Ripped off, what to do?

[430phil]

Hi,
I could do with some advice.
I bought a 2.4 engine off a business on ebay. It was described as a "fit and go" engine but when received it was actually seized and lots of parts missing or damaged. The seller won't take it back, and ebay/paypal can't do anything as I foolishly paid by bank transfer (4k).
The seller has made some promises that he will get me the necessary parts to rebuild/repair but after waiting for a few months I feel he has had enough time and he is just playing for time and has no real intentions. (The parts needed are readily available).
What should I do? I intend to take him to court for the full cost of the parts plus the labour to fit, this goes without saying and is something I have the time and funding to do, however the real question I have is if I should name and shame this seller on forums such as this, to protect others from being caught by him?
I've waited weeks to actually write this here because I like the forum for it's advice and classifies etc and don't want to make it a forum of litigation but I want to make sure people like this don't get away with this type of thing to genuine classic Porsche lovers.
Phil.

[Bootsy]

Providing facts are stated I'm happy for you to state your case. I'd be wary though if you are taking them to court, may not do you any favours

[stuby]

Agree with the boss. .. naming the company on a public forum perhaps is not the way forward. But there's nothing to say that you can warn interested members via pm which is private of course

Stu

[Sam]

ciaran8306

I'm bloody Poirot.

[Bootsy]

I'm bloody Poirot.

You are, but a bit more camp

[DeRRis]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Porsche-911-T ... 0880372008

[964RS]

The ad makes it sound like it is mint.

I would get an independent report done by an expert - take it to Neil Bainbridge and ask him to do a report on it's current state and the cost to repair it to the state as described in the advert?

Then I'd take him to court with the report in hand.

Make sure you take screen grabs of the ebay listing and keep all the wording and pictures.

Advise the seller this is what you are going to do and that you will be claiming costs for time, reports and costs to put right or for refund of the engine in full, costs to return and costs of reports, court costs and time....

[430phil]

ok, thanks.
I'll keep it brief and factual.
Engine bought early August this year.
Phoned seller after inspection informing him engine completely seized, he laughed and said it couldn't be. I offered him to come and inspect, or send an engineer of his choice to come and verify. He didn't. I said I'd get an engineer to take a look and reported back the details the following week. Basically the engine was seized and appeared to have been left out in the rain for a while, when looking through the manifolds some inlets were full of water and sludge. On top of this, the carbs were also seized up and needed completely stripping down and rebuilding, one of the inlet manifolds broken, throttle linkages and air intakes were missing. There were numerous other problems with it.
After several emails to the seller he claims to be "doing his best" to source the parts ( I agreed that I would get the work done providing that the seller provides the parts, including piston rings, gaskets, manifolds etc), the parts are readily available. He continuously fobs me off with excuses and won't even send the parts that he claims to already have in his posession, so basically after 4 months of empty promises I have no faith whatsoever in this person/company and would like to warn others, this is the only reason for this post.
Yes Poirot, correct
Phil.

[johnM]

Sorry to hear of your problems. I hope you do get them sorted.

Sounds very generous that you are willing to pay for the rebuild. I think you will be looking at about 60hrs labour to fully rebuild your engine.

Kind regards.

[Cortina]

Feel free to come and use me as a B&B and Taxi service ..... and we can go see him face to face !
His business is selling Porsche parts (used) ... so he is just buying time ..... but you know that anyway.

[squirejo]

This is not the first time the first time this particular vendor has come to light on ddk as a totes hand shandy. Be careful out there. A bit of spit and polish don't make it so. Shiny sh1 t sells.

[gridgway]

I would keep it very simple. I think it unwise to go down the I'll fix it if you supply the parts route. I'd just give the seller warning about your intention to get your money back. Offer him a last chance to refund and then submit an online claim through the small claims online process.
Graham

[Sam]

What Graham said. Write by email and post this week. Then again next, then file the claim.

[Ayli Carper]

If you fill in a County Court N1 claim form (from HM Courts and Tribunal Service) with your local County Court's address on it, and print it out twice (you can't save it) with a date nine days hence, and send it recorded delivery stating that this is the form you will submit to your court if he does not repay within that time, then that form serves both as a letter before action required by the court procedure, and shows him that you mean business.

If he fails to refund, you have to sue him. Given the evidence you say you have, it seems unlikely that he would win. You have to pay a fee for service, but include that in the amount you claim. It will be dealt with under the small claims procedure as it is less than £10,000. Neither side can claim costs, unless the claim is frivolous and vexatious, which from your description yours isn't. The problem might be actually getting the money even if you get a judgment, but there are steps you can take to do so.

If you win, and he pays, you can invite him to pick up the engine, and if he fails to do so after 30 days, you can probably dispose of it yourself. (But best to wait six months, and I'd double check about this first.)

[Sam]

Nice first post. Welcome to DDK!

Is the perp NI or ROI? I'm just wondering if this makes a difference.