Selling a used object and finding yourself accused of scam: this is the new nightmare of many individuals.
They are dozens to testify on social networks: after having sold a car, an appliance or other objects to individuals, they find themselves accused of scams … and threatened with legal proceedings.
It all starts normally. On the Reddit social network, a user under the pseudonym “Planchx” tells: “I sold my Peugeot 308 to an individual a few weeks ago. Everything was in good standing: revisions made, no accident under my possession, and impeccable technical control.” A transaction without hitch. At least, apparently.
A few days later, the buyer contacted him and accused him of having hidden major faults. According to him, the car would suffer from water infiltrations and other problems not specified in the publication. It then requires financial compensation to cover repairs.
Plachx refuses. But his interlocutor does not hear this ear and threatens to initiate a procedure for hidden vices, an action which can cost dear to Planchx. Because according to article 1641 of the Civil Code, the seller is required to guarantee the product against any defect making its use impossible or decreasing so its value that the buyer would not have paid the same price with full knowledge of the facts.
We are talking about “guarantee of hidden defects” here, a rule that applies to all goods, whether new or used, sold by a professional or a simple individual, details the Ministry of the Economy on his site.
The days go by and the threats are intensifying. Faced with the pressure, Plachx asks for advice on the Internet, but against all odds, other Internet users reassure him: “If you are looking for other positions of the style, you will see that it is a very common scam”, replies one. “It’s a scam. I made myself have 1600 euros in 2018,” added another.
“I had roughly the same problem after the sale of my car, testifies another surfer. I called the police and she said to me:” You block her number. If he points to you, you call us “.”
Do not do anything, ignore the threats and wait, as Internet users advise, it is a surprising reaction because “we can act,” confides the newspaper of the lawyer Rémy Josseaume. “The most important thing is to understand if it is indeed a hidden defect.” A hidden defect must be camouflaged by the seller. “A worn tire or damaged bodywork is an apparent vice.” In this case, the seller can no longer be targeted by the threats of the buyer.
In order for the threats of the buyer to be actually founded, he must launch a legal procedure with supporting expertise which prove three things: that the defect is serious, invisible to purchase, and existing before delivery, as summarized by the UFC-Que-Choose association. A procedure that can be long and tedious.
If the majority of the testimonies concern the sale of used cars, whether via online platforms, such as Leboncoin or Ebay, or live, other victims share similar mishaps concerning household appliances or even clothes, sold via Vinted.
