Well, my court appearance is only a few hours away and I'm just in the process of reflecting where the last 12 months have taken me and whether I would do it all again? I'll just briefly state what happened:
I was really attracted to the lovely Bbags appearing on ebay and knowing nothing of tPF or having no knowledge of the real thing, I paid £460 for a used bag, hoping that since the price was quite high and I received a BalNY receipt with it, I was bound to be okay. Wrong!
Then the battle began. The awful seller argued that she had never sold me a bag in the first place and that her ebay and other accounts had been hacked into. No evidence provided, of course. Trading Standards advised me to go to the police and, surprisingly, they were interested and arrested the individual and her partner (the account hacker!). But several months on and insufficient evidence to charge her, they advise me to seek redress through the small claims courts. And that's where I am tomorrow.
She has made a remarkable change of story and is now claiming 'bait and switch', but my story is rock solid and I'm really hoping that on the balance of probability, I will win. What I do find so frustrating and annoying, though, is that I have to face a long drive tomorrow into central London onto her home patch. I have had to lose a day's salary and my dear husband is taking time off to support me. All of these costs are in addition to the £460 already lost.
If she fails to turn up tomorrow, the matter will not be settled until she is given a chance to say why she did not appear. If she's convincing, a second hearing will be re-scheduled and I will have to repeat the journey! With even more costs, of course.
When I win the case, she may still choose not to pay me and I will then have to pay more money to engage the court bailiffs to seek goods from her home. All my costs will, theoretically, be paid for by these goods. That's if she's still living in the address, from which she sent me the item!
It's no wonder is it that these sellers get away with selling fake bags? It would be so easy to give up and walk away with my sanity intact. But I'm a tough cookie and I am determined to see this to the bitter end.
I would do it all again, since in the interim I have acquired a wonderful collection of real Bbags and I've got to know tPF and the great people on here. But perhaps next time, I would not use a credit card cheque which gives a buyer absolutely no protection and I'd always check out a bag here first! But will I still be cheerful after tomorrow? I'll report back - so watch this space. Would you do what I'm doing? Or should I have just taken the loss?
I was really attracted to the lovely Bbags appearing on ebay and knowing nothing of tPF or having no knowledge of the real thing, I paid £460 for a used bag, hoping that since the price was quite high and I received a BalNY receipt with it, I was bound to be okay. Wrong!
Then the battle began. The awful seller argued that she had never sold me a bag in the first place and that her ebay and other accounts had been hacked into. No evidence provided, of course. Trading Standards advised me to go to the police and, surprisingly, they were interested and arrested the individual and her partner (the account hacker!). But several months on and insufficient evidence to charge her, they advise me to seek redress through the small claims courts. And that's where I am tomorrow.
She has made a remarkable change of story and is now claiming 'bait and switch', but my story is rock solid and I'm really hoping that on the balance of probability, I will win. What I do find so frustrating and annoying, though, is that I have to face a long drive tomorrow into central London onto her home patch. I have had to lose a day's salary and my dear husband is taking time off to support me. All of these costs are in addition to the £460 already lost.
If she fails to turn up tomorrow, the matter will not be settled until she is given a chance to say why she did not appear. If she's convincing, a second hearing will be re-scheduled and I will have to repeat the journey! With even more costs, of course.
When I win the case, she may still choose not to pay me and I will then have to pay more money to engage the court bailiffs to seek goods from her home. All my costs will, theoretically, be paid for by these goods. That's if she's still living in the address, from which she sent me the item!
It's no wonder is it that these sellers get away with selling fake bags? It would be so easy to give up and walk away with my sanity intact. But I'm a tough cookie and I am determined to see this to the bitter end.
I would do it all again, since in the interim I have acquired a wonderful collection of real Bbags and I've got to know tPF and the great people on here. But perhaps next time, I would not use a credit card cheque which gives a buyer absolutely no protection and I'd always check out a bag here first! But will I still be cheerful after tomorrow? I'll report back - so watch this space. Would you do what I'm doing? Or should I have just taken the loss?
You pick the right battle to fight! This scammer needs to be taught a lesson. It's not about money anymore, it's about the principle. Hope things go smooth for you tomorrow and thereafters.
