Car dealer refusing to refund deposit - can they do this?
Discussion
Hi,
Would appreciate anyone’s experience/view on this legally. I recently found a used car online that I wanted to view on a dealer website and there was a ‘Reserve this car’ option. So I filled in the form and the next morning the company called me to take a £250 deposit. I asked them if the deposit was refundable and they said yes it was. I told them I’d try to get to see the car the following Saturday and left it at that.
When the Saturday came around my day totally fell apart but I still thought I could get to them before they closed. The sales guy called me asking where I was and when I apologised and explained it would be another hour before I could get to them he said he couldn’t wait and had to close. I explained that it was literally the only day for several weeks that I had any chance to view the car and so that he’d better just unreserve the car. He said ok and went on to say he would issue a refund.
Fast-forward 4 days and after many phone calls asking when they would be able to refund me they are now basically saying they are keeping my money because I messed them around. They are also saying that the deposit committed me to buying the car UNLESS I found that they had lied about something or about its condition.
My question is, can they legally do this? Nothing on their website says that I have to physically view the car to get a refund, or that I am committing to buy the car, and the guy also didn’t mention anything like that when I specifically queried if the deposit was refundable. He just said ‘yes it is’ with no provisos.
So if I take it further (legally) do I have a case?
Cheers
Would appreciate anyone’s experience/view on this legally. I recently found a used car online that I wanted to view on a dealer website and there was a ‘Reserve this car’ option. So I filled in the form and the next morning the company called me to take a £250 deposit. I asked them if the deposit was refundable and they said yes it was. I told them I’d try to get to see the car the following Saturday and left it at that.
When the Saturday came around my day totally fell apart but I still thought I could get to them before they closed. The sales guy called me asking where I was and when I apologised and explained it would be another hour before I could get to them he said he couldn’t wait and had to close. I explained that it was literally the only day for several weeks that I had any chance to view the car and so that he’d better just unreserve the car. He said ok and went on to say he would issue a refund.
Fast-forward 4 days and after many phone calls asking when they would be able to refund me they are now basically saying they are keeping my money because I messed them around. They are also saying that the deposit committed me to buying the car UNLESS I found that they had lied about something or about its condition.
My question is, can they legally do this? Nothing on their website says that I have to physically view the car to get a refund, or that I am committing to buy the car, and the guy also didn’t mention anything like that when I specifically queried if the deposit was refundable. He just said ‘yes it is’ with no provisos.
So if I take it further (legally) do I have a case?
Cheers
MonkeyMalloo said:
So if I take it further (legally) do I have a case? ?
Last time I had any dealings with a solicitor they wanted £1K from me before they would even look at the case. A friend of mine had something similar where she put down a £!000 deposit on a car that the dealer said was refundable, surprise, surprise he didn't want to give it back. My friend has a friend who is a solicitor who did all the legal work for free, but it still took around a year to get the deposit back and then he managed to keep some of the money as he had done work to the car after she agreed to buy it.The point I am making is it is a lot of grief for £250 and the dealer knows this.
Yes I paid by debit card so could contact my bank about it I guess.
I know it's only £250 but it's money I can't really afford to just lose. I wondered if issuing small claims court proceedings would go in my favour. It'll only cost me £35 to do that.
The dealer claims that whilst they held the car on my deposit they missed out on selling it to some other guy. So could they use that as a legal defence?
I know it's only £250 but it's money I can't really afford to just lose. I wondered if issuing small claims court proceedings would go in my favour. It'll only cost me £35 to do that.
The dealer claims that whilst they held the car on my deposit they missed out on selling it to some other guy. So could they use that as a legal defence?
What kind of dealer is this?
Surely it’s standard practice to pay a holding deposit before going to see a car, especially if it’s going to be a few days. If the car turns out to be nit for you or you’ve simply changed your mind then that deposit is normally refunded. The fact that you were told this in the first place makes it even more so.
I can’t see why you would need a solicitor. Tell them to refund the money or you’ll take further action. It sounds like small claims stuff to me that you could do yourself.
Surely it’s standard practice to pay a holding deposit before going to see a car, especially if it’s going to be a few days. If the car turns out to be nit for you or you’ve simply changed your mind then that deposit is normally refunded. The fact that you were told this in the first place makes it even more so.
I can’t see why you would need a solicitor. Tell them to refund the money or you’ll take further action. It sounds like small claims stuff to me that you could do yourself.
