On November 28, Peter Clatworthy, 19, from Bilborough, Nottingham was under the impression he’d paid £450 (plus £8 postage) for a new XBox One console on eBay, but only received a poorly printed picture of one in the post.
He’s a little embarrassed after saving up in order to buy the limited edition Day One version of the latest Xbox console as a surprise Christmas present for his four-year-old son, McKenzie; when in fact, he’s mistakenly bought a picture. Mr Clatworthy was quick to contest his online eBay purchase, which was investigated, and since he paid via PayPal he can expect to receive a full refund from the seller, who has until Monday to pay up.
Mr Clatworthy said: “I’ve had to make a joke out of it because I was that angry. At least we’ve now got something to laugh about in the years to come… I always buy stuff on eBay and this has never happened before.”
The eBay listing however did state that it was only a photo of an XBox One Day One edition but Mr Clatworthy said he’d expected to receive the console anyway since it was listed in the “Video Games & Consoles” category. He said: “It said ‘photo’ and I was in two minds, but I looked at the description and the fact it was in the right category made me think it was genuine.”
“I looked at the seller’s feedback and there was nothing negative. I bought it there and then because I thought it was a good deal… It’s obvious now I’ve been conned out of my money.”
To add a little insult to injury, when Mr Clatworthy received the photo in the post on Monday morning, the seller had written ‘thank you for your purchase’ on the back which left him “fuming.”
The XBox One was released in the UK on November 22 with a special Day One edition reserved for those who picked the machine up on launch day. This has led to other cheeky sellers on eBay with reports of people paying hundreds of pounds for empty XBox One boxes. The most shocking example of this is one particular listing of ‘XBox One Day One edition retail packaging’ which sold for £7,200 after receiving 80 bids.
A spokesman for eBay, the online marketplace, said: “We don’t allow listings which mislead, and will take action against this seller… Customers can shop with confidence on eBay as we guarantee you will get your item or your money back. Mr Clatworthy is covered by the eBay money-back guarantee and we will be contacting him to put things right.”
Tessa Coates, Trading Standards Officer at Notts County Council had this to say: “We are not aware of an eBay scam of this nature. However, we would encourage all eBay buyers to pay for their goods using PayPal to give them extra protection. PayPal states that if the item doesn’t match the seller’s description or gets lost in the post then it will give the buyer their money back.”
She added: “Our main tips for buying online generally this Christmas is make sure you’re getting a good deal, know who you’re dealing with and protect your personal and financial information.”
Thanks go to the Nottingham Post for the photo and quotes used in this story.
