Because it was 'only' £50 I paid with my debit card. Is there any template I could use?

Hi everyone! About 2 weeks ago I needed to buy an alternator for my car. New alternator would cost me about £200 so I have decided to look on ebay for a second hand one. I have managed to find a company which supplies second hand parts for cars. Instead of going through ebay I called the company (found their no in the listing) and ordered the part over the phone. The part was advertised as 'Alternator vw golf, audi a3, seat leon 1.6'. I needed it asap so asked for next day delivery. The man said it would cost me £50 in total inc next day delivery (the part is advertised for £40 or best offer +£8 standard delivery). He confirmed the right amp for my car and I paid with my debit card. I received the parcel the following morning, and took it to my local garage to get it fitted. I was told by the mechanic that the part was a completely different to the one I had fitted and it would not fit my car. So ended up buying a new alternator for £190 On monday morning I called the place and explained what happened. The man told me to post the item to them and ring back with the price of the return so they could issue a full refund. Couple of days after posting the item I called the place again to ask for the refund. The man took all the details and said he was going to issue a refund of £57.13 (£50 for the alternator including delivery+ £7.13 for the postage back to them). After 2 day I checked my account and instead of receiving £57.13 I only received £36. Called them today to sort out the matter and the manager told me he is not in business to make loss so he would not refund me the remaining £21.13. I said that they were liable for sending me the wrong part, so they have to refund me the postage costs. They listing states that the part would fit seat leon 1.6 and it clearly doesn't. As it was there fault, the law says they have to refund the postage costs. He basically laughed and said he would not talk to me anymore I really don't know what to do... any advice?

Thanks Billy_bob. This is what I do- I just answer the phone and leave it on the desk. I am seriously getting sick of it hence I was considering warning him by an email.

Hi guys, just need some advice. I have received a couple of prank calls (again) It is definately that guy that keeps calling me. I have told the police about all of them apart from the one I received today. I am considering writing to this guy and telling him that if he will not stop he will get into some serious trouble. I do not think he is smart enough to realise it. I am really sick of it now and I will really report him if this continues. Any suggestions?

no idea and I really don't care to be honest. At first I felt sorry for the guy, because I would not want to be in his shoes but then I have started having doubts as I have never had any problems with it(apart from the ones stated in the ad). I don't feel sorry for him anymore for the way he acted and I think he just made it up, hoping I would pay him. I have been watching his ebay account and he has recently purchased some parts which were not damaged in any way. This makes me even more suspicious. Why would you buy a new front grill if the one on the car is not even scratched? But as I said before, I am not really bothered. Hope he gets what he deserves...

Ollie, I do not think the guy is worth it. I would rather get him into trouble than be in trouble myself. It was a renault laguna II

Hi, Conniff. I will not give him any refund and I will not change my mind no matter what he does/ says. I think that was his way of getting a better bargain- by threats. I have spoken to one of my law lecturers who used to be a solicitor and she said that I have nothing to worry about.

Hi, well it is hard to say to be honest. I was receiving some prank calls at 3 am so I decided to change my phone no. I am considering reporting this as an assault as I was very distressed and could not sleep. I am sick of the guy and I think the 'turbo problem' has ever even existed.

Thank you Conniff. I would not think he has a case against me as there was nothing dishonest on my side. I even said to my brother after the sale that I am glad that I was honest with the man. I never treat people in a way in which I would not want to be treated myself. It may be naive nowadays but well... As I said before he is now trying the 'i will sue you' card. I started ignoring him because I will not tolerate the insults which he makes in his every single email. I will just wait and see... But I promised myself that I will not sell any car privately ever again. It may make some more £££ but it is not worth it if you get a person like this...

