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In the UK, it would be purely civil since it would not be fraud (false representation for gain) or theft (taking without permission) automatically if EBay are u

In the UK, it would be purely civil since it would not be fraud (false representation for gain) or theft (taking without permission) automatically if EBay are unaware that there is actually a problem. If they took your money and you have proof, you take them to Court and get your money back. Annoying but hardly rare in the business world.

TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
If you take them to court and win you get a piece of paper which says they should give you your money back. And that's all. Enforcing that piece of paper requires a further judgement and may require bailiffs and/or lawyers. At this point you will have paid out significant costs with no guarantee that you'll get any of your money back. It's fairly standard for small businesses to dodge debts. A company can declare itself insolvent and debts are either written off or a tiny percentage of the amount due is paid out. The directors can then start another company. Rinse and repeat. But taking a company like Ebay to small claims is very risky anyway. It's highly likely the T&Cs - which no one reads - are vague enough to allow a variety of defences while still technically being within the law. You'd need a good lawyer to argue otherwise, and that won't be cheap. Really, this kind of abuse should be handled at the regulatory level, with stiff penalties for systematic abuse of obligations, enforced by strong laws that don't allow for easy legal excuses.
mvc 4y ago
> Annoying but hardly rare in the business world Not really the "business world" is it though? Ebay markets itself as something any consumer can use to clear out their old stuff and make a bit of extra money. I appreciate that some people build businesses off it but that doesn't seem like what this guy was doing and he really shouldn't have to take them to court to get his money back.

TheOtherHobbes 4y ago

If you take them to court and win you get a piece of paper which says they should give you your money back. And that's all. Enforcing that piece of paper requires a further judgement and may require bailiffs and/or lawyers. At this point you will have paid out significant costs with no guarantee that you'll get any of your money back. It's fairly standard for small businesses to dodge debts. A company can declare itself insolvent and debts are either written off or a tiny percentage of the amount due is paid out. The directors can then start another company. Rinse and repeat. But taking a company like Ebay to small claims is very risky anyway. It's highly likely the T&Cs - which no one reads - are vague enough to allow a variety of defences while still technically being within the law. You'd need a good lawyer to argue otherwise, and that won't be cheap. Really, this kind of abuse should be handled at the regulatory level, with stiff penalties for systematic abuse of obligations, enforced by strong laws that don't allow for easy legal excuses.

mvc 4y ago

> Annoying but hardly rare in the business world Not really the "business world" is it though? Ebay markets itself as something any consumer can use to clear out their old stuff and make a bit of extra money. I appreciate that some people build businesses off it but that doesn't seem like what this guy was doing and he really shouldn't have to take them to court to get his money back.