Gardai Involvement in Adverts.ie Deal

JcbT16

Hopefully this is the right place to stick this, figured as there's threats of the police being involved it'll be alright. I'll try to keep things as brief as possible.

I sold a laptop on adverts.ie recently, it was about 4-5 years old, in alright shape, but the battery had a pretty short lifespan, and there were some stickers on the lid of it. When the buyer showed up I powered it up and demo'd it working, they looked over the unit and didn't have any qualms, and paid.

I then got a series of texts demanding that I return their money as the battery doesn't hold enough of a charge, and that they didn't want the stickers on it, then they complained there are scratches on it (which is untrue). I explained that I did state that there were battery capacity issues, and that the stickers were evident on it, not hidden or something. The buyer has now said that if I don't agree to return it by 5pm tomorrow they'll involve the Garda in the matter, saying they have evidence that the battery doesn't hold much of a charge (I previously stated this in person with them) and claiming that my ad listing doesn't mention that it exhibits this behaviour. They conclude by saying that "Your ad states everything is in working order so I'm requesting that you take the laptop back and return the money, as you knowingly sold faulty goods and denied anything is wrong."

So legally where do I stand with this? I need the money for my rent, they looked over the device, used it a bit, and were totally happy with it when I sold it, the ad mentioned that it had battery issues. Can the police force me to return the money? I'm not at all sure how the legal system works in a situation like this.

L1011

The Gardai will not get involved, end of story. Assuming you are not a business, consumer protection laws do not apply either despite their attempts to refer to them there.

Block their phone number on your phone and get on with life.

hullaballoo

Caveat emptor.

Nekarsulm

Private sale. Their problem now. Tell them to ring Gardai at once, otherwise you will ring them yourself.
Bullyboy tactics, and my only concern is that you may have invited them into your home, so they know where you live.
Also, a good idea to get a cheapo Pay As You Go phone and keep it for Adverts.he and Done Deal type situations.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Buyer beware. Had a similar situation myself selling a laptop recently. I let the buyer use the laptop for an hour and a half at my house, install his own games, test them, test the entire laptop. He was happy to take but the next day same thing...messages saying it was faulty and overheating...even if it was I wasn't taking it back. Threatened to involve gards, small claims etc. never heard anything more from them once I blocked their number.

flowerific

Boards.ie and Adverts.ie are of the same forum. Contact Adverts.ie and report the guy for harassment. And block the person.

JcbT16

Thanks very much for all the super prompt replies everyone! Definitely put my mind at ease about this, last thing I needed was the police getting involved in all this. I've blocked the number so hopefully that'll be that.

hullaballoo

In all honesty, it sounds like a shakedown scam.

But even if the other person has a legitimate complaint, it is not one that the Gardaí would have jurisdiction over.

JcbT16

It wouldn't surprise me if it's a shakedown scam, the person I dealt with seemed innocent enough but that's how they get you I guess. I've blocked the number, reported the user to Adverts, and now will just get on with things. Definitely Paranoia but being in a smaller town I feel more easily recognizable, but I highly doubt they'll drive all the way back out here to try and find me.

JcbT16

I've received a text from another number, claiming to be a brother of the person I dealt with, and threatening to call the Gardai if I don't accept the item back and refund the money. Ending with this.

I'm left with no choice than to involve the Gardai, in whatever capacity they can help with. You'll be hearing from me tomorrow, with or without them.

Blocked that number too, hopefully this'll be the end of it.

foggy_lad

Lots of people spend a lot of money buying laptops or other stuff on adverts and other places and some large bill arrives a day or two later and they have to try to find the money somewhere and I suppose easiest option for them is to try and get the money back for what they bought.

prinzeugen

JcbT16 wrote: »

I've received a text from another number, claiming to be a brother of the person I dealt with, and threatening to call the Gardai if I don't accept the item back and refund the money. Ending with this.

Blocked that number too, hopefully this'll be the end of it.

Phone the cops yourself.. Show them the text. Do it as soon as you can before it gets out of hand.

hullaballoo

It would be no harm going to your local garda station with that message to let them know you've been threatened.

They will probably write it down with their invisible typewriter but at least you will have done something that someone in the station should remember if someone does come to your door.

Obviously don't answer the door to any unexpected knocks tomorrow and call the Gardaí straight away.

If it isn't a shakedown, it could be someone who actually thinks they're right, which could be worse.

Don't feel threatened by it, you've done little wrong from what you've posted here but do be vigilant.

JcbT16

prinzeugen wrote: »

Phone the cops yourself.. Show them the text. Do it as soon as you can before it gets out of hand.

Best to call my local Garda station for this? They're closed now, won't re-open until 7am. Or is there another number to use?

curiousoranje

Block number, turn the phone off and go to bed. If the buyer went to the guards with this they'd be politely told where the door is. Just try to forget about it, and if the buyer turns up at your house harassing you (very unlikely as this is 99.9% a chap chancing his arm with a shakedown) ring the local station/999.

hullaballoo

Go down to the station when you get up in the morning.

