£500 car deposit non refunded - section 75?

lisyloo

why did the inspection cost £150 ? one hour labour max plus a travel fee £70/£80 total

What does this have to do with anything?
The inspection is paid by the OP to a 3rd party.
This doesn't come into it anywhere.

patman99

The op is probably a member of the AA or RAC, they charge a fortune for vehicle inspections.
People tend to think that their local mechanic won't do inspections, so use these over-priced services instead.

Lesson learned, if the dealer wants a deposit to hold the car prior to inspection, walk away. There are plenty of car sellers who don't demand a deposit.

chattychappy

robinia wrote: »

Thanks for all advice to date.

To clarify I actually wrote "subject to inspection" on the deposit receipt before I signed it. I foolishly did not qualify this by noting that I would base my decision on the outcome of the inspection and that my deposit would be returned if I chose not to purchase the car. Therefore the dealer fulfilled their side of the bargain. An inspection took place, findings irrelevant, buy the car.

Don't be hard on yourself. People never write down every last detail in a contract. (Hence the "officious bystander test", google if you're keen.)

The judges role is to "fill the gaps" and determine what were the real intentions behind the "subject to inspection" comment? Sounds to me like you only wanted to go ahead if the inspection was OK. OK in whose opinion? Yours, I'd suppose. That seems like the most natural meaning to me. Or perhaps it meant an "objective" opinion. Ie what would a neutral person have thought of the report? Matters for the judge. I don't think the business of fixing the defects enter into it.

lisyloo wrote: »

I am pretty sure you cannot just insist on your own terms and conditions just by writing them down. It would only count if the seller agreed to it either in writing or verbally.

You can do exactly that. If the OP wrote this down on the paperwork against which they accepted the deposit then it is part of what was agreed. They didn't have to accept the money. Both sides can "insist" on whatever they wish - the other side is free to accept/reject. Acceptance can be implied by action/performance. Happens all the time.

Case in point. Years ago a "well known international courier" that I don't usually use picked up some goods from my office. The recipient arranged the collection. Driver turned up "sign this" he says. Loads of small print on the back of a docket. I started to read it, he commented "don't worry the other end are paying". But wording next to the signature referred to agreeing to the T+Cs on the back. So I crossed out that bit with the comment "doesn't apply". Weeks later, I get a bill. The overseas firm hadn't paid. I was referred to the T+Cs which said that I would have to pay up. Long story short - day of hearing, they dropped the case. Why? Because the delivery bloke had bound them by taking the goods against what I had written. He didn't agree to my change in writing. But he did take the goods. Acceptance implied by his action. It took until the last moment for a proper solicitor to look at it. It was a couple of grand, quite alot then.

The car dealer here doesn't have to explicitly agree to the conditions of the OP. By taking the deposit he can be said to have implicitly agreed - provided he had notice of the condition.

IMHO this case is not crystal clear either way. Sorry nothing to do with the judge taking a view as to the "reasonableness" of the parties etc. This all sounds like the law, but it isn't. It comes down to a matter of determining facts. What were the agreed terms governing the deposit and then what actually happened. The evidence is the written comment on the receipt, any other paperwork, oral evidence at a hearing, custom/practice etc.

Personally I'd have a go.

robinia

Lisyloo and others thank you for your objective, considered opinions.

In my defence I thought that if I was not happy with report I would be able to reclaim my "holding" deposit. With hindsight "thought" and "court" don't mix as effectively (or as often) as oil and water do in a Rover 75 engine!

Lisyloo you're right re CCJ's. I was refering to the habit of a business folding and then rising like a phoenix next day as a means of avoiding liabilities.

Brock_and_Roll

Rover 75 - problems the best financial decision you ever made NOT to buy the car!!!

robinia

Thanks Brock_and_Roll - I'm actually smilling about it now!

lisyloo

There are plenty of car sellers who don't demand a deposit.

And will take it off the market?
That's certainly not the case round my way.
Although they will take smaller deposits e.g. £100.

chattychappy

robinia wrote: »

Lisyloo you're right re CCJ's. I was refering to the habit of a business folding and then rising like a phoenix next day as a means of avoiding liabilities.

If a company, I'd always check the registration number with companies house (free) before starting an action. No point if they fold or you're not even clear who they are. If a company and it has been around for a few years, they are probably NOT going to want to fold for the sake of a few hundred quid. If with interest and costs the judgment is over £600, then these are the people to contact: http://thesheriffsoffice.com/ if they don't pay up. Have used them myself (for a larger amount). They don't mess around, but it does work best for commercial debts, not debts against people.

lisyloo

I was refering to the habit of a business folding and then rising like a phoenix next day as a means of avoiding liabilities.

If it's anything but a tiny one-band band, it's unlikely they will shut up shop over your £500.
They could simply decide not to pay though and then you are faced with more costs for enforcement and no guarantees.

Another option available to you is to print out your own handouts and hand them out to people entering the premises. That might get a quicker result.

You have to be careful here about not doing anything unlawful, but I've seen people stood outside shops with placards before.
One man was stood outside a shop in Bristol with half a door !!

I would recommend family legal insurance in future. You'd get around £75K worth or legal cover for free, although they won't take the case unless they think it's worthwhile, so they won't "just try and see" there has to be a good chance of winning if they are paying professional rates.

Alex_LS

chattychappy wrote: »

If the OP wrote this down on the paperwork against which they accepted the deposit then it is part of what was agreed. They didn't have to accept the money. Both sides can "insist" on whatever they wish - the other side is free to accept/reject. Acceptance can be implied by action/performance. Happens all the time.

...

The car dealer here doesn't have to explicitly agree to the conditions of the OP. By taking the deposit he can be said to have implicitly agreed - provided he had notice of the condition.

Although complicated here, since the OP wrote on 'the deposit receipt' which means payment had already been made. i.e. the contract had already been made prior to the condition being communicated.