What would be your response?

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petercad

113 posts

Master Geek

#110029 1-Oct-2012 18:10

Sold a laptop on TM, for $103 3 or so weeks ago
Faults that were known were described on the auction, the winning bidder did not ask any questions.
Buyer emails me today saying they only used it half a day, and the screen went black, have taken it to a repair shop, and they've diagnosed a dead HDD
This is the first I have heard about this fault, they didn't even get in touch with me before taking it in for diagnosis

They're angling for a refund or contribution to the repair cost

What would you do in my situation???

ajobbins

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#694421 1-Oct-2012 18:19

Say tough. The fault didn't exist when you sold it, and anything could have happened to it in the past 3 weeks. They could have been using it to play backyard cricket for all you know.

They purchased a used laptop, with disclosed faulted for a cheap price. They can't expect it is going to last long. Plus, hard drives are cheap.

Send em here.

Twitter: ajobbins

petercad

113 posts

Master Geek

#694437 1-Oct-2012 18:56

Pretty much what I think too, they say they've been quoted $140 for a HDD, but if it's the same size as the 120Gb that's in it, it'll be used too.
Will wait for a few more replies...

I mean $100 for a laptop - do you expect perfection????

johnr

19282 posts

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#694468 1-Oct-2012 20:11

This is a no brainer

Tuff second hand laptop

xpd

Geek @ Coastguard NZ
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#694476 1-Oct-2012 20:20

This sounds very familiar to another thread I saw on gpforums... basically up to you what to do but if you feel you were honest in your description, then unfortunately too bad for the buyer...crap happens.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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mattwnz

20181 posts

Uber Geek

#694477 1-Oct-2012 20:28

Its a fault that has developed after purchase, so it is the buyers bad luck. If they reported the fault as soon as they received it that maybe a different story, but not for a fault that has developed afterwards.

petercad

113 posts

Master Geek

#694490 1-Oct-2012 20:47

Yeah, fault is 3 weeks after the sale. Laptop working 100% when listed and sold.
Have emailed saying that they bought 2nd hand goods, they were working when sold, and I have no idea how the laptop may have been treated, so no refund or compensation from me sorry.

Thanks to all for confirming what I thought

UrbanMyth

122 posts

Master Geek

#694600 2-Oct-2012 07:20

Out of curiosity, what were the faults you advised them of?

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petercad

113 posts

Master Geek

#694601 2-Oct-2012 07:26

Only fault I knew of and clearly stated it on the auction was the LH 'mouse' button doesn't click when pressed, after years of use, it still works, just no clicking
Also, they only placed the one winning bid, and never asked any questions throughout the auction.
I sold on behalf, and used it myself for a week without any other problems at all.
If I knew the HDD was on its way out, I would have replaced it before selling
Also, did a scan on the HDD before selling, and it came back clean

Yogi02

238 posts

Master Geek

#694602 2-Oct-2012 07:44

I agree - tell them tough as nicely as you can. Have they already placed feedback? If they change it to negative (dont know if they can) just make sure that your reply is as informative as possible so any future buyers can see that it was a very cheap 2nd hand laptop running 100% at sale.

petercad

113 posts

Master Geek

#694603 2-Oct-2012 07:46

Yes, feedback placed, not changed as yet, but I will be informative with the reply

gzt

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#694606 2-Oct-2012 08:06

Comes down to how you feel about possible bad feedback. The fact you are selling on behalf probably complicates how you would handle a refund if you wanted to.

Keep in mind the repair shop assessment may not be accurate at all. I have repaired machines for friends given the wrong diagnosis. It is not unusual.

petercad

113 posts

Master Geek

#694609 2-Oct-2012 08:32

In my experience, a HDD fail would not throw a blank screen, I'd expect to see some sort of error message on startup - boot disc fail, no OS found, etc
So, based on that, I hold little faith in an accurate diagnosis from their PC shop.
There will be no refund or compensation from me, they bought 2nd hand, and took a calculated risk doing it