There is no point phoning up with a complaint of any sort because they genuinely ignore most phone calls. It's hard to ignore someone standing in front of you. As I said, they probably won't take it seriously even with you there, phone in hand, complaining of being threatened but be assured that if you do this, should you get an unwelcome knock at the door, the person you spoke to will remember you if they've seen you in person and will be far the more likely to take things seriously.

foggy_lad

JcbT16 wrote: »

Best to call my local Garda station for this? They're closed now, won't re-open until 7am. Or is there another number to use?

I personally wouldn't worry about them turning up at the door or even texting for long but if they do arrive just don't open the door to them and call the Gardai.

Have you reported them on adverts? There is a talk to forum here for adverts or you can email the staff privately hello@adverts.ie

I doubt very much that you will hear much after a few texts. Buyers remorse usually doesn't last very long

skibum

foggy_lad wrote: »

Have you reported them on adverts? There is a talk to forum here for adverts or you can email the staff privately hello@adverts.ie

In post number 9 http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=99828623&postcount=9 he said that he reported the guy to adverts, plus their talk to forum has been closed since april http://www.boards.ie/ttfpost/99293830

Sounds like he's a headbanger trying to bully you into giving his money back, had one or two my self through adverts......

Jen44

sorry for the unhelpful comment but can i ask what ye mean by shakedown?

Seth Brundle

Jen44 wrote: »

sorry for the unhelpful comment but can i ask what ye mean by shakedown?

Along the lines of "Give me money or lose your kneecaps".
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=shakedown

it may not necessarily involve force or even threats but they can be implied.

coylemj

kbannon wrote: »

Along the lines of "Give me money or lose your kneecaps".
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=shakedown

it may not necessarily involve force or even threats but they can be implied.

That doesn't address the issue of this situation being described earlier as a 'shakedown scam' - the buyer in this case is just looking for his money back - how is that any kind of scam?

This type of thread is fairly common over in Motors - guy buys a car in a private deal, then for whatever reason changes his mind so he contacts the seller, says there was 'undisclosed faults' with the car and he wants his money back, he bombards the seller with demanding and sometimes threatening text messages.

As with this thread, the answer is the same - 'caveat emptor' - no comeback in a private sale.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

JcbT16

hullaballoo wrote: »

Go down to the station when you get up in the morning

Done, went earlier this morning when they opened up, folks there said it was totally a civil issue and there's nothing they can do, but asked for my name and address anyway. No more texts from any other numbers, have the first two blocked. Thanks for all the advice in this thread. My "deadline" was 5pm today and I highly doubt at this point I'll get any real harassment, fingers crossed.

JimsAlterEgo

might be worth replying to both of the texts about reporting them to gardai, if they were thinking of playing the heavy they might have 2nd thoughts.

JcbT16

JimsAlterEgo wrote: »

might be worth replying to both of the texts about reporting them to gardai, if they were thinking of playing the heavy they might have 2nd thoughts.

I thought about it, but don't really want to antagonize the situation any further, plus the Gardai weren't willing or I suppose able to take any info other than my name and address, don't even think that was copied down. They looked at the texts, asked where they lived, and that was it.

Fred Swanson wrote:

Just use burner sims/phones for any of these types of sales. It gives you peace of mind should the buyer turn out to be a mentalist.

I will from now on, that's for sure! But it's not like I'm constantly making deals on Adverts, just had an old laptop I wanted to shift.

Veloce

Hi OP,

I had a similar issue once when I sold a car. I was getting harrassed by the seller about 'faults' with the car and basically he wanted more money. I had to threaten him with the gardai myself and he then backed off.

Best of luck I hope you get sorted - it's normal enough to feel intimidated but I wouldn't let it bother you.

JcbT16

JcbT16 wrote: »

Hopefully this is the right place to stick this, figured as there's threats of the police being involved it'll be alright. I'll try to keep things as brief as possible.

I sold a laptop on adverts.ie recently, it was about 4-5 years old, in alright shape, but the battery had a pretty short lifespan, and there were some stickers on the lid of it. When the buyer showed up I powered it up and demo'd it working, they looked over the unit and didn't have any qualms, and paid.

I then got a series of texts demanding that I return their money as the battery doesn't hold enough of a charge, and that they didn't want the stickers on it, then they complained there are scratches on it (which is untrue). I explained that I did state that there were battery capacity issues, and that the stickers were evident on it, not hidden or something. The buyer has now said that if I don't agree to return it by 5pm tomorrow they'll involve the Garda in the matter, saying they have evidence that the battery doesn't hold much of a charge (I previously stated this in person with them) and claiming that my ad listing doesn't mention that it exhibits this behaviour. They conclude by saying that "Your ad states everything is in working order so I'm requesting that you take the laptop back and return the money, as you knowingly sold faulty goods and denied anything is wrong."

So legally where do I stand with this? I need the money for my rent, they looked over the device, used it a bit, and were totally happy with it when I sold it, the ad mentioned that it had battery issues. Can the police force me to return the money? I'm not at all sure how the legal system works in a situation like this.

I had someone literally steal my money on adverts over a year long spotify membership, adverts are an absolute joke and didnt want to hear neither did the gardai. You have nothing to worry about.

Dont ever use adverts