You paid. Nothing came.
Bank transfer sent, 'posting it tomorrow', then tracking that never existed, then nothing. A private seller who takes payment and doesn't send is in breach — and usually identifiable. A letter before action asks for the money by a date. Written free, today.
If your messages look like this…
Two ticks. No reply. The listing's still up.
Alongside the money itself, courts may award simple interest on money you have been kept out of — commonly 8% a year under the County Courts Act 1984 — and the court fee is typically added to a successful claim. Interest is discretionary. The letter sets this out so the other side can see what ignoring it costs.
How people describe it when they reach us
The sorts of things people tell us. Illustrative, based on patterns in the cases that reach us.
Your legal rights when a private seller doesn't send
In England and Wales a private sale is a contract: you pay, they deliver. A seller who takes payment and does not send is in breach and the money is recoverable, with interest. Where the seller never intended to send, it may also be fraud — a police matter that runs alongside the civil claim, not instead of it.
Case lawContract law — breach of contractFailing to do what was paid for may amount to breach of contract.
A job, a purchase or a loan is typically analysed as a contract. If one side does not perform a central promise — work not done, money not repaid, goods not handed over — a court may find a breach and will then consider what loss flowed from it. The measure is normally the money you are out of pocket, proved with evidence.
ActSale of Goods Act 1979, s.13Even a private sale usually has to match the description.
Where goods are sold by description, section 13 typically implies a term that the goods will correspond with that description. It generally applies to private sellers as well as traders, which is why an advert that calls a car "no known faults" or hides damage may support a claim even where the Consumer Rights Act does not apply.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗This is general information about the law in England and Wales, not advice about your case. Which provisions apply, and how, depends on the facts.
Four things you'll hear. None of them end it.
Then there's a tracking number and a receipt. A seller who claims to have posted can show it. If they can't, the money is owed.
The opposite: it names the account. The transfer is evidence of payment and often of identity. The bank can also be asked to help trace under the fraud rules.
The platform's protection is separate from the law. A sale is a contract between you and the seller; the claim is against them.
A letter goes to a person, not a profile. The bank account name, the postcode on the label, the return address, the phone number — tell us what you have.
Five things worth gathering now
The letter first. Court only if they ignore it.
Your side, your words
What happened, what was agreed, what you are out of pocket. We ask what a court would ask, so the letter says what a court would need to hear.
Written for you, free
A formal letter before action with a 14-day deadline, setting out what is owed and why. You see it at no charge. Posting it by tracked mail and watching the deadline is £15.
Court claim, prepared
If the deadline passes: one tap turns the letter into a small claim, drafted, checked and filed. The £15 comes off our fee. The decision is the court's.
What JustClaim is: we prepare and file the paperwork for your claim, for a fixed price shown before you pay. We're not a law firm, this isn't legal advice, and no outcome is ever guaranteed — what you get is the strongest honest version of your case, properly made.
Questions people in this exact spot ask
Can I get my money back from a private seller who never sent the item?
Yes, in principle: the sale is a contract and they didn't perform. The practical question is identifying them, which the bank transfer, the listing and their messages usually make possible. The letter asks for the money by a date.
I paid by bank transfer. Is that gone?
Not necessarily. Ask your bank about the fraud reimbursement rules first; separately, the transfer names the receiving account, which helps identify the seller for the letter.
Should I report it to the police?
If you think they never intended to send, yes — Action Fraud. That runs alongside the civil claim; it doesn't replace it, and it rarely gets the money back on its own.
All I have is a username.
Look at what else you have: the bank account name, a postcode, a phone number, other listings. Tell us and we'll say whether it's enough to send a letter.
How much does it cost if it goes further?
If the letter is ignored, a court claim has a court fee set by the amount: £35 up to £300, £50 up to £500, £70 up to £1,000, £115 up to £3,000. If you win, the fee is normally added to what the other side is ordered to pay. Our fixed price is shown before you pay anything.
Is the letter really free?
Yes. Tell us what happened and the letter before action is written and shown to you at no charge. If you want us to post it by tracked mail and watch the 14-day deadline, that is £15, shown before you pay — and it comes off our fee if it later becomes a court claim.
Paid and ghosted?
Tell us what you have on the seller. The letter before action is written free and shown to you today; posting it and watching the deadline is £15.
Write the letter — free →