Accused of being a scammer?

p1 ama on 01/10/2013 - 20:13

Hey Guys,

I have a bit of an issue here, which I'm not sure how to resolve.

I recently sold an i5 3570K to someone on Gumtree for a reasonable price. The buyer seemed genuine and we met up and did the transaction and all was good.

A few hours later, he contacted me saying that the chip I sold him was fried and that I had pretty much scammed him. I'm 100% sure that I did not scam him because I took the chip straight out of my computer and put it in the original box and sold it to him.

I'm not sure what to do as he has told me that he will report it to the police…etc. I also do feel bad for the guy because I would be pretty angry if I came home and put in a chip I bought and it didn't work. I'm optimistic and I'm assuming that it just got damaged in transport, but there is a chance he could have just fried it himself and is now trying to get out of it.

After discussion with a friend of mine who regularly sells things, I was told that it is possible he might have had a fried one to start off with, bought mine to replace his fried one and is now trying to get out of paying for it.

Is there anything I can do in this situation apart from just ignoring him?

Cheers.

General Discussion

Comments

  • DrStinge on 01/10/2013 - 20:35
    +2

    Can you ask him for pics of the chip?

    Also did he inspect it before buying it? Fried chips (oh ho ho) have a particular smell which isn't too pleasant.. it would obviously carry this odour.

    From a legal point of view it's a grey area; did you provide a receipt? There's no warranty implied but good faith would say the product should be working.. From the sounds of it he may of installed it incorrectly

    • p1 ama on 01/10/2013 - 21:44

      It could just be damaged by static electricity or whatnot, in which case you can't tell visually anyway. He

      I didn't provide a receipt, but I agree with you regarding the good faith.

      • victorwilson on 02/10/2013 - 18:31

        Since you didn't provide a receipt, there is no legal evidence that the transaction took place, and it is the buyer's fault that he didn't ask for one. Therefore, you can simply deny any involvement if you wish, and there is no evidence against you.

    • jimbo jones on 02/10/2013 - 11:25
      +1

      I think most chips have serial numbers on it?
      Do you have a receipt or box with the serial number?
      You can get a photo and check to see if it's your original CPU.

      Doens't really solve the static electricity problem.
      Most motherboards stop too much voltage, etc by default.
      Most CPUs have temperature overload shutdown protection (I think).

  • [Deactivated] on 01/10/2013 - 20:40
    +6

    Go on the offensive. Ask him if he has a conscience, why he is trying to scam you and it is personal.

    • p1 ama on 01/10/2013 - 21:46
      +1

      I would do this, but unfortunately I do feel sympathy for him because there's a chance it could have picked up static electricity during transit which means I can understand why he would be upset, even though it's still his fault for not taking it home properly.

  • stemcell on 01/10/2013 - 20:52
    +2

    Its a case as bought as seen, the police will politely tell him they cannot help.

    • donga100 on 01/10/2013 - 21:22
      -7

      Ie. can't be bothered helping.

      • Macgyver on 01/10/2013 - 23:27
        +1

        What do you expect them to do exactly?

  • falcine on 01/10/2013 - 21:14
    +10

    The police won't do anything. This is a civil dispute, which is not their responsibility.

    Just politely inform the buyer that no refund will be given. You sold a fully functioning, working product. If it is broken - mysteriously - after it falls into their hands, that is their problem.

  • RandomNinja on 01/10/2013 - 22:09
    +1

    Something similar happened to me a while back. Sold a fully functioning 4870x2 gfx card and a few days later the buyer contacted me to say I'd sold him a 'cooked' card. Fortunately it was on eBay and I could see his feedback which showed he had a history of selling cooked gear himself! Sounded like the he'd cooked the card I sold him and was trying to scam a refund. When I called him on it I copped an abusive email, but funnily enough he never denied it and didn't escalate to a Paypal dispute.

    If you're 100% genuine you sold this person a working product, then IMO ignore the buyer…

  • Ughhh on 01/10/2013 - 22:21
    +1

    Hope you didnt meet the buyer at your home, otherwise it'll be hard to ignore!

    • p1 ama on 01/10/2013 - 23:54
      +2

      Thankfully I didn't, I always meet at Shopping Centres or Train Stations or public places. To be honest, next time I'll prove to them that it's working before selling because this is just a pain really.

      • unity1 on 02/10/2013 - 00:05
        +8

        I always offer to meet at a supermarket, McDonalds, 7 Eleven or a Police Station. No one has ever chosen the Police Station.

      • leiiv on 02/10/2013 - 08:58
        +3

        How can you prove it? Bring your desktop to the shopping centre?

