Car Deposit

[bathgatebuyer]

Advice needed people. I paid a deposit for a car this weekend which I had every intention of buying. However, while completing the paperwork for the loan, I was told that my application was being rejected, despite being accepted verbally. So, tried a few other places and they shunned me too!

 

So, I phoned to cancel the car (which causes problems as my present car involves spending good money after bad - another £700 required next month on top of the £533 paid this month for the MOT and service so it would be cheaper having a new one!), and was told that the deposit was non-refundable.

 

Nowhere on the document I signed does it state that the deposit was non-refundable, and neither was this stated by the salesperson. What's worse is that the deposit was made by someone else on my behalf so I really could do with getting it back!!!

 

Would be grateful for any advice!

[Rob S]

I'm assuming the car was being purchased via a dealer, so the first step would be to scrutinise any paperwork you have to see if it mentions the deposit is non returnable or not. Once you have done that, it would be time to contact the dealer. Who have you spoken to there?

[rosiecotton]

When you enter into a contract to buy goods, it becomes legally binding once you have made the offer and the seller has accepted your offer to buy.

 

Now that you can no longer buy the car, admittedly through no fault of your own, you are in breach of contract and liable to pay damages.

 

The trader can withhold a reasonable amount of damages to cover his costs. This may include loss of profit.

 

However - and this is a bit tricky to prove - if he sells the car reasonably quickly to someone else for the same price that you offered to pay, then his losses are negligible and he should return the majority of your deposit to you.

 

Getting proof is always hard though. And if he doesn't sell the car for another six months, you have the issue of overheads in keeping it there, keeping it running, taxed (if necessary) etc. which would all count as his losses from losing the sale to you.

 

Basically, he is entitled to claim for his losses. He will need to quantify these losses. If he mitigates his losses (reduces them, i.e. by selling the car on), then he has to pass these reductions back to you. He cannot make more profit than he would have expected to from the same car.

[poppynurse]

Who was the finance from - if it was the dealer who told you that you have been approved initially then you may have an argument there.

[bathgatebuyer]

Good news - they gave me my deposit back. Very happy as I was worried that the £500 had gone for the family car dealership!

[Rob S]

Nice result, and thanks for letting us know.

[Allyxia]

Well done

 

Im interested to know who the dealer was - it happened to me.

 

Put £500 deposit on car agreed to pick it up in a fortnight - despite being told finance had been approved.

 

Went to collect the car, they told me that the finance was no longer valid and they couldnt find another company to give me any (why - is anybodies guess) so they kept my £500 deposit.

 

Trading standards were like a wet weekend about it - and unfort wasnt that clued up on the small claims court way back then - it was a big scary place that cost a lot of money.

 

So we lost our cash - so good on you!!!

 

Incedentally - we had also borrowed £300 towards our deposit, and then had to borrow a further £200 for another deposit against another car somewhere else where they had no problem in getting finance for us!!!

[bathgatebuyer]

I got lucky with that one - it was a family run garage who have a very good reputation for customer car. I guess would definitely buy a car from then in future now which I guess is their ploy!

[Rob S]

Allyxia, how long ago did that happen to you?