (U.K.) LIMITED
PANTHER HOUSE
1 PANTHER DRIVE
DRURY WAY, BRENT PARK
LONDON NW10 0JP
Company No. 01758724

In administration, dealt with by:

Practitioner name: ROHILLA, RINA
Practitioner address: THE RICHMOND PARTNERSHIP
82-86 SHEEN ROAD
RICHMOND
SURREY
TW9 1UF

That is all in the public domain, took me 1 minute to find it.

pftt just as i walk in and was about to post it to him and you reply, dam you

 

[JonnyBoy]

This Company?

Name & Registered Office:
PANTHER (U.K.) LIMITED
PANTHER HOUSE
1 PANTHER DRIVE
DRURY WAY, BRENT PARK
LONDON NW10 0JP
Company No. 01758724

In administration, dealt with by:

Practitioner name: ROHILLA, RINA
Practitioner address: THE RICHMOND PARTNERSHIP
82-86 SHEEN ROAD
RICHMOND
SURREY
TW9 1UF

That is all in the public domain, took me 1 minute to find it.

Yep, took me a little longer, maybe 3 mins googling session was the first step after realiing they didn't anwer phones or emails!

... although Rina (the administrator woman) never got back to me either - seems she's learned customer service skills from Panther

Contemplated driving to Panther's premises to confront them face to face, but it'd rinse nigh-on £50-worth of petrol to get there and back, so bugger that for a lark.

I'm gonna give 'em till Tuesday before filing a paypal dispute, and if they want their TV back they can bloody well swivel until I've got the refund in my account or the stereo in my hands and they've arranged and paid for someone to collect the TV!

 

[Stu DemonD]

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