lost money in ebay buying Arcam tuner

I must be impatient as I can't be bothered with eBay and all that waiting around to see if I've won the item. I prefer to know the asking price and then I can take it or leave it. Not much fun, but it's definately faster!

 

Dear Andy

Thanks for your kind words. From now on, I will visit ebay less frequently.

There is no safer way than paying cash at the seller's house, collect the item and ask for a receipt.

Even with big companies like Courts furniture can go bankrupt and many people lost their deposits. I will update the progress of my claim.

Regards
Hon

 

yeah, thats why I tend to use forums like this one as my first port of call when buying or sellling...touch wood, I've had np problems with either so far...

hope you're enjoying your rack as much as I am mine, Mart!

 

I've got the address details of the only Mark Fraser in Berkshire - PM me if you want them - could well be an innocent party but equally...

 

Ebay is a very useful site. I've bought and sold many items there, the most expensive being around 800GBP. I've never had any problems at all because I've always taken great pains to make sure that buyers/sellers are trustworthy. However, it does seem that hifienthusiast took all necessary steps to try to protect himself. It is a shame that there are a few bad apples out there, but in general there's a lot of good sellers.

 

if its any consolation mr fraser has been hit by a scammer

link

 

I notice that even though his shop has closed he's still telling people they can visit it.

Quote buyer:
Q: Hi, Am I able to come and see these at your shop?

Quote seller:
A: Yes you are welcome to come and see them, phone us on 01753520244 to arrange a time.

 

dittons on the right track as well,...report this incident to your local Trading Standards office as well, I bet they jump all over the case.

By way of example I purchased a CD from a seller on ebay which was only a £6.00 value, but when I received the disc it was an extremely poor pirate copy. As I have very strong opinions against the whole music copying crooks I reported this to the BPi (British Phonographic Institute), they were very keen to look at the case after which they sent it on to both my local Trading Standards office and the sellers.

I completed a formal statement, sent them copies of all the emails and the pirate CD and did not really expect much more to happen. To my surprise they telephoned a few months later to say that they traced the seller and uncovered a much large pirate music operation, so it seems my complaint did some small part in putting the World to rights (for a brief moment).

I am also in the middle of a legal case against a local garage that have wrecked a Cosworth engine in my car, again a complaint I started with my local Trading Standards office (who have been extremely helpful).

I'm not saying this will resolve everything but this Country for fartoo long has been raised on a culture of complaining under our breath but never really doing anything about it. I believe in complaining to every resource, that way even if it does not work out in your favour you can sit back assured that you did everything you possibly could.

Best of luck.

 

Hi Hifienthusiast,

So sorry to hear about your problems with the eBay auction. However......

I have dealt with Fraser's Hi Fi at Slough over many years and even more so, my son Adrian who has Ray Fraser, the father and Mark, his son, amongst his personal friends. Over the years, Frasers have seen their margins more and more cut by the AV brigade, who are more interested in cheap surround systems than pure audiophile: Slough is hardly the centre for discerning high end enthusiasts IMO. Consequently, Frasers have concentrated more and more on "in home" installations.

Both Ray and Mark are of the highest repute and have always leant over backwards to resolve any problems fo me in the past, as they have also done for my son: I find it inconceivable that they would fraudently sell something on eBay. Quite honestly, if they have just wound up their business, then they will have a mountain of paperwork to attend to and would naturally prioritise the administrative and legal matters first of all. Or they could have just taken that well earned and promised holiday. Their telephone number is course unanswered because the business is closed.

My advice would be to stay in contact with the seller via eBay and email and be patient for a week or two whilst Mark "finds his feet" again. Ray has now retired. I am sure that he will come good and you will get your purchase.

I have no connection whatsoever with Frasers but do understand the pressures of business life and that they can sometimes lead to shortcomings in business relations.

Best of luck - I am sure that it will all work out to the good.

 

as an aside, I think that this thread, including the posting from coxybabe, reflects very well on zerogain, and on internet boards in general.

 

Paypal doesn't provide protection in this transaction because the seller has less than 50 feedbacks and the item doesn't meet the paypal protection requirement. I will also contact my credit card company as well, but from my past experience, credit company doesn't refund money paid to a third party such as paypal.

Hon[/QUOTE]

Have to agree about Paypal, they appear to have an awful lot of small print when something goes wrong regarding whether you're covered by their protection. In fact I think it goes as far as whether you were facing east when you made the transaction and the colour of your underwear at the time.

A friend got stung on eBay and it took Paypal a week to decide whether he was covered or not, which turned out to be not. Because of this I don't use Paypal anymore + they're f***ing expensive.

 

Apology to Frasers Hi Fi

It time to update the progress of this ebay auction. I finally got in touch with Mr Frasers who is the son of the shop owner.

On Wednesday afternoon, I called the Observatory shopping centre again and the lady told me that she would get in touch with the Frasers shop owner. I later got a message on my phone from Mr Frasers who apologised about the delay. He said they were moving the the shop, but they hadn't tidied up loose ends such as the ebay auctions. I phoned Mr Frasers that evening and he apologised to me. I explained to him how I felt because I didn't receive any email for nearly 6 days and found that his shop was closed down, I started to panic. He fully understood how I felt. I told him that I would contact ebay and paypal to cancel all the complaints.

I received the tuner today. I don't think it is new as described in the auction. The box had been opened in the past and the contents show slight signs of use. It also has some dust on the back panel and some marks on the tuner which makes me think it is an ex display model. I am not complaining about this, just to complete the full story.

I owe Frasers Hi Fi an apology and I wish him well with his new shop. I'd like apologise to all zerogain members for what I have said and thank you for your support.

Regards
Hon