Urgent Help from an Expert needed!!!!!

[Mark Walker]

About 6 weeks ago I bought a tank for my 600 off ebay (probably against my better judgement, but I have had some bargains off there in the past).....delivery was slow, but I got the tank. However, when i opened the box I was rather annoyed to see that the brackets for fixing the tank to the tank hinge were badly bent. Once I had calmed down and exmained the tank and the box I realised that the damage had most likely been caused by the Royal Mail who thought dropping a big box with Ducati written all over it on it's side on my drive was a good idea.......it came down on the end with the brackets and hence the bend. I wasn't there to see this, I only found this out later from the person who took delivery.

Oh bother! I thought....however, I had paid the seller for insurance, so I thought I would be okay. I was also a little annoyed that the packaging the tank was in allowed this to happen (it was Sh*t in a nutshell) - I paid £30 for p&p by the way (yes....I know.... :rolleyes: ). When I (finally) managed to get hold of the seller, I told him about the damage and he agreed to send me the insurance details. I also brought up the packaging thing and said I was a bit disappointed that I had spent £30 for first class p&p and he had sent it parcel post for 10 quid with rubbish packaging. He told me it was a bargain I was getting and that was how they came from the factory....So I pointed out that I knew it was a bargain (hence buying from ebay) but it also meant he must have spent bugger all extra on the packaging so what did he spend my other 20 quid on?

Eventually he agreed to refund 20 quid and send the insurance details over.

He never did......so I started to think that, although I paid for the insurance, he never took it out (i.e. he took money by deception) and never had any intention of trying to help me out. I therefore went through the complaints procedure at ebay/paypal (I was a little pi**ed off at this point).....my claim was simply for £23 to refund the postage and the insurance I paid.....I have never once blamed the seller for this damage......which is why i think he is a complete XXXXX for not being more helpful..........you can probably guess that he denied my story and rejected the claim......even though he had previously offered to refund me that amount :mad:

So this has gone on for a while and now I have just had an email from paypal to tell me I need to get a professional opinion of the damage and how much it will cost to get repaired. I kind of think it won't cost much and I could probably do it myself. However, if I did try this and f*cked it up I would not be able to claim anything......So I was wondering if there was anyone on here would would be suitably qualified to have a look at a photo of the damage and let me have an estimate of the cost to repair, so I can send this to paypal.......I only have 10 days from today to reply to them, so would be grateful for speedy assistance. I can get some photos done tonight and get them on the site or email them to anyone who can help. This would need to be a formal assessment from someone qualified to do so and the response would need to be on headed notepaper (so paypal could contact you for confirmation if required) and would need to be faxed to them......full details can be sorted out later...of course I would also appreciate the fact if no-one wanted to get involved in this dispute.

This all probably makes no sense, but if someone can help then I would be extremely grateful and would, of course, provide beer/chocolate/toffee depending on your preference. It has kind of gone beyond getting the tank for the bike and simply got down to the principal of being fu*ked over by an ebayer.....and wanting justice!

Otherwise I have never had any trouble with ebay....... :D

[stuartg]

Mark
I cant really help with your request for an estimate and am interested to see the photos. I would advise you take care if repairing yourself as the bracket is not particularly well secured to the tank and they have a tendency to come away resulting in fuel leakage. This happens when the tank is hinged a lot with a full tank of fuel. I am wondering if this maybe why the seller has replaced his tank and the damage may have been there originally. I would put a small amount of fuel int the tank as is to ensure it doesnt leak from that area at present.

Good luck, sorry I cant be of more help

[Mark Walker]

Thanks Stuart - As far as i know the tank was okay before it was posted, there were photos of the underside on the ebay auction, so i am pretty sure it was postal damage.....I hadn't upset the seller by being honest at that point so i can see no reason for deliberately damaging the tank........will definitely check the hinge if I ever get to put the bloody thing on the bike!!

[Paranoid Dave]

He's a very naughty man. So we can avoid him please post up his ebay name so none of us deal with this prince of poor packaging.

