Can I get my car deposit back?

anyhelp_2

I placed an order for a skoda back in january and they told me 6 months delivery and a delivery date within 3 weeks of placing order. 2 months down line my circumstances changed and i had to cancel the car. I still had no delivery date at the time of cancelling the order but the dealership have refused to return my deposit. No-where on paperwork does it state this is a non refundable deposit. Skoda customer services want no part as they say its a dealer issue. Any help please?

maninthestreet

anyhelp wrote: »

I placed an order for a skoda back in january and they told me 6 months delivery and a delivery date within 3 weeks of placing order. 2 months down line my circumstances changed and i had to cancel the car. I still had no delivery date at the time of cancelling the order but the dealership have refused to return my deposit. No-where on paperwork does it state this is a non refundable deposit. Skoda customer services want no part as they say its a dealer issue. Any help please?

You cancelled the contract, so the dealer is entitled to retain the deposit.

Kilty_2

What would you have done if the car was delivered immediately and your circumstances changed?

I don't know if the dealer can keep the whole deposit though - they need to mitigate their losses iirc.

Equaliser123

maninthestreet wrote: »

You cancelled the contract, so the dealer is entitled to retain the deposit.

Not necessarily at all.

Better advice given on the consumer rights board.

macman

Not only is the dealer entitled to retain the deposit, he is also entitled to sue you for breach of contract and the balance of the sale value.
If doesn't have to state that it's non-refundable. By paying a deposit and signing the order you entered a binding contract to buy.
By your logic, you would be able to cancel up to the day the car was due for collection.

Hintza

The problem being dealers seem to take orders these days whilst not having a clue when delivery will be (or even blatatly lie) they seem to think it is acceptable to just keep stretching the delivery date.

If it had been me I might have called their bluff and waited for however long they said delivery was going to be and when it failed to materialise then pull the order. (Possibly a bit dangerous and the forfeiture of the depost might be a cheap way out espcially if the car has not been built yet.)

However I am aware they might cover this in their T&C's so any prospective buyers might be advised to check this and pop a clause in to the contract to cover late delivery prior to handing over a deposit.

Altarf

macman wrote: »

Not only is the dealer entitled to retain the deposit, he is also entitled to sue you for breach of contract and the balance of the sale value.

If the dealer did sue, then it is extremely unlikely that for a mass market product like a car, that the court would choose the remedy of specific performance and force the sale to go through to obtain the balance of the sale value.

The dealer could seek damages, but would need to demonstrate and quantify those damages and how they had sought to mitigate their loss. And if they had made no loss, then there would be no damages.

So the car is four months away from delivery, will not have even been built yet, let alone paid for by the dealer. Are you seriously suggesting that the car dealer could not sell the car in the next 4 months, so mitigating their loss, or alternatively cancel the order, again mitigating their loss.

anyhelp_2

I had this question posted on the consumer rights and it was suggested to post here as well, but thanks for the suggestion. The dealer has told me they can't cancel the car but will take delivery of it and sell to someone else. I agree with Altarf they have 4 months to re-sell the car and take another deposit from someone else before it appears on the forecourt and given the one that was there when we went for a test drive sold within days of arriving (so we werre told) I don't think they are worrid about selling the car. I would discuss a partial refund with them but can't get anyone who can authorise that to talk to me.

Equaliser123

macman wrote: »

Not only is the dealer entitled to retain the deposit, he is also entitled to sue you for breach of contract and the balance of the sale value.
If doesn't have to state that it's non-refundable. By paying a deposit and signing the order you entered a binding contract to buy.
By your logic, you would be able to cancel up to the day the car was due for collection.

No, there are a whole bunch of cases whereby if the forfeiture of a deposit constitutes a penalty in that it is not a genuine pre-estimate of the loss likely to be suffered, then it is not enforceable and can be reclaimed by the OP.

We don't actually know how much the deposit is.

macman

Whatever the dealer can do or can't do with the vehicle is not really relevant to the legal position of the OP. They have entered into a binding contract, and if they breach that contract then the dealer is most likely to simply retain the deposit and resell the vehicle, as appears to be their intention.
I can't see that the dealer has to demonstrate that their loss is greater than or equal to the deposit: breach of contract will result in a lost deposit.
I also don't see how the delivery date is relevant if the OP was quoted 6 months (on a Skoda?) and it is only 2 months since the order was placed. The fact that a date has not yet been confirmed does not mean that the OP would not get the vehicle with the 6m originally quoted.
If the dealer resells at no loss then they might return the deposit on a goodwill basis, probably minus a fee for the work involved. They're not under any obligation to do so.
The whole point of a deposit is to ensure that a contract has been made in law.

Equaliser123

macman wrote: »

I can't see that the dealer has to demonstrate that their loss is greater than or equal to the deposit: breach of contract will result in a lost deposit.

They don't. The law is clear from Dunlop Pneumatic Tyre Co -v- New Garage Motor Co (1915) that to be effective it must be a genuine pre-estimate of the loss likely to be suffered.

If not, then it penalises the other party.