  • ntmango on 01/10/2013 - 23:08

    its a private sale, so the police wont do anything unless its illegal goods.

    It is always, Buyer Beware.

  • unity1 on 01/10/2013 - 23:20
    +1

    Lucky you didn't do the sale from your home.

  • SirFlibbled on 02/10/2013 - 10:20
    +1

    Could be the buyer bought it to swap out his fried one and is trying to con you into giving him back the money so he gets a free chip.

    • unity1 on 02/10/2013 - 10:36
      +1

      Probably a good reason to invest in an UV pen

  • spoonmugen on 02/10/2013 - 12:07

    I've had the issue before thats why i note the serial number down where possible in my adverts… meet up in public places as you never know what happens after the buyer goes home

    did you package the good accordingly? anti static bag etc…

    • p1 ama on 02/10/2013 - 22:25
      +1

      That's the whole point of making this thread.

      I can't offer a refund because there's the possibility that he might be lying to me or trying to scam me of my money.

      I did consider that it was my fault, I said right from the get go that there was a chance it could have been damaged during transit.

      • kwaker on 03/10/2013 - 01:29
        -4

        it's your choice IM not telling you what to do, IM offering some other side input. it seems like you already have your mind made up your not really wanting advice or a fair debate. you really just want reassurance or appraise.

        you have already basically concluded he IS trying to scam you so you CAN'T refund. (you can you just don't want too) that's your choice

        it's only an assumption and it's a one sided story and it's not proven or it's not in any way based on something you know just what you think "might" have happened.

        given that info I think the same but I would not waste my time or stress on small issues, you can if you want. it is bothering you enough tomake a thread.

        • p1 ama on 03/10/2013 - 09:12
          +2

          I don't understand why you are trying to argue.

          I have already acknowledged all the points you have made in my initial post before you even made them. That is why I said right from the get go that I do feel sympathy for the buyer because I would be angry if I came home and put the chip in and it didn't work as well.

          I don't need reassurance or appraise, I just wanted to ask a few simple questions including what I can do, as well as to ask about whether the police will get involved, which is something I clearly don't want for such a trivial issue.

          I never made any assumptions, never did I say that he is 100% trying to rip my off, I have said that he has accused me of being a scammer. I never said that he himself is a scammer, I have done this transaction in good faith, and I still believe in that good faith now, that somehow he's gone home and it doesn't work.

          I never said that it was 100% his fault at all. I agree with you that if he came here with his side of the story, things might be different, but he hasn't, so that's purely hypothetical.

        • Tal_Shiar on 04/10/2013 - 20:23

          does ANYONE else get REALLY annoyed when people RANDOMLY use capitals LETTERS to emphasise their POINT!?

        • Forfiet on 08/10/2013 - 07:15
          -1

          from what I see two people's negs speak for themselves :P

        • Forfiet on 08/10/2013 - 17:07
          +2

          ouch!, I feels the pain! :P

        • Tal_Shiar on 08/10/2013 - 23:23

          haha, just wait until you post a comment people really take an issue with..

        • Forfiet on 09/10/2013 - 03:20
          +1

          mmm, indeed then i'll suffer. jv might have tips for me tho. :)

  • ankor on 02/10/2013 - 18:22
    +1

    He needs to prove that you sold him a faulty chip. How is he going to do that?

  • Briefcase Mong on 02/10/2013 - 19:03
    +1

    He probably didn't align the pins correctly to the motherboard

  • rambao9 on 02/10/2013 - 20:20
    -2

    As someone said up earlier, he probably fried his own chip and purchased ur one to replace the fried one. However, the reason why they were frying is cuz some other component in his computer (mobo, psu?) is actually frying the chip.

    If you still have the chip number or a photo of the cpu u sent him, u can try to work out whats wrong with his computer and frying the chips… or maybe his mobo is dead and yeah, cpu not work cuz his previous cpu+mobo combo fried altogether (bad psu, unstable currents?)

    So theres a possibility that all his components are fried due to a bad psu, but ur in no means obligated to do anything.

    Rather, u shud inform him of the problem and tell him to test the cpu elsewhere.

  • Bargain4U on 02/10/2013 - 20:30
    +4

    Private sales don't have consumer guarantees.

    • Windows7forever on 03/10/2013 - 19:38
      +1

      but they come with a Hitman guarantee.

  • [Deactivated] on 03/10/2013 - 10:04
    +3

    The buyer is trying to scam you.

    It's a private sale and they should be aware of the risks involved.

    In your final message to them mention that the CPU you sold you was in working condition at point of sale and that you won't be offering a refund.

    If they keep contacting you, then give them a first and final warning that you'll report them to the police for bullying & harrassment.

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