Can I get my money back from a car dealer??? Urgent help needed!!

M45678

Hi
Just wandering if anyone can help me? About a month ago I went to view a car at a dealership and my mum put down a deposit of £1000 with £1895 remaining to pay when we picked it up at the weekend. Unfortunately my dear Dad passed away unexpectedly that weekend and I have been suffering badly ever since. My mum spoke to the company and let them know the situation and that we were no longer sure. They then put the car back up for sale without having my permission and we are now trying to get our deposit back and they are saying they will only give back £300 of it due to it being in "storage" and having painted old parts of the car which were in a shocking state. The car had not been in the condition it stated on the website so I asked for that work to be done . I'm now devastated at the thought of having to lose £700 which neither me or my mum can afford to lose. I haven't got the funds to pay my mum back to go ahead with the sale as an option as I am not working at the moment after my dad and don't have that extra money coming in. If anyone can help or tell me what my legal rights are that would be great.
Many thanks in advance

Crabman

How did you pay for the deposit? If on a credit/debit card - contact the provider and ask them to process a chargeback.

They can't charge you unless you agreed to pay the "storage" charges. Regarding them painting part of the car, unless you asked them to do this and agreed to pay their costs then they can't charge you.

M45678

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately it was paid in cash. I asked for the work to be done but it was to be done at no extra cost to me as a condition for me to go ahead with the sale as it wasn't in as good condition as was stated.
So should I legally be able to get that full refund of £1000 then? I would be happy with £800 but their initial offer of £300 had me in tears and I'm unsure what to do. They said they will get back to me and see if there's any more they can offer but I'm doubtful it will be much more. What do I do?

keith1950

What were the conditions of the deposit. Normally you might be asked to pay a nonrefundable £300 .

You might have asked to have the extra work done at no cost to you but it was probably conditional on the sale going through.

As it stands they have spend money which probably cannot be reflected in a higher sale price for the car so have in effect they have suffered a loss.

At he end of the day this is all speculation and it depends on whether this is a reputable dealer or a small one man/two man band type of operation.

Personally I don't think there is any chance of getting your full deposit back. You might have to go 50/50 and settle for £500.

agrinnall

Sorry for the loss of your dad.

I don't really understand why you didn't just go ahead with the purchase, if you were able to get the extra money shortly after you paid the deposit why can't you get it now?

M45678

keith1950 wrote: »

What were the conditions of the deposit. Normally you might be asked to pay a nonrefundable £300 .

You might have asked to have the extra work done at no cost to you but it was probably conditional on the sale going through.

As it stands they have spend money which probably cannot be reflected in a higher sale price for the car so have in effect they have suffered a loss.

At he end of the day this is all speculation and it depends on whether this is a reputable dealer or a small one man/two man band type of operation.

Personally I don't think there is any chance of getting your full deposit back. You might have to go 50/50 and settle for £500.

I don't think the car would have got sold for the price he was asking in the condition it was in where alot of paint had come off the car. He even agreed at the time the car shouldn't be in that state.
There weren't any conditions to the deposit or none that he told me anyway. I signed a used vehicle invoice which also didn't state anything about the deposit being non refundable.

I did suggest 50/50 to them but even that is a big loss to me and they were also very difficult about that and said it wouldn't be possible. He then said after me getting very upset that he would go away and talk to his colleague about what more they could do and he would get back to me. I've not heard anything yet.

M45678

agrinnall wrote: »

Sorry for the loss of your dad.

I don't really understand why you didn't just go ahead with the purchase, if you were able to get the extra money shortly after you paid the deposit why can't you get it now?

Thank you. My mum was lending me the money but as I've not been coping well since my Dad I'm no longer working and won't be going back for some time. She can't afford to lend me money I have no way of paying back. And id have no funds to run the car either.
Also the company have put my car back up for sale without even having my permission or letting us know and kept the deposit as it stands.

Ashingtonian

You should never put down a £1000 deposit in the first place, especially on a car worth less than £3000. Even main dealers usually ask for a maximum of £500 on a brand new car.

ChumLee

M45678 wrote: »

Thank you. My mum was lending me the money but as I've not been coping well since my Dad I'm no longer working and won't be going back for some time. She can't afford to lend me money I have no way of paying back. And id have no funds to run the car either.
Also the company have put my car back up for sale without even having my permission or letting us know and kept the deposit as it stands.

It's their car to sell, you're not sure you want it so they are cutting their losses and trying to sell it. What's wrong with that? The nearer they get to you original sale price the less of your deposit the are legally entitled to keep.

M45678

ChumLee wrote: »

It's their car to sell, you're not sure you want it so they are cutting their losses and trying to sell it. What's wrong with that? The nearer they get to you original sale price the less of your deposit the are legally entitled to keep.

Im fine with them selling it but they had not spoken to me about it or let me know what was going on and taken my deposit in the process. So they've got £1000 for nothing! what do I do then? Do I wait til they've sold it to get the deposit or continue to try and negotiate with them?

dannyrst

M45678 wrote: »

Im fine with them selling it but they had not spoken to me about it or let me know what was going on and taken my deposit in the process. So they've got £1000 for nothing! what do I do then? Do I wait til they've sold it to get the deposit or continue to try and negotiate with them?

I'd not be happy to settle for less than £1000 back in my pocket if I'm honest.

If you are 100% sure none of the documents you signed say that the deposit is none refundable, surely you have to assume that it is a refundable deposit?!

A deposit is there to secure the car as yours, not to pay for any repair work that needs doing (unless again specifically explained in conditions that you sign).