Car deposit can i get it back?

wrightk

Thundercatz wrote: »

Hi everyone, last saturday I went to a main dealer and found a used car i liked. I wanted to trade in my old car and pay the rest in cash. We went through paperwork to value my current car and signed a form about agreeing to its condition etc. The deal they offered was a touch more than i wanted to pay with trade in, so i went away to think about it. Nothing else signed.

Next day i paid £250 deposit on debit card over the phone to reserve it. The day i go to pick it up and they ring me as the whole drivers side footwell is saturated. They say they cant fix it until 10 days later. I drive over to see the damage and it is wringing wet the floor. I decided not to pay for it and to go away and think about it.

Can i claim my deposit back as im worried the car could be a bit of a lemon?

Advice needed on what to quote when i ring up.

Thanks

Wasn't a VX zafira by any chance was it?

shaun_from_Africa

Derboy wrote: »

If you signed a contract of sale/sales order form etc on the premises then Distance Sellng Regulations do not apply. If you did not, then they do apply as your deposit payment over the phone constitutes the transaction

This is where a lot of people go wrong with their interpretation of what constitutes a distance contract.
Even if the payment was made over the phone or online, it doesn't qualify as a distance contract under the Consumer contracts regulations if there was a previous face to face meeting between the consumer and someone from the business concerned if that face to face meeting involved any discussions about the contract in question.


However, as you rightly stated, it doesn't make any difference in this case as it's highly likely that the refund can be claimed back under the Consumer rights act.

prowla

I would suggest that discovering a fault before the sale is finalised would not be covered by preparing a car for sale.