The police said that they can charge him with racially aggrevated threats to kill and malicious calls. I told them I don't want to report him yet, I just wanted to flag it up with them. In case he does something else they will charge him. Yes, I have been given crime no. I just don't want any more trouble. I could not sleep for few nights anyway. The worst thing about it is that I was honest with him and there was nothing else I could have told him about the car. I answered all his question, invited him to get the car inspected couple of times. well the advert said 'The engine sounds fine, no problems with gearbox, turbo, clutch etc. No rattles etc.' And also 'Any inspection. PLEASE NO TIME WASTERS. No P/X. Car is sold as seen.' And this was true statement at the time the car was sold. He test drove it, inspected it and drove off having no concerns. I do not know what he did to it after he drove off though. Why would I be any more mechanically knowledgeable than him? He was claiming to be a car mechanic and I have no knowledge when it comes to mechanical stuff. If the engine accelerates, does not make any weird noises etc I would regard it as working fine. P.S I obviously listed the faults with starting engine which I knew about and the windows' regulators etc.

Hi, I am a private seller. As mentioned I'm a student and live about 10 mins walk from university. I was 100% honest with the buyer. I told him about problems which I had with the car, the fact that I dont think the previous owner looked after it etc. When his wife asked me about fuel economy I said I couldn't tell her as we only covered about 300 miles in the car since we had it. It was due to the fact that I had to replace the coil springs, it had problems with starting and i live 10 mins from uni.

Hi, I sold my car on monday. the advert described the car as: The car comes with MAIN DEALER SERVICE HISTORY upto 101k. All previous MOTs included/ Current mileage 131,000 Mot: November 2010 Tax: August 2010 I had 2 new (front) coil springs and anti roll bars fitted about a month ago (receipts) . There are no dents but please note there are some scratches on the car. The scratches are shown in the pictures. The car is 8 years old and done 130k so please do not expect it to be in a showroom condition The engine sounds fine, no problems with gearbox, turbo, clutch etc. No rattles etc. The sat nav and climate work really well, so do all the other things. There are no major problems with the car, only some small anoying things which I listed below. Normally the car starts the first time but sometimes it takes a while to start. I was told that it will need a new tdc sensor which is not too expensive to repair (about £30 including labour). The injectors were all checked and they are all in very good condition. 2x window regulators will also have to be replaced. Apparently it is a common fault. You can hear the motors working fine. I bought the kit on ebay few weeks ago but I do not have time to do it myself. Please do not expect a brand new car. If you have any doubts please feel free to come and have a look at the car. The car could do with a valet. I have tried to be as honest as possible. You are more than welcome to come and have a look at the car, but please no dreamers and time wasters The car is cheap to run, cheap to insure and cheap to tax. It is a nice family car. I am open to all reasonable offers. I am looking for a quick sale as I have bought a smaller car and I no longer need this one. Any inspection. PLEASE NO TIME WASTERS. No P/X. Car is sold as seen.' The buyer made me an offer, I made a counter offer and the buyer called me saying he is willing to accept it. I invited him to inspect the car first. The car was advertised for £1449 and I have agreed to sell it for £1200. The buyer was a car mechanic. He came to test the car, looked under the bonnet, test drove it. I even offered him driving it up a really steep hill so he could listen to the engine etc. The car drove with no problems. I was really honest with the buyer and told him about all the problems with the car. I did not use the car a lot and spent too much money on it (coil springs- £400) so I just wanted to sell it as it was pointless keeping it and paying insurance, tax etc. On top of that we had 3 cars in the household and only 2 people with driving licences. After the inspection the buyer said to me that the problem with starting may be a bit more than just the sensor so he would offer me £1125. I agreed to the price we exchanged documents and he drove off. 7 hours later he called me saying he wants his money back as the turbo has blown!!! He threatened to kill me and my family if I wouldn't refund the money. I obviously called the police first. He now says he will take me to court. I don't know what to do. The turbo was fine when I sold the car. He inspected it and found nothing worrying as a mechanic. His wife was also there and she also works for a garage. Even though I did not do a lot of miles in the car, there were no lacks of power, no noises, no smoke which would indicate that something was wrong with it. I told the buyer what repairs were carried on whilst I had the car, about all problems as I am not the type of a person who would lie when it comes to things like this. The price was below average (about £1600- £1700). He had definately more knowledge about cars than I have. Any advice?