ChrisH72 said:
What kind of dealer is this?
Surely it’s standard practice to pay a holding deposit before going to see a car, especially if it’s going to be a few days. If the car turns out to be nit for you or you’ve simply changed your mind then that deposit is normally refunded. The fact that you were told this in the first place makes it even more so.
I can’t see why you would need a solicitor. Tell them to refund the money or you’ll take further action. It sounds like small claims stuff to me that you could do yourself.
Yes I was thinking small claims as it'll only cost me £35. What worries me though is that they are claiming they lost out on selling the car to someone else whilst they held it for me. So I guess they will counter claim against me....?Surely it’s standard practice to pay a holding deposit before going to see a car, especially if it’s going to be a few days. If the car turns out to be nit for you or you’ve simply changed your mind then that deposit is normally refunded. The fact that you were told this in the first place makes it even more so.
I can’t see why you would need a solicitor. Tell them to refund the money or you’ll take further action. It sounds like small claims stuff to me that you could do yourself.
Whilst the dealer might argue they have missed out on selling the car to somebody else, the dealer can’t prove a loss because they still have the car. There was a big property case relating to a site in Leeds a few years that went to the High Court. The site value changed dramatically between 2006 and 2009 and the owner was claiming they would have sold it in 2006 but they relied on representations made to them to participate in a developer competition instead. The court rulings were really clear re the site value - irrelevant that the site value had changed over time because the owner still owned it (with all the potential and liabilities that went with it).
[quote=MonkeyMalloo] stuff - only £250 - stuff quote]
Eh.... that 250 would feed a family for more than a week... its your 250 smackeroos.... id be smacking that dealer through the courts and every which way you could to get that 250 back... even if it meant smacking him in the snout...
Eh.... that 250 would feed a family for more than a week... its your 250 smackeroos.... id be smacking that dealer through the courts and every which way you could to get that 250 back... even if it meant smacking him in the snout...
Call them and ask about another car.
If they say you need to pay a deposit to hold it you can again ask them if it’s refundable. If the answer is yes then….you got them. Demand your original deposit back.
They can’t prove that they lost out on a sale. It’s total BS. They’re free to call the mystery buyer and tell them the car is still available.
If they say you need to pay a deposit to hold it you can again ask them if it’s refundable. If the answer is yes then….you got them. Demand your original deposit back.
They can’t prove that they lost out on a sale. It’s total BS. They’re free to call the mystery buyer and tell them the car is still available.
Been through this, twice. Don't argue with them. Send them a letter (recorded delivery) giving them a deadline, say five days, to return the deposit in full to your account or you will (a) instruct your solicitor to take them to small claims court or (b) file papers yourself at the small claims court. You don't need a solicitor to do this, it's a simple case, but the threat may worry them more. Nobody likes dealing with lawyers. If you win the case , and you should, it will cost them the refund, plus court costs, plus time to appear in court, plus adverse publicity if it hits the local press.
In addition to this, if the money is not returned by the deadline you will make it your life's mission to publicise what they have done with reviews and posts on every social media platform, community Facebook pages, motoring forums etc. within a 50 mile radius and beyond. Your account will not be slanderous, but will explain the facts, in that their actions did not meet their verbal promise when they kept your deposit. This could cost them a huge amount of business. Social media can be an immensely powerful tool for the consumer in the right hands.
Trust me, this works because you are giving them lots of hassle instead of the other way around. If it doesn't, follow through on your threats.
The last time I bought a car at a distance was two years ago and I made sure that I got a reassurance from the seller that the deposit was refundable by email. It was a main dealer and they were quite happy to do that, the deposit simply being a sign of good faith.
In addition to this, if the money is not returned by the deadline you will make it your life's mission to publicise what they have done with reviews and posts on every social media platform, community Facebook pages, motoring forums etc. within a 50 mile radius and beyond. Your account will not be slanderous, but will explain the facts, in that their actions did not meet their verbal promise when they kept your deposit. This could cost them a huge amount of business. Social media can be an immensely powerful tool for the consumer in the right hands.
Trust me, this works because you are giving them lots of hassle instead of the other way around. If it doesn't, follow through on your threats.
The last time I bought a car at a distance was two years ago and I made sure that I got a reassurance from the seller that the deposit was refundable by email. It was a main dealer and they were quite happy to do that, the deposit simply being a sign of good faith.
Edited by lornemalvo on Wednesday 26th January 21:34
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff