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Ebay Seller Issues Lawsuit Over Comments.

by Richard Tunnah
7 replies
A UK Ebay buyer has recieved a lawyers letter threatening a lawsuit after he left negative feedback on ebay over the purchase of a £133 ($220) mobile phone. The buyer was dissatified with the condition of the phone and wasn't able to resolve the issue with the seller before leaving negative feedback. The seller has said he'll withdraw legal action if the buyer removes the negative feedback.
Anyone find this worrying? It appears to be bullying by sellers that can afford such actions! [!]

Rich
#comments #ebay #issues #lawsuit #seller
  • Profile picture of the author R Hagel
    These must be the same people who preface refund requests with threats to report me to the FTC, FBI, CIA, IRS, ATG, BBC, and other three letter offices... if I don't refund RIGHT NOW. (These sorts of threats usually happen on the same day they buy the product -- so it's not like they even had to wait for a refund or anything.)

    In other words, there have always been bullies. I don't think it will start a trend, because the bullies have been bullying since God was a baby.

    Cheers,
    Becky
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  • Profile picture of the author write-stuff
    Unless the feedback made comments about the seller, I doubt the complaint would have much success in court. I don't think there is much legal basis for successfully squelching a person's opinion about a product.
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    • Profile picture of the author adamv
      I suppose filing a lawsuit over negative feedback is one way to get around Ebay's ridiculous policy of not allowing sellers to leave anything other than positive feedback for buyers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Devin T
    It's hard to determine much on terms of Defamation and such without seeing the posted feedback, but this seems like a frivolous lawsuit and under the UK's English Law System, and this seller will most likely end up losing big and have to pay for the defendants court fees as well as his own.
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  • Profile picture of the author Darth Executor
    I don't care. I'd mail the seller and tell him a lot of things I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to post here, and drag his mother, father and grandmother into it if I have room. He'd get laughed out of any real court.
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  • Profile picture of the author dbarnum
    We don't know the whole story, so could be legit. Ebay can be a tough playing field. (Where's that black eye button......)
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    • Profile picture of the author Richard Tunnah
      Full story from Sky News:-

      Chris Read, 42, said he was stunned to receive court papers saying he would be sued for libel over the remarks he posted in regards to his purchase of a mobile phone.

      Mr Read, a mechanic from Herne Bay, Kent, wrote on the eBay feedback section that the £155 Samsung F700 handset he bought was scratched and chipped and was not the model he wanted.

      He added that he had already waited for more than a week for a refund after returning it to the seller.

      Shortly after leaving his feedback, Mr Read received an email from the seller, Joel Jones, asking him to retract the comments.

      The mechanic told the Daily Mail: "There was absolutely no way I was going to remove the feedback. What I wrote was a valid and honest opinion of the item and the service I received.

      "It's not like I wrote anything malicious or nasty or called him a conman or a fraudster."

      He said he then received a formal letter from Mr Jones, warning him that if he did not sign an enclosed statement he would be taken to court and liable for court costs of £175 along with "substantial" lawyers' fees.

      Mr Jones, who uses the name onsalexuk to sell electronic goods on eBay, said the comments were affecting his business as sellers who have negative feedback appear lower down the screen in searches than other people.

      He has now given Mr Read a full refund for the phone.

      Richard Ambrose, head of trust and safety at eBay, said: "Our feedback system allows buyers to make informed decisions about who they trade with based on the experience of other users.

      "However, on the rare occasion that something goes wrong we always encourage users to contact the seller in order to resolve the matter amicably."
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