Buyer changed her mind. Should I return her deposit?

Harryonesock

I really don't get this!! What is the point of a deposit!!?? I booked a hall, disco etc for my son as a homecoming party. He served in Afghanistan with the army. His coming home date was postponed so I had to cancel said party and lost my deposit!!

Biggles

Harryonesock wrote: »

I really don't get this!! What is the point of a deposit!!?? I booked a hall, disco etc for my son as a homecoming party. He served in Afghanistan with the army. His coming home date was postponed so I had to cancel said party and lost my deposit!!

There are two kinds of deposit: the kind that is refundable if the deal falls through and the kind that is non-refundable. It ought to be clear to both parties which kind is involved.

In the case of a venue booking, they could easily argue that they may have lost the opportunity of booking it for that night, so it would very often be non-refundable.

In the case of a sale that falls though, it may be that the vendor hasn't actually lost anything, so the deposit may well be refundable.

Nobody should ever give or receive a deposit without making sure the conditions are clear.

themull1

If she offered to pay in the first place is it not a part payment rather than a deposit?

JimmyTheWig

Cookiecrumble wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. The first sale was via Gumtree so no fees. Her actions caused me to re-advertise incurring £50 ebay fee.
I think I've just answered my own question. But it's good to know what others think.

What happened to the Gumtree advert after the first buyer paid the deposit? Did you remove it or did you leave it there?
Did anyone else contact you about the Gumtree advert?

This is fundamental.
You can't keep money from her deposit on the basis of "if she had done what she said then you'd be £50 better off".
But you can keep money from her deposit on the basis of "if she hadn't got involved at all then you'd be £50 better off".

So if this original buyer never contacted you, what do you think would have happened?