Customer return - possible lien issue

[second-chance-sa1es]

Ok so I am trying to decide what good options I have here. 

Item came from a lien auction. Cable box but was one I thought could be purchased on the open market. Additionally others are for sale on eBay. 

Item did not have cord, item was listed as used but described as untested in the description, as well as a no return policy on that listing. Customer has contacted me claiming I sold him an item that I don't legally own. (He claims that the company said it's still under contract) 

Before a conversation was complete the customer issued a return request. (customer also claims in messages to me that the serial number is now notated on his account and that he has no choice but to return it. 

Please note: item was purchased unseen as part of a storage auction and as far as I know I legally own it at the point that I paid for the unit. 

[tenbiksewingembroideryitems]

Just pay to ship it back and refund the buyer.

[mrb7777]

If you buy stolen merchandise, which this would be, you do not legally own it even though you paid for it.

[second-chance-sa1es]

In this case not stolen merchandise. Ive spoken with Ebay about this issue already. Item can be purchased directly from the manufacturer. Buyer simply made the claim that its not available for public purchase. Just because a customer makes a claim does not mean it is true.

Ive decided to go ahead and initiate a return anyhow as it is simply not worth the fight. Buyer will be permanently banned from buying from me

[stuff4divas]

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@second-chance-sa1es wrote:

...Customer has contacted me claiming I sold him an item that I don't legally own. (He claims that the company said it's still under contract)...

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Can you call the company yourself to find out the pertinent info?

[dirk12955]

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@mrb7777 wrote:

If you buy stolen merchandise, which this would be, you do not legally own it even though you paid for it.

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The last thing I would do is take the buyers word at face value.   

Would the cable company want the buyer to send a stolen  box back to the seller?   

SOme buyers,    Not all but some,   Are very inventive when they buy an untested box and can't make it work.

Whatever the reason.   

[second-chance-sa1es]

There was no need, there are several companies who sell them to the general public. they run $269 New. That said after speaking with Ebay they made it perfectly clear that I had zero chance in beating the customer on this if ebay needed to get involved, after that the ONLY path was very clear to me.

[second-chance-sa1es]

You are right on the money. Heres where the story gets hilarious. In message the customer told me that Spectrum had notated on his account the serial number of the box and that the only think he could do at this stage was ask me for a refund and then return the box to spectrum.

So since it was the only decent option available to me I called the bluff and processed a return for refund. The case had updated within an hour that the item had been shipped back to me.

All I can say is that he better hope that the item comes back to me exactly as I sent it to him, otherwise this is going to follow him directly into a new opened case against him.

What I still cant wrap my head around is that Ebay reps keep insisting that once I get the item back, if all is well that I will only need to refund the cost of item purchase and not the initial shipping (despite the fact that the return case still shows the refund to be the amount of the item and the initial shipping) I bet we can all take a pretty good guess about how that is going to turn out.

[stuff4divas]

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@second-chance-sa1es wrote:
...There was no need, there are several companies who sell them to the general public...

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You said the buyer said it was still under contract, that is what I was referring to. Is this a possible scenario? If so, the buyer is in his rights.

[axiombody]

Doesn't sound like the box is stolen it sounds like the original owner didn't pay his bill, like if you buy a phone that is locked and is still under contract.  My mom bought some Tivo boxes with the same problem here on Ebay.

[amdwrso-92]

All I can say is that he better hope that the item comes back to me exactly as I sent it to him, otherwise this is going to follow him directly into a new opened case against him.
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What case would that be?

[castlemagicmemories]

Thank you, beat me to it!

[ohnojoey]

I think it's the M-card (CableCARD) that is causing the problem, these are rented out to customers and tied to specific accounts so if the account subscriber had unpaid bills to Spectrum, the card would be "locked" and the box is also tied to the M-card (notice the same numbers on both) so the box per se is not illegal to own or buy and sell, but it is useless.

To the best of my knowledge.

[second-chance-sa1es]

If what he is saying is true, then yes. But it should be said this item was sold with the implicit description that it was untested and being sold without a warranty of any type. It was also sold very cheap. The intention was to pass it on to someone who would be interested in the gold recover. Not off to an end user who had the intention to use it as originally intended.

[second-chance-sa1es]

Probably not the best phrasing on my end. What I mean is that I sure hope it comes back to me undamaged. I have heard some horror stories of customers gutting equipment and sending it back empty, intentionally damaging the item before return, swapping the unit for another unit and sending it back.....etc etc etc