[Mark Walker]

I will happily post full details once the dispute is settled.........in the meantime don't buy anything!

[SAMMYE]

I will for a (Large) Dairy Milk bar AND and packet of Malteasers seek to track down this lowlife scum and make sure he never badly packs another "Bargain" Item and not send it insured again!!

[eonan]

Ah mate that sucks donkey balls!!! Sorry I can't offer you any technical input, just my empathy for what it's worth.

30 f*cking quid for p&p though!?! :eek:

[scrumpster]

Have you contacted Royal Mail Customer Services? My brother always tells me too, you may get some compensation - he works for them. Take a look at their website. As for Paypal it took me over a month to get a refund back from them, I reported them to watchdog, they pi**ed me off big style!

[SAMMYE]

Have you contacted Royal Mail Customer Services? My brother always tells me too, you may get some compensation - he works for them. Take a look at their website. As for Paypal it took me over a month to get a refund back from them, I reported them to watchdog, they pi**ed me off big style!

wouldnt like to get on the wrong side of you ;)

[Mark Walker]

Have you contacted Royal Mail Customer Services? My brother always tells me too, you may get some compensation - he works for them. Take a look at their website. As for Paypal it took me over a month to get a refund back from them, I reported them to watchdog, they pi**ed me off big style!

Paypal have certainly not done anything to impress me......seems that the onus is completely on me to prove the wrongdoings of a d*ck rather than be helped making my claim. The things that galls me the most is that they seems to have comepltely missed the point....I don't want a full refund, I just want the extra postage money that was used and some proof that insurance was paid for........or my money back......if he can't even let me have just the insurance details he is clearly a liar and technically a thief. Which is even more annoying when you think you can give some negative feedback, get some smart-ar*sed comment in return and the w*nker gets to carry on selling....oh well onwards and upwards....not going to give up just yet....... :mad:

[NattyBoy]

Mark - sorry to hear about this. Louigi is away untiul next week, but im sure (as a customer of his) that if you ask him nicely he'll scribble something down for you..(del the painter is next door).

Cheers
Nat

[Mark Walker]

Hi Nat

Very good idea, I had thought of Louigi, but didn't want to be so presumptious as to directly contact him - probably completely irrational, but then I paid 30 quid for postage, so don't expect rational from me. I need to get something sorted in 9 days time (and counting) so is he back around on Monday, or over the weekend? I have a couple of numbers for him so I can give him a ring when he is back.

[NattyBoy]

back the weekend I think so try monday..ive got to talk to him about some other stuff so I'll mention it if I remember !!

Cheers
Nat

[Mark Walker]

Many thanks!

I was planning to contact the Royal Mail at some point, but I think you can only claim a certain amount back....and i wanted to wait until I got the insurance details......see I'm gullible and stupid!

[NattyBoy]

Mate..the royal mail will only pay compo to the sender I think..its down to him to do all the legwork...

Nat

[Mark Walker]

can't quite see that happening.......

[Mark Walker]

Thought you might all be interested/amused to know that my complaint has been dealt with and I have been found to have no claim!

Aparrently the tank was not significantly different from advertised so I get nothing.....despite the fact that my complaint was about the extortionate postage and packaging (which wasn't spent on P&P) and the apparent taking of money for insurance but lack of insurance being taken out or available to me to claim on.........So paypal have allowed a seller to continue trading despite being uncommunicative, a liar and technically a thief.

Obviously i have fired off a snotty email to paypal questioning their decision, but I don't really expect any good news.

