Can shop keep my deposit?

oldoakey

ThumbRemote wrote: »

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?

Not sure that's correct as they would of made a contract of sale and be bound by the same laws. Also I never said that the retailer had more rights, just that they have rights just as the consumer does and rightly so too.

JethroUK

SpideressUK wrote: »

I don't want to cause upset with the store as I might still want to purchase the instrument but in the meantime I have seen a similar thing advertised somewhere else and a lot cheaper so wondered if it was worth going to view the other one as I would not be able to buy the other if the original place were going to keep my £200 deposit.

Sounds like you are doing your shopping a bit to late

Your deposit was to show good faith that you would in fact buy the instrument from them

They will then use this good faith gesture to start acting on your request and maybe incurring costs

A deposit can also be used as evidence of 'agreement to buy' and could be used successfully in court not only to keep the deposit but to sue for the balance

You could ask for your deposit back but you have no legal right

photome

JethroUK wrote: »

Sounds like you are doing your shopping a bit to late

Your deposit was to show good faith that you would in fact buy the instrument from them

They will then use this good faith gesture to start acting on your request and maybe incurring costs

A deposit can also be used as evidence of 'agreement to buy' and could be used successfully in court not only to keep the deposit but to sue for the balance

You could ask for your deposit back but you have no legal right

You may a bit late to the party, OP is possibly already playing her cornet

SpideressUK

photome wrote: »

You may a bit late to the party, OP is possibly already playing her cornet

I am

However, there is still a bit of a problem which I am not sure yet if they will resolve. I bought it from them on the basis that once they had sent it for the repair of the water key which they knew was broken the instrument would be in "in full working order" as such though of course it would be 2nd hand. Upon receiving the instrument I find that one of the slides is jammed in which in and of itself does not make the instrument none functional but does mean it cannot be cleaned as effectively and if I did re-sell it I would have to list it as an "issue" which would reduce its value.

I phoned the seller who told me they were not even aware that particular slide should come out. I informed them that the one in the band did but asked the seller if later models had been changed so that the slide was fixed in? The seller said that they thought that was the case. A few weeks later I took my instrument into a local music shop to buy a mute and asked them if they knew if the slide that was stuck in should actually come out. The music shop said that yes, it should come out. They told me they could send it for repair but it would cost between £10-£50 depending on how difficult it was to get the slide out.

I therefore phoned the seller and informed them of what I had discovered and the potential extra costs and asked them if anything could be done. If I lived locally it would be easy as they would take the instrument back, send it to their workshop and likely put it right. However, they are too far away for this to be a viable option. I asked them if they would pay for the repair if I took it to a local music shop who would send it to their workshop. They said they would get back to me. So far it has been a few days and they have not got back to me so I will phone them again mid-next week.

I paid by credit card so I may have some re-course through them if the shop are not helpful. On the other hand I may just have to bite the bullet and pay for the repair myself. I am not sure if any part of this sale in effect counts as "distance selling" as I did not get to see what I was actually getting as the final transaction. I did go into the shop but at that time the instrument was needing the water key repair (which they had done) but they did not know if I would get the original case with it or if they would need to supply me with a case.

societys_child

Not sure what to say, sounds like a nightmare . .