anything I can do about a dodgy sale on EDF?

[hwilliams]

This is a request for advice! Although I realise that some people may think it's a stupid question, or that I have been very stupid......

I bought a second-hand iPhone 6 from someone on EDF, hoping/trusting that it would be a safer place to do so than going to eBay or Gumtree. It was advertised 'in excellent condition' and hardly used, but after a very short time, it became clear that it is far from excellent, and basically, has a rubbish battery and cuts out all the time. I work as a freelancer and a phone is so important, and I am feeling pretty ripped off (?180) as well as my work being compromised....

I politely contacted the seller to let them know that it's not working, and asked to return it and get my money back, but they said...no....

Any thoughts about what I can do?!

[pecksniff]

Sorry to hear about your plight. Martin Lewis, Consumer Activist offers some advice

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/consumer-rights-refunds-exchange/

[Chick]

Report the seller to admin and maybe put a warning on the forum.

[Sally Eva]

If you know where they live you can take them to the small claims court -- write a letter before action.

If you paid by card your bank may reclaim the payment if you tell them.

If you paid cash to a stranger in McDonalds, then that's it, I'm afraid

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/advisernet/consumer/somethings-gone-wrong-with-a-purchase/return-faulty-goods/

[kford]

I?d sell the rogue phone on eBay, being honest about the battery life in the listing. You?ll still get ?150 for it.

[tiddles]

Thats a shame. I bought two iphones on the edf which were both completely fine so dont beat yourself up. I think most people are fine - maybe a note to admin?

[wallingford]

Another option is to get a new battery quick google suggests ?30 and takes 30 mins

[JohnL]

Wonder if the vendor was just not very good at selling.

My old well used iPhone 6+ has 72% battery and buttons are awful :)

[Designerjooles]

The benefit of buying off ebay is that you are actually guaranteed protection - and even more so if you pay through paypal! The seller doesn't even recieve your money immediately catching any "dodgy" sellers, furthermore, paypal protects your money and both companies work better for a buyer than a seller these days. You can raise a problem and immediately your money is secure, you can send the product back and are refunded if all procedures followed :)

I hope that demistifies the old concerns about ebay and how risky it is.

[Applespider]

I gave my Mum my old iPhone 6 rather than selling it although I?d have described it as excellent condition.

Within a month or so, it started restarting regularly despite never doing so before. Turned out there was some corrosion on the internal battery connection. We will never know whether that damaged happened at my end or st hers so if she had paid for it, I wouldn?t have refunded her. Seller might not have been trying to pull a fast one.

It?s wortb taking into Genius Bar to get them to diagnose. Doesn?t cost anything but a train fare and they might be able to fix (for a price admittedly)

[ribrob]

Sorry to hear this, it's always frustrating to feel you've not made a good buy.

There have been issues with some batteries in the iPhone 6.

Apple is running a repair programme...

https://www.apple.com/uk/iphone-battery-and-performance/

...the seller should have probably told you this, but sadly they're not obliged to do so. They'll argue the info is out there to be found. If the phone is running the latest iOS 11 the phone itself could tell you the condition of the battery before you handed over the cash.

Take a look at this...

...it'll help you determine if the battery really is the issue.

If it is, and you didn't pay too much for the phone, paying Apple ?25 to get it sorted isn't the end of the world.

But do do that, don't go to a street corner place, you'll get a poorer battery than Apple will give you, and in some cases they may cause other problems with the phone.

[niall]

reminds me of the time i bought a video player with two bricks inside off a man with a hook at a car boot.

get a new batt, like they say, not a bundle.

[Earl Aelfheah]

?25 for a new battery from Apple.

[hwilliams]

Thanks everyone, for the advice.

Unfortunately, the battery is not the only problem, but the phone itself cuts out and the mic doesn't work properly. It's a dud. So, I find it impossible to believe that the person who sold it to me in 'excellent' condition did not know that.

First terrible experience on EDF , after many happy years together. :-(

I am now looking for 180 creative ways (one for each ?1 that I was cheated out of) to repay the compliment.......

[se22cat]

Sorry to hear what happened to you.

I was also conned by a user [right clicking] who tried blaming me for the damage! I was trying to help him out and got lumped with faulty goods instead.

A few months ago I went to a focus group held by eBay, and part of the led discussion included other sites people sold or bought goods at. A few attendees said they lived nowhere near ED, but regularly sold things on the forum as it was "well known as a rich area full of knobs who'll pay over the odds" and it was also mentioned "it's easy to shift battered gear on there".

There certainly are a good few users here who are solely active in the for sale section, maybe next time make sure the seller is an active user of the community aspects of the forum, probably got a better chance of dealing with a decent individual. Again, sorry to hear about your bad experience, I hope something good can come of it.

[Sue]

Yep. You can click on somebody's name and all their past posts will come up.

Can be useful in some cases.

Sorry for your bad experience. I would be furious.

[peckham_ryu]

If you do go to the Genius Bar, maybe you could get the genius to write up all the issues. Useful evidence if you try the letter before action / claim route. I appreciate that following through with a claim is probably time you could more profitably sorbs wirking though. Bad luck.

[Romnarz]

Always check out the seller on this forum - you can easily see see what they have sold in the past . If the seller seems new to the forum then I would be cautious . If they seem to just be selling phones another reason for caution . My favourite seller has a history of just selling a few odd household items and a history of posting opinions about a wide variety of Easy Dulwich topics

[sugarkanedee]

Something similar happened to me, I bough a laptop that cut off after a few minutes and wouldnt hold its charge.

I ended up calling and messaging the seller, but he wasnt answering , I then went back to his house, I seen him look out from behind the curtain, so I shouted up at him, he just let me in because i was making a scene , It was quite a traumatic experience, when I got to his doorway, he was very very angry and tried to get me to go into his flat, teasing the money at me( I was in the hall way of a block of flats.

I kept asking for my money back, he finally had to give it to me, because of his neighbours, but then he wouldnt let me down the stairs and tried to take photos of me on his phone. I shouted out and luckly some one arrived. I was too scared to do anything about it and felt lucky that I got away safely it was many months ago and I am still shaking and this is the first time I have mentioned it ...

I still see the same seller just now here on ED . maybe it was the same guy as you got the phone off, I realize now that I should report him to admin, maybe I can. :(

[Jules-and-Boo]

I think you should. If nothing else for him making you so scared.

[KidKruger]

sugarkanadee was this near honour oak / catford borders ?

[beansprout]

I have bought a lot of stuff from EDF and never had a problem, including something of a teckkie nature.

. I have also sold some stuff as well, you have to trust people and yourself...

Been to some areas as well which were well out of forum range.

Trust yourself, your gut feeling and take a friend if you are unsure.

Haven't had time to read all the above.

[lordshipmonkey]

I was recently messed around during a sale. Please be aware and go with your instincts.

[Elphinstone's Army]

KidKruger Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> sugarkanadee was this near honour oak / catford

> borders ?

or Norwood Hill, SE25 ? beware !