Can shop keep my deposit?

oldoakey

Why did you think they would tell you to go and buy the other instrument, it would make no sense for them to do that. They are after all a business there to make a profit not to do people favours.

I would just buy the original instrument as the store could well be in their rights to sue you for loss of profit. As you have agreed a contract of sale and paid the deposit they have then sent it to be repaired thus adding extra costs to them.

SpideressUK

oldoakey wrote: »

Why did you think they would tell you to go and buy the other instrument, it would make no sense for them to do that. They are after all a business there to make a profit not to do people favours.

I would just buy the original instrument as the store could well be in their rights to sue you for loss of profit. As you have agreed a contract of sale and paid the deposit they have then sent it to be repaired thus adding extra costs to them.

The store know full well that they will easily sell the instrument if I did not buy it as they are rare as hen's teeth 2nd hand so (to my mind) in the interest of promoting their good name it would be logical to inform me of what my options were with them should I decide to view and buy the other instrument. Had it been my shop I would want to ensure my customers or potential customers were completely happy that they had chosen to purchase from me and if I found a customer who had discovered an alternative option (even if it had cost me money in the loss of the sale) I would rather have had them get the best deal for them rather than just fuel my profit. I would hope from that the potential customer would then promote my business to others due to the way I had treated them. This is what I used to do when I was self-employed with my own business - I often went out of my way (at cost to myself) to ensure the potential customer was happy and had the best deal in the hope that I would retain their future business and have my own business promoted word of mouth by them.

Since it is costly for me to even view the other instrument and I do not know what the shop would say re: the deposit it looks like I will be buying the original instrument and hopefully one day this niggle feeling that I might have missed out on an extremely good deal will depart from me.

The instrument the shop have repaired would have need to be repaired anyway before they sell it and had I not had the "by chance" phone call to them where they told me that such an instrument had just come in it is likely they would not have even advertised it for sale until it had been sent to their workshop for repair.

Country_Cousin

Presumably the shop thought you were of sound mind and knew what you wanted when you told them you wanted to buy and placed down a deposit. Your logic is flawed regarding the purchase of this item.


What store is going to accept a deposit for an apparently sought after item that you told them you wanted, only to then start making things complicated by inviting you to shop around and take your time. They are after all a business not a counselling service for the undecided.


If you wanted to shop around and investigate prices and availability elsewhere you should not have placed the deposit down and allowed the shop to market and sell this item without complication and grief.

oldoakey

Why is it than whenever a consumer wants something - its in the stores interest to do it for you in their good name for the sake of keeping their reputation intact.

Will you now go out and slate the store for your placing the order then finding something cheaper down the Road.

It seems you think that your overpaying for this instrument but if you hadn't seen the other one you probably would of been more than happy with your purchase and played to your hearts content.

Sorry if this seems a little harsh on you but retailers have rights too.

SpideressUK

Country_Cousin wrote: »

Presumably the shop thought you were of sound mind and knew what you wanted when you told them you wanted to buy and placed down a deposit. Your logic is flawed regarding the purchase of this item.


What store is going to accept a deposit for an apparently sought after item that you told them you wanted, only to then start making things complicated by inviting you to shop around and take your time. They are after all a business not a counselling service for the undecided.


If you wanted to shop around and investigate prices and availability elsewhere you should not have placed the deposit down and allowed the shop to market and sell this item without complication and grief.

I did shop around which is why I found out that such an instrument is as rare as hen's teeth and why I was more than happy to have found one at £1,200 when their normal 2nd hand price IF you can even get one is usually £1,500-£1,600. When I placed the deposit I had come to the conclusion that is was next to impossible for me to find such an instrument 2nd hand at a better price. It was my misfortune to stumble over an advert for one 2 weeks later which was less than half the price.

ThumbRemote

oldoakey wrote: »

Why is it than whenever a consumer wants something - its in the stores interest to do it for you in their good name for the sake of keeping their reputation intact.

