Can I be sued for a washer that I sold online?
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Can I be sued for a washer that I sold online?
I sold someone a washing machine on Facebook for $150 and within a day the woman who bought it is claiming that it’s giving her error codes. She now demands a refund or replacement. I told her that it was working fine for me and that I make a good faith effort to
make sure that anything I sell is of good quality, however it was sold
Asked on September 6, 2018 under Business Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
1) She can't legally force or require you to be investigated, and if her uncle uses IRS connections to cause an investigation for personal reasons, he committed a crime. However, while they cannot use connections to cause a baseless investigation solely to harass you, anyone can inform the IRS of suspected tax cheating or tax fraud, and the IRS may choose to investigate. So they can provide information to IRS; the IRS then freely decides what to do with it.
2) While you would not need to refund money if you were unaware of any problems, if you did know, you could be required to repay it, and possibly pay additional amounts, too--that is because it is fraud to sell as good a product you know has trouble or problems. While you write that it was working for you, a court of course does not know that in advance; therefore, she could file a lawsuit (e.g. in small claims court) and force you to respond to it.
For $150, it may be worth refunding her money and taking the washer back.
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