Car Deposit Return after Poor Customer Service

The_Funk_Messiah

Hello everyone. I put a £200 deposit on a used car which was on sale on a showroom forecourt but was told was a private sale with one of the sales people. It was agreed they would put a new MOT on the car which was written on the deposit receipt. Also that they would fix the heater fan but this was written on the receipt as replace relay for fan. Verbally it was agreed that this would be done by the Saturday (deposit paid on the Monday so just under a week). No mention of this was written on the receipt. The car was not ready for the weekend but i had to go into the garage to find this out. It needed more work for the MOT and the fan. I was then told via text that it would be the Monday. I did not hear anything from the showroom or the salesman. Via text i finally got a message to say the car would be ready for the friday and agreed a time of 1pm to collect the car. When i got their the fan was still not working the paper work for the car was not there and whilst talking to the mechanic the salesman dissappeared. I then heard nothing for 2 days so i started texting the saleman who started saying he could sell the car for more. Because of the delays and being left in the dark, i had had to reknew my insurance on my present car. When i said fine to the suggestion he could resell the car... i went in today to ask about having my deposit refunded because it had taken too long was not as agreed and because i felt they had incredibly poor communication i had lost all trust in the sale. Do i have any hope of getting my deposit back, and can anyone offer any evidence of similar claims or actions to resolve the issue. Thank you Ian

AdrianC

You left a deposit as a guarantee that you would not pull out of the purchase.
Your deposit is forfeit in the event you pull out of the purchase.
You've chosen to pull out of the purchase.

What do YOU think'll happen with the deposit?

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

AdrianC wrote: »

You left a deposit as a guarantee that you would not pull out of the purchase.
Your deposit is forfeit in the event you pull out of the purchase.
You've chosen to pull out of the purchase.

What do YOU think'll happen with the deposit?

To be fair, the deposit was on the basis of the seller providing a car in saleable condition within a reasonable time. The seller having failed to act reasonably has essentially broken the contract, either written or implied terms, so the buyer should get their deposit back. They had acted reasonably waiting and still it was not ready.

I would write (not call) insisting on deposit back as they broke the contract and if it is not returned, say within 14 days then commence legal proceedings.

root

As above, you might get it back if you push on that basis, wouldn't hold your breath though.

The_Funk_Messiah wrote: »

but was told was a private sale with one of the sales people.

Would have walked at that point personally.

gilbert_and_sullivan

root wrote: »

Would have walked at that point personally.

So would i.

In effect its a private sale, sold as seen, and you wouldn't be mucking about like this waiting for someone to make it roadworthy.

Spicy_McHaggis

So in order to evade their responsibilities as a trader, the garage want to sell you a car as a private sale. Then you go ahead and pay a deposit when most would walk.

AdrianC

IanMSpencer wrote: »

The seller having failed to act reasonably has essentially broken the contract, either written or implied terms

Have they?
They've sold him a car, subject to some work being carried out and an MOT.

That MOT has flagged up some more work being needed. That's taken a few days longer than expected - perhaps parts delays - and the fan's not been fixed. They're quite happy to do that, but it's not instant.

Let's look at timescale.
Deposit left - Mon (presume 2/3)
Collection due - Sat (presume 7/3). Informed not ready, more work needed.
Informed will be ready - Mon (presume 9/3). Informed not ready.
Informed will be ready - Fri (presume 13/3). Arrived to find not ready.
"Heard nothing" - two days. Let's assume working days, so we're now on this Tues, and the text-chasing starts...

It's two and a half weeks since the deposit was left, not quite two weeks since the original collection date, and a week today since the car was finally due to be collected but not ready. Much of this week sounds like it's been spent arguing about whether the deal is off or not.

Could their communication have been better? Sure.
Could their workshop practices have been better? Sure.
Grounds to regard the sale as voided by the vendor? Ambitious, at best.

root

Spicy_McHaggis wrote: »

So in order to evade their responsibilities as a trader, the garage want to sell you a car as a private sale.

Exactly that imho