Hi, I sold my car on ebay on a wednesday, listing said payment within 2 days of auction end, the buyer gave me a cash deposit on the friday and was meant to collect the car and pay the rest the following monday. So I had to go and buy another car as he would be taking my old one. Monday and no-show, Tuesday no-show. Wednesday the buyer said his insurance was not ready but would pay more money, by friday he had paid another amount directly into my bank account and would collect the car within a couple of days and pay the rest. Still no-show. Following monday he emails me saying he is sorry and will pay balance on wednesday or thursday. Wednesday, no money, will not answer his phone. Thursday no money, manage to get through to him and explain that he must pay the balance by the following day as i needed to pay it out.

He said he would ring me back in 10 mins. He did not, I text him saying that the money must be paid urgently and that I had been more than lenient (car was sold 3 weeks ago now) no reply, tried calling, no reply. Friday (this morning) tried ringing him at least 20/25 times between 0800 and 1245, sent various texts and an email saying that I would have no option but to assume he no longer wants the car, I urgently needed the outstanding balance, (I had not agreed for him to pay in installments.) I would have no choice but to sell the car to someone else who is willing to pay. Which I did, by 1550 the car was sold and paid for. He telephoned me at 1605 to say he had paid £250 into my account (half the remaining balance) I told him what I had had to do and why, and that I would send the monies that he had paid into my bank account straight back to him. He has messed me about since day one and I have been more than patient. My listing explained that I was having to sell the car due to finances and I had explained the time limit I needed the money by. Which he has ignored completely. Do I have to refund him his original cash deposit too? I only ask because he has messed me about so much without me agreeing to accept payment by installments which would have gone on for over a month...?

If this was a private sale, not through eBay, you would be entitled to deduct the cost of readvertising and then refund the rest provided you had given the buyer a reasonable time (= a week or so in my opinion) to complete the transaction. However, on eBay, buyers are allowed a minimum of 7 days to pay (irrespective of what you say in the listing) and buyers are entitled to a full refund if they don't receive the goods. It's the way eBay works and, to be honest, it is unreasonable to expect a buyer to arrange payments and collection of a car within 2 days.

My bank ask for 48 - 72 hours notice for large cash withdrawals and most people have work to go to on most days. If I bought a car on Wednesday evening, I would be not be able to collect the money until, at the earliest, Monday even if I phoned the bank the moment they opened on the Thursday morning.

Another time, if you are wanting quick cash in your hand for a vehicle, you should investigate the car auctions in your area.

Hi, thanks for responding and yes I agree that 7 days is more reasonable, which is why I was lenient, but it had been over 3 weeks and the buyer still had not paid in full and did not intend to pay in full for another week or two. Yet he had promised payment of the outstanding balance on several occasions in those 3 weeks and also said that he would be collecting the car on several occasions but he did not. He just ignored my attempts to contact him. He had no right to assume that I would allow an 'installment plan', I could have sold the car to someone who would have been willing to pay for it 3 times at least. As it stands, because he did not pay me in full when I had explained I urgently needed the balance, I had to sell the car for less than its value and less than he had won the car for. Because of him messing me about I am out of pocket by quite alot when i needn't have been. If he did not have enough money to buy the car, surley he shouldnt have bought it..? Also I should add that my listing stated that a deposit needed to be paid by paypal, and when he won the car he asked for my bank details because he does not even have a paypal account!