Will you now go out and slate the store for your placing the order then finding something cheaper down the Road.

It seems you think that your overpaying for this instrument but if you hadn't seen the other one you probably would of been more than happy with your purchase and played to your hearts content.

Sorry if this seems a little harsh on you but retailers have rights too.

If the retailer had found they were only able to source the item for £500 more than OP had agreed to pay, they would have been able to cancel OPs order and refund their deposit. There are occasional posts on these boards from people who've had orders cancelled in this way.

So why should the retailer have more rights than the consumer?

SpideressUK

oldoakey wrote: »

Why is it than whenever a consumer wants something - its in the stores interest to do it for you in their good name for the sake of keeping their reputation intact.

Will you now go out and slate the store for your placing the order then finding something cheaper down the Road.

It seems you think that your overpaying for this instrument but if you hadn't seen the other one you probably would of been more than happy with your purchase and played to your hearts content.

Sorry if this seems a little harsh on you but retailers have rights too.

I think that a store's reputation is one of its most valuable assets. I don't remember the statistics but I think it is something like for every 1 unhappy customer will tell 5 other people compared to 1 happy customer telling another one.

No, I wont be "slating the store". As far as I am aware the instrument I am buying off them is half or 1/3rd as old as the one being sold in private sale and since I have not seen the private sale one I have no idea if it's condition is comparable to the shop one (shop one seemed pretty much dent free but the private sale one might have multiple dents for all I know).

I am only "overpaying" for this instrument IF the other one was directly comparable and based on age alone I know there is no "direct comparison" there as I think there is a 10-20 year age difference between the two. Based on condition of instrument I have no idea since I have not seen the private sale one. HOWEVER, based on my usage of such an instrument it would be far more "financially justifiable" for me to have spent £500 for an instrument that "would have done me perfectly well" than £1,200 for an instrument that I know will more than do me perfectly well.

Retailers do, and should have rights which is why I asked here what the obligations were regarding deposits. I agree the store would be perfectly within their rights to retain all or part of my deposit should I pull out for any reason but from a legal point of view (from what I have read in answers to my post) it seems they would have to PROVE the financial loss in order to retain any/all or ask for more money in that regard.

agrinnall

If the instrument is that rare why not buy both of them, keep the one you like, and resell the other one at a profit?

rustyboy21

If you need the £200 from the retailer to buy the other one for £500, then how the hell are you going to pay the £1200, you were happy in committing to when you agreed to accept the price in the first place?


It is not the matter that the cornet is , as you keep reiterating '' As rare as Hens teeth'' and obviously the music shop will be able to get rid of it, How do you know that? How many Millions of people play the Cornet? He may have turned someone else down, yes, but how do you think that he will get someone else to buy it quickly? It is not like an Iphone etc, which has a proven customer base. It is a rare, unusual item which is not to everyones taste/need.


IMO, you have made the fatal error after making a decision, in that you have then gone rooting around and found something that at first glance is cheaper, when you have already agreed to buy off someone else. If the shop owner has agreed to reserve the item for you and enable you to pay off as and when, then surely, this points to the fact that he hasn't and doesn't expect to sell it quickly, if he did, he would have said to you that he could easily get rid of it, I am not taking deposits, you pay for it and take it, before someone comes and bites his hands off for it.


You really are not being fair at all and as a retailer myself, you are the type of customer I hate. You would be getting short shrift from me and I would be chasing you for full payment immediately, by any means I could.


Put it this way, I would rather be buying from a reputable retailer than some wanabee possible Shyster I found off one of the many scam and dodgy websites.

unholyangel

rustyboy21 wrote: »

You really are not being fair at all and as a retailer myself, you are the type of customer I hate. You would be getting short shrift from me and I would be chasing you for full payment immediately, by any means I could.

Wouldn't that make you the type of retailer this board is designed to combat? :rotfl: