VIC Australian Consumer Law - Accused of Selling Faulty Product - Refund?

[Brett needs help]

I sold my IPod touch 24 days ago and sent it to the buyer. Before I sent it I fully charged it, restored and everything was working perfectly.

Just yesterday, the man who bought has said it is broken and no longer works. He wants a full refund and said he will get a lawyer involved. The issue he said is that the charger part in the iPod is broken. This is false since I charged it before sending it off and everything was fine.

I really need help to see if I have to give a refund under Australian Consumer Law or what my and his legal rights are.

Please answer ASAP thanks.

 

[Rod]

Rights depend on whether the device is really working or not. If not working he has rights to a full refund. If working he does not have the right to a full refund.

Can you identify the device (serial number?) You may want to tell him you have the device's serial number

Maybe ask him to send a video of it not working as evidence and if you're happy the video clearly shows the device not working you'll issue a refund when your device is returned.

 

[Sophea]

Australian Consumer Law does not apply to private sales. I would get him to somehow verify whether what he is saying is true or not and worst case get him to post it back to you before refunding.

 

[Brett needs help]

A month ago, I sold an item to a man. When I sent it all was perfectly fine and 100% working. After three weeks of him having the item, I receive an email saying the item is no longer working. The man says that I sent it to him faulty and it's fraud, and also he threatened me saying he will take me to court with his lawyer. The man would have broken it himself and is blaming it on me.

I am asking to see my legal rights:

1. Do I have to give the man a full refund even if he most likely broke it himself?

 

[Tim W]

You need only ask the question the one time.

Going only by what you have said in this thread,
missing facts missing and unstated ifs, buts, and maybes not allowed for,
this does not sound like a transaction to which the Australian Consumer Law applies.
On that basis, you do not appear to have any duty to refund, repair, or exchange in the same way a commercial seller does.

As to the rest, I agree with @Sophea .

 

[Hope this helps]

I sold my IPod touch 24 days ago and sent it to the buyer. Before I sent it I fully charged it, restored and everything was working perfectly.

Just yesterday, the man who bought has said it is broken and no longer works. He wants a full refund and said he will get a lawyer involved. The issue he said is that the charger part in the iPod is broken. This is false since I charged it before sending it off and everything was fine.

I really need help to see if I have to give a refund under Australian Consumer Law or what my and his legal rights are.

Please answer ASAP thanks.

If you sold your iPod as a private sale you are not under any obligation to refund, repair at all unless you have sign an agreement to do so including within a period of time. Otherwise it's a case of ' buy as is' and at the consumer's risk. Once the paid item you have sold as a private sale is no longer in your possession , it is no longer your issue. Hence the saying ' Buyers Beware'.

 

[Rod]

... Unless the seller said it was working. Then the buyer has a remedy under under contract law.

 

[Tim W]

... Unless the seller said it was working. Then the buyer has a remedy under under contract law.

Yeah, kind of.
If a seller says "this iPod works", and they know, reasonably should have known, or reasonably suspected, that it didn't,
then the sale (which is a contract, yes) can be void for misrepresentation (some Contract Law textbooks say "fraud").

(Personally, when writing, I avoid the use of the term "deception" in this context
because of that word's ties to the ACL. And I avoid the word "fraud" because that is more of an equitable principle)