Buyer Protection Platform

[johnnykennedy]

My question involves business law in the state of: The United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland (UK)

Okay, so here goes my first post, I'm a student starting a new business for other students - a free platform for students to sell/buy university textbooks. My concern when building this website is that I need a program to help buyers and sellers reassure themselves that the website is safe - and as a result, I have drafted a policy similar to that of the eBay Buyer Protection Policy.

My concern is this, let's assume that a seller did not ship a textbook to the buyer, and as a result the buyer obviously wants a refund. As a website, it is unlikely that PayPal (the payment platform I am using) will allow me access to the sellers account. Therefore, I was wondering if there is something I can do that requires the seller (once they list their item / sign the online agreement) to refund if ordered to by myself (the website).

Is there anything binding about adding a paragraph to the agreement which states that the Seller must issue a refund under obligation, and should they disagree I may act on behalf of the buyer to recoup the funds that the seller has not refunded.

For example:

Buyer purchases an item > seller does not ship > as a result of a lengthly review I side with the buyer > issue refund from the website > recoup the refund amount from the buyer

Thanks again!

Jonathan

[Mr. Knowitall]

This is a U.S. forum - you need to post to a U.K. forum or consult a solicitor in the U.K.

U.S. law is not going to be helpful to your situation, as pretty much every other developed nation has consumer protection laws that offer significantly greater protections than are available in the U.S. We also don't have to deal with E.U. regulations.

[LawResearcherMissy]

For matters of UK law, you might ask the folks over here.