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Statute of limitations on bad trade resolution?
Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 7:07 am
by Borscope2004
Late last year I did a bunch of trades here, and one went sour in that I only recieved part of the agreed trade. I exchange PM's with the guy and he says he sent a bunch of stuff and it may have gotten mixed up and sent somewhere else, and he'll check around.
Life happens, time passes, and I forget about it.
I start selling/trading again this past week, and in my Gaming trade/sales book (I keep notes/reciepts etc. on everything) I find a post-it note from myself saying "Resolve B-town issue with *******".
To add insult to injury, even though I fulfilled my part of the trade I get no positive FB.
So, it's been a little over 6 months, but I sent a PM to him.
Now obviously regardless of anything else, I deserve my full part of the trade or a return. I'm just wondering, if it doesn't work out, if there's any problem leaving bad feedback after so long?
Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 10:33 am
by flagg07
I agree 100% that you are due the full value of the trade. There is no statute of limitations that I am aware of. Check the rules to make sure...
That said, it is very possible that the trader forgot just as easily as you did. I would send him a few reminders and keep in mind that you may need to provide him some proof to back it up.
If the trade you made was unsatisfactory, then by all means you have a right to leave a negative. Just be ready to provide proof as to why you left it. IE PM/ e-mails from both of you in reference to the missing items.
Again, I can't stress it enough that you should check the rules. I don't think there's anything in there, but I do seem to remember Lin saying something about not wanting to get involved in stuff that was over a year old. Plus some of the rules have had additions to them so a S of L may havew been added.
Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 2:46 pm
by ancientsociety
Late last year (i.e. 2006) - WTF!!??? And you "forgot" about a bad trade?
Sorry but IMO, it's a) WAY too late to leave negative feedback (I'm tired of reading threads in the BTR where trader A waited 3+ months to resolve the trade, w barely any communication, and then just one day decided to post a BTR), b) bad form to not keep on a trader who has wronged you - then forgetting about it - then nearly 1 year later threatening him w a neg, and c) more than a little "fishy" that, all of the sudden you "remember" a bad trade.
If it wasn't important enough for you to follow thru with it nearly 12 months ago, what's changed? Did you take pics of the items when rec'd?Do you still have all your correspondence?
If there isn't a statute of limitations on posting BTRs and negs, then it'd be fairly easy for the not-so-honest members to simply come back to a trade after however much time has passed and say "well, he forgot to do X, etc.". After nearly a year, it's highly doubtful that both parties have kept all their correspondence/documentation/evidence to corroborate their side of the trade. I see lack of a statute as opening a Pandora's Box of badness.
Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 3:31 pm
by Borscope2004
Late last year being right before Christmas, and since it was a fudged deal I PM'ed him, made a note, and stuck the box out of the way in my hobby cupboard. Since he had a good record I didn't press him. Yes I forgot about it, hell he probably did as well.
As I said, I've started trading/selling again this past couple of days and I found the post-it, dug the box out, and PM'ed him.
Yes, I have all relevant PM's etc. and I haven't threatened him with a bad trader report (yet) as his record is otherwise exemplary from what I can tell and am attempting to resolve it in a friendly manner, i.e. "Hey man, remember me?"
He acknowledged my part came in fine, and I'm stuck with the equivelant of 2 box regiments missing legs and heads. If he comes back and resolves it, this thread will simply become a theoretical exercise.
Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 3:49 pm
by ancientsociety
Borscope2004 wrote:
He acknowledged my part came in fine, and I'm stuck with the equivelant of 2 box regiments missing legs and heads. If he comes back and resolves it, this thread will simply become a theoretical exercise.
So you're "stuck" w 2 unusable regiments
but you've been "stuck" with them for nearly 12 months.
If it wasn't important enough for you to followup and he was a bad trader, then you haven't made public that info for others to be wary of for nearly a year. This is how scammers get away with ripping many people off in a short time. Not a good way to help support the legit traders here and help us protect against scammers.
If he is a good trader and you didn't feel necessary to follow up, then it's your loss. You should have followed up, no matter how "busy" you might have been (barring emergency circumstances, of course). And, even if you didn't have the time to babysit it, then hand the info over to a mod or post a BTR.
Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 8:17 pm
by vesrian
well... consulting the rules:
Rule #15: Statute of Limitations (added 6/27/2006)
It has come to our attention that people are filing negative feedbacks, complaining about negative feedbacks, trying to appeal feedback, and other such things months after the fact. As we have better things to do than sort through "he said, she said" with no corrolary evidence we are imposing a statute of limitations on complaints and appeals. Please note this does NOT apply to properly submitted Bad Trader Reports.
You now have thirty (30) calendar days after a feedback has been posted on the ITL to appeal or complain about it.
So that's the official policy.
While i do agree you deserve your end of the trade, a lot can happen in 8 months to make that impractical. If the guy remembers the issue and has the stuff you're missing, then yeah he should send it to you. But what if he doesn't, what do you expect him to do about it?
From what you said he said (8 months ago) they may have gotten sent somewhere else by accident. If that's true, you're asking him to track down the other people he dealt with and find out if they have your stuff and if so arrange to get it to you. If that's even possible, it's likely to be a huge pain.
I assume it's not your fault the items were missing in the first place, but you may have made the issue much harder for him to resolve by waiting so long. I think you need to take some responsibility for that. Maybe there's an easy solution thats agreeable to both of you, then great! But there may not be and, IMO, given the time you let elapse, there are limits on what you can reasonably expect him to do to make things right.
Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 8:32 pm
by SteveBerenyi
[quote="vesrian"]well... consulting the rules:
[quote]Rule #15: Statute of Limitations (added 6/27/2006)
It has come to our attention that people are filing negative feedbacks, complaining about negative feedbacks, trying to appeal feedback, and other such things months after the fact. As we have better things to do than sort through "he said, she said" with no corrolary evidence we are imposing a statute of limitations on complaints and appeals. Please note this does NOT apply to properly submitted Bad Trader Reports.
You now have thirty (30) calendar days after a feedback has been posted on the ITL to appeal or complain about it.
[/quote]
So that's the official policy.
While i do agree you deserve your end of the trade, a lot can happen in 8 months to make that impractical. If the guy remembers the issue and has the stuff you're missing, then yeah he should send it to you. But what if he doesn't, what do you expect him to do about it?
From what you said he said (8 months ago) they may have gotten sent somewhere else by accident. If that's true, you're asking him to track down the other people he dealt with and find out if they have your stuff and if so arrange to get it to you. If that's even possible, it's likely to be a huge pain.
I assume it's not your fault the items were missing in the first place, but you may have made the issue much harder for him to resolve by waiting so long. I think you need to take some responsibility for that. Maybe there's an easy solution thats agreeable to both of you, then great! But there may not be and, IMO, given the time you let elapse, there are limits on what you can reasonably expect him to do to make things right.[/quote]
If you managed to find that you should have read it. it says you have 30 days to appeal a BTR. nothing about how long you have to file a BTR....
Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 9:11 pm
by vesrian
SteveBerenyi wrote:
If you managed to find that you should have read it. it says you have 30 days to appeal a BTR. nothing about how long you have to file a BTR....
Not to nitpick, but if you go back and read it, you'll notice that it actually doesn't say you have 30 days to appeal a BTR...
Regardless, the guy was asking about the statute of limitations policy here. I quoted the policy in its entirety for his convenience. I didn't make any claims about what it said or didn't said. I only claimed it was the official policy. I left it up to the reader to read and interpret it.
I posted what i thought was the most relevent section of the rules. If you don't think what i posted was useful, feel free to be helpful and post something more revelant to his concerns.
Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2007 9:17 pm
by SteveBerenyi
[quote="vesrian"]
Regardless, the guy was asking about the statute of limitations policy here. I quoted the policy in its entirety for his convenience. I didn't make any claims about what it said or didn't said. I only claimed it was the official policy. I left it up to the reader to read and interpret it.
I posted what i thought was the most relevent section of the rules. If you don't think what i posted was useful, feel free to be helpful and post something more revelant to his concerns.[/quote]
Did not recognize that, My bad. But no I'd say if you dont clean up the mess (not you vesrian) that was made last year. you dont have grounds to complain.
Way to late...
Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2007 8:39 pm
by smilbuta
IMHO, its way to late..especialy if you didint care about resolving it untill you found your own sticky note almost a year later. chalk it up to experience and move on.