ebay Libel Feedback

roughan

hi
i sold a guy a laptop on ebay and a few weeks later he emailed me back saying he was delighted with it and but the cd rom ext wasnt working
i told him to post it back to me and i would arrange a replacament
but when it came it was working perfectly , i rang him about 15 times to tell him the drive was fine and that there was possibly an additional problem but i would sort it out regardless and the buyer refused to answer any of my calls
about a week later he emailed me saying that anything i had to say had to be in written form ? and he again demanded his replacement drive

i posted him down an replacement drive and that day he left me neg feedback saying i sold poor quality goods , i got into a temper as i had been so fustrated in trying to resolve the problem i left feedback on him saying " wierdo refused to pay for BLOW UP SHEEP"
straightaway i realised it was a bit too much and appoligised and offered to remove it ,now he is threating me with a libel case !!
what can i do about it , the auction was on ebay.co.uk
and the item was paid for in STG

due to his comments my sales are down about 40%
i have offered him a refund if he agrees to a mutual withdrawal of the feedback but he is refusing saying he wants a refund and to persue the libel case

any ideas?

MarkR

I've often seen mutually withdrawn feedback, can you do this without him accepting it? If he doesn't accept then he wants it up there and it's hardly libel then?

roughan

are you sure ?
i dont want to tell him to "see you in court" if its libel

i need him to fill out the mutual feedback retraction form also
i cant withdraw it by myself
if it did go to court would i have a libel case angainst him as my biz is down and the laptop was not faulty ?

KTRIC

roughan wrote:

are you sure ?

if it did go to court would i have a libel case angainst him as my biz is down and the laptop was not faulty ?

Explain that to him and tell him that you would be happy to mutually withdraw feedback.

majiktripp

I dont think he really has much of a claim seeing as you did test the cd drive which worked,attempted to contact him several times,offered a replacement etc..in fairness I've never heard of a liable case being brought against a seller on ebay...in fact I believe he may be blowing hot air...offer him a refund in exchange for the laptop..or otherwise tell him your filing a counter claim for lost revenue due to his negative feedback (or something like that) and see what he says. A lot of tosh by the sounds of it....

roughan

he wants a libel case for the "BLOW UP SHEEP" comments on his feedback
i have already offered him a full refund

majiktripp

Being realistic how many negative feedbacks get left on ebay every day,some alot worse than blow up sheep jibes,I doubt he would get very far with this "libel" case of his, even if you sent a email to ebay outlining the situation and what has happened including the offers of refund,exchange etc just so they would clarify whether he has any ground legally to make claims like that against you.

roughan

also he is thrething me with the small claims court for damages + his expenses+ his sols fees

i thought the small claims court only reclaimed the price of the item and you could not bring in a solicitor + look for solicitor fees
?
he is a total arsehole i had 100% feedback before this and my sales are down about 80 STG per item because of this

Oryx

roughan wrote:

?
he is a total arsehole

I think you have it in a nutshell here. eBay like life has its fair share of dweebs who get off on trying to feel important over trivial things. Im not a legal person, and this is NOT offered as legal advice.... so take this how you will. If it were me, I would send him a very calm, measured email, explaining that taking a case is his right, and if he feels he must then go ahead. BUT do stress that you will be filing a counter claim over your own unjustified feedback and loss of earnings. Again offer to mutually withdraw the feedback making the point that the longer it is left on, the more the libel to both of you is going on. Be very, very polite, and very, very sure of yourself, and you may find he will back down. As you have already made an offer of redress, he may find his 'case' is pretty weak anyway.

I seriously cannot see a libel claim for this hitting the high court any time soon, they tend to need to be a little more serious than this.

It does show tho, that in eBay and all business you should never, ever, respond when youre angry. Wait until youre calm and have thought something thru before responding.

mr_disc

Wooo Hooo so have you any BLOW UP SHEEP for sale huh ? !!:p .

Id agree with Katie above , Just say that you are sorry , and hopefully the guy will back off