At least this means I can start to think about getting it on the bike i suppose.
Big thank you to Louigi for his help with the 'evidence', just a shame we didn't win........nothing ventured though......if nothing else, perhaps my adventures will make people think twice about using ebay without any thought

[Orfink69]

Mark. I am absolutely disgusted with the treatment you have received, not only from the jerk who sold you the tank but also from ebay and Paypal..;. well same company anyway.
May I enquire how you paid for this item?
Also do you have any copies of emails etc sent between you?
Also, do you know if the original listing is still open on ebay?
You may well have a case for misrepresentation and in any case you should be able to claim something back from him under the sale of goods act. Failing that you could try persuading Royal Mail or hit him with a small claim through the court.
I take ebay seriously, it's a great way to buy and sell. However, there are the odd w****rs that aren't interested in anyone else but themselves.
I'm not going to guarantee that I can manage any more thn you have but if you need any help with anything let me know.
By the way I do know a guy with a good body shop if it helps

[Mark Walker]

Well haven't given up all hope yet, but just waiting to see if my moan at paypal works......as I said the item itself is fine, apart from the the slight damamge and I haven't blamed the seller for that.....Paypal just seem to have misunderstood my beef completely........ust the principle.....and the fact that the beggar will just get some negative feedback that no-one will take notice of......wonder if he has taken money for insurance from anyone else and not paid for it......

What really surprises me is that I was upfront about it and would have ben happy with the insurance details.........

must stop moaning though as it will give me an Ulcer.....thansk for the offer of help though and I may be back asking for more help if my shouting falls on more deaf ears at paypal........

[Mark Walker]

oh yeah and I paid through paypal with a credit card and I do have all the emails sent between us....although he only sent too and then ignored my emails/telephone calls......only spoke to him in the first place because me didn;t recognise my work number and phoned me back when he had a missed call.....which amused me no end.....

[Orfink69]

Well the one useful thing is that you used your credit card to pay for this through Paypal... which means you can go back to them if all else fails. I'd suggest checking your T & C's but I think you'll find they insure anything purchased over £100 free for 365 days.
In any case let me know how you get on.....

[Mark Walker]

will check it out.....and keep you posted!

I know it is quite petty.....only really claiming 23 quid......but, as youmight have guessed, I am really annoyed about this..... :-)

[Mark Walker]

Well, it is all over now........may claim has been thrown out by PayPal and Ebay are not interested, apparently my complaint falls out of their remit for cover/dispute resolution. And, to make matters worse, it has taken so long to sort out, i am not longer able to add negative feedback to the seller!

Ho Hum! Ultimately I have not lost out that much, but it stings a little to know that I have been taken for a ride, even if it was for such a small amount. At least the tank should be useable, just a cost a few quid more than it should have done.

So, just so you know, the Seller's name on Ebay is MasterDamo, not sure he does much in the Ducati line, but I would suggest caution when dealing with him, as I am not the only person who has had this problem with him.

Frustrating really as i have used Ebay for a few years now and never had a problem, most people have been really easy to deal with paid/sent goods promptly and securely.....

I guess the message to take away from this is just to (obviously) be cautious when buying expensive items through ebay.......I usually pride myself on being sensible, almost to the point of being boring, but I just got carried away on this one occasion......

Oh well, hopefully be the summer I should have a nice new shiny tank (without dents) on the bike :D

[Fosse Foxfight]

So, just so you know, the Seller's name on Ebay is MasterDamo, not sure he does much in the Ducati line, but I would suggest caution when dealing with him, as I am not the only person who has had this problem with him.

:D
MasterDamo eh?.....now...one of the things you should never ever do is set up multiple Ebay IDs from public machines in libraries and internet cafes and colleges etc and bugger peoples auctions by buying their stuff without the intention of paying for it....so dont ever ever do it:rolleyes:

ta ra

[Fosse Foxfight]

...is no longer a registered seller...hmmmmm

[Mark Walker]

Ahhh, the thought had already come to me as a possible family outing this weekend......but clearly that is not going to be any use now! Strange that he is no longer registered, guess that is why I couldn't leave the feedback.

Well, although I feel I should probably let sleeping dogs lie, I am also within my rights to make my concerns felt. While not making assumptions as to the nature of this person I do feel it is only fair that people are able to make a proper judgment as to whether they should sell to someone who has caused problems for other people.........

am I likely to get into trouble for giving his name on this site? Or only if he sees it.......I guess I can't be accused of libel as what I am saying is the truth........