Craigslist transaction went south...


Hello,
Hope everyone is doing great. I have a situation here and I am hoping you guys can help. 
I have sold a home theater receiver to someone. We met at gas station and everything went fine. It happend on Sep 4th.  Today (Sep 15th)  i got a text from the same guy saying he just installed and the receiver is not working. He is going to take legal action against me. it was working receiver and i never had any problems with it. I don't know what to do now. . I am legal immigrant and working on visa.  Please advise.
Here is my ebay profile:  https://www.ebay.com/usr/manizthegreat



128x128manizkrishnan
Sit tight.  Unless I miss my guess, no one is suing anybody for a $120.  
If anything, possibly small claims court.  

If you don't need the drama, give the buyer his money back and be done with it ... principal notwithstanding.  

It can't be worth it at this point.  

Rich 
Hi,
Dont be afraid of legal action, facing a judge might be anxiety provoking but the judge is human like all of us. If you have done nothing wrong and explain it to the judge, judge will understand. For $125, if he hires an attorney (first, I doubt any attorney will take the case), still the court will likely award the plaintiff only $125 because you had no malice. He will have to eat the legal cost. In my experience, case like yours will most likely be decided in your favor (unless you have given guarantees of some kind, esp. in writing). Most likely, you may not hear from him again, so, relax and sleep well.
Giri
I don't know your state but in a handful of states, including California, Michigan, and Nebraska, you must appear in small claims court on your own. (no lawyers allowed)  Recording your conversation is hearsay.  Hearsay evidence is normally excluded from a trial because it is deemed untrustworthy. 

If you think he is responsible for the damage don't invite him to your home and just ignore him.  If you feel, after talking to him that he is telling the truth you have the option to give him a refund.  
Good advice on all points regarding scammers and equipment swaps.

My view?  Depends on what your time is worth.

If you really need the $120, then let him fight you for it.  As the plaintiff, he bears the burden of proof, and your defense would be that after more than a week, there's no saying what he might have done to damage the unit.

If you don't mind standing on principle and have the time to respond to any court summons to address the matter, then let him roll the dice and take you to court.  Just keep in mind that if the judge decides in his favor, you may be hit with the additional filing fees which are probably about $150-ish.

First of all I am impressed with the number of upstanding and ethical people on this site who have said to just give him his money back! This is why I would never sell electronics on Craigslist although I'll bet nine out of ten transactions are fine! It's that tenth one that is not worth it! Personally if you are certain that the unit worked fine when you sold it I would tell him so and refuse any further correspondence! I have been to small claims court once on a matter of principle and it was a real hassle! (BTW I lost even though I was certain I was in the right!) As someone already suggested few people would do that for $120 unless they really felt that they had been scammed. I suspect he is either a scammer or he has hooked this unit up incorrectly somehow! I have heard of the scam where people buy a new unit identical to the one that is not working and then try to return their broken unit in its place! Do you happen to have a record of the serial number. Probably not but if so and if you really want to refund his money I would make it clear to him that you will do so only if he returns the unit you sold him!