Ebay furniture purchase
April 11, 2010 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Bernhard Müller
Dear Sir or Madam,
On 05.04.2010, I purchased two sofas on Ebay and collected them on Monday, 05.04.2010, paying cash.
Item description:
Selling two well-preserved 2 1/2 seater sofas. They are approximately 2 years old. Some signs of use are present. The sofas have been very clean and well maintained. The initial impression upon collection was sufficient. However, when we opened the covers of the sofas at home, we found old sheets and blankets in the padding, completely rotten and with yellow stains possibly urine. We then contacted the seller, but they refused to acknowledge the issue. Do we have a chance to claim our money back? What is the legal situation?
Dear inquirer,
the acquired furniture is defective. They do not have the agreed-upon characteristics. § 434 I 1 BGB.
For used furniture, it is possible to exclude the warranty for defects. However, this was not agreed upon in your case. Instead, the seller provided an inaccurate item description.
Therefore, you have the option to reduce the purchase price. § 441 BGB.
You also have the option to withdraw from the purchase. § 437 No. 2 BGB in connection with § 440 BGB, where setting a deadline for subsequent performance may be unnecessary. Because, based on your description, it may be impossible to restore these furniture to a contractually compliant condition.
If you choose to withdraw, the seller must take back the furniture and refund you the money.
The third option is to claim damages. This means that you can buy furniture that have the characteristics specified in the item description, and the seller must pay for the replacement furniture and the disposal of the unusable furniture.
However, you must prove that the furniture were already defective at the time of collection. Therefore, it is advantageous to keep the furniture as visual evidence until the other party either pays, or you have obtained a legally enforceable judgment in court.
The seller will likely claim that you may have placed the old sheets and completely rotten blankets with yellow stains, possibly urine, in the upholstery yourself. Therefore, it would be good to have witnesses who have observed the entire period from the handover of the purchased item to the discovery of the defects.
The court at the defendant's place of residence is competent. § 13 ZPO. If the purchase price was lower or equal to 5,000 euros, the district court is competent. § 23 No. 1 GVG.
For a purchase price over 5,000 euros, the regional court would be competent.
You may represent yourself before the district court. An attorney would be required before the regional court.
The court and attorney's fees must be paid by the party that loses the case. This depends on whether you can prove your claim.
However, you must initially advance the court and attorney's fees and then get them reimbursed later.
It cannot be guaranteed that enforcement against the opponent can be carried out after a successful lawsuit.
There is always a risk that the opponent may make a false affidavit, and you may end up bearing the costs despite winning the case.
Yours sincerely,
Bernhard Müller, Attorney
