Private sale - return of deposit

almost_done

I wondered if I could possibly ask a bit of advice as this issue is really getting to me!
This weekend we went to view a second hand caravan that was being sold privately.
We spent quite a lot of time looking round the caravan, and asking questions to the seller. This would be the first time we have bought a caravan so we don't really know what to look for.
We specifically asked about servicing (not done for 2 years), tyres, etc.
My husband then asked if the caravan had any damp, which the seller replied no.
After much debating we decided to put a deposit of £200 on the caravan, but told the seller that this was dependant on a damp test being done and coming back with no damp (we were prepared to pay for the test). The deposit was paid and I made arrangements for the test.
This was done yesterday and the results came back that the caravan was dripping wet through, with levels of damp that have not happened overnight.
I rang the seller and told him due to the results (the repair costs were estimated at £1000+) we would not be going ahead with the sale, and requested our deposit back as per our discussion.
The seller was very quiet on the telephone. We don't live locally so I gave him my details for him to do a bank transfer of the deposit, and asked him when it could be done. He told me he would go to the bank today. I told him that when this was done I would email him a copy of the damp report that we have paid for, at no charge to himself.
Fast forward to today and there has been no bank transfer, and the seller isn't answering his phone (surprise surprise).
I suspect that because it was a private sale we don't have a leg to stand on but thought I would ask on here anyway.
The only paperwork I have is a hand written signed receipt of the amount of cash we left as a deposit. Nothing was out in writing regarding conditions of sale.
It really infuriates me as they lived in an affluent area, with loads of posh cars on the drive, yet they are prepared to rip us off for £200 when we have saved so hard to get a caravan.
I know that worse situation would have been us buying a damp caravan that could have made us I'll, but if I were the one selling the caravan I would have been really apologetic, and horrified that I nearly sold a damage toys caravan!
Any advice or do we have to wave the money goodbye?

bris

The sale was on condition of a satisfactory damp report which has not happened so the deposit is refundable.


Proving it on the balance of probabilities would be easy enough as you got the damp report after paying the deposit but before completing the sale which would be a good indication to the courts that the damp report was important.


Give him another day or two then send him an LBA with the intention of recovering the deposit and related costs through the courts.


You are however in the right, private sale or not the goods must match the description, he said no damp so that's what you should have been buying.

steampowered

Absolutely, if the deposit was provided subject to a damp report then you should get it back if the damp report is not satisfactory.

Bank transfers can sometimes take a day or two so it is worth hanging on until the end of the week.

almost_done

Thank you, we have said that we will give it to the end of the week before we did anything else, but we weren't sure if there was anything else we could do.
It's reassuring to know we have a bit of a chance of getting it back.

takman

You should definitely get the deposit back as other posters have said.

But how old is this caravan and how much were they selling it for?.

If you are looking at caravans that are over 10 years old then you can pretty much gurantee that they will show signs of damp during a test which will cost in the thousands of pounds to repair.
But in reality damp isn't that bad if the price is right. I've had a caravan that was showning visible signs of damp that I bought very cheaply 5 years ago. I never suffered any ill health due to it and it didn't fall apart, I actually saw it for sale a few weeks ago so it's still in one piece!.

oldoakey

If there are loads of posh cars on the drive he could well be a dealer posing as a private individual, try Google them just to see what comes up.
The stick him with an LBA as soon as possible.

DoaM

Erm ... OP bought a caravan?

hollydays

Where was it advertised?

almost_done

The caravan was 7 years old. The company that did the test said the levels were extremely high. The back of the van read 90, around some of the Windows varied between 20-30 and under the sink was 50.
He said the back panel alone would be in excess of £1000 to replace all the panels.
The seller has text and said he will go to the bank and do a bank transfer before the weekend.
I'm not too convinced....
I'm being very dumb but what is a LBA?
I will google that, and the sellers name. Good idea.
The caravan is still up for sale on a couple of selling sites, with no amendment to say it has damp (although his original ad never said it was dry - it was only when we questioned him that he said there was no damp).

[Deleted User]

LBA= Letter Before (court) Action

Prothet_of_Doom

I'm not sure how much you paid for the damp report, but for £15 to £200 you can get a range of damp meters, from Maplins, Screwfix, Toolstation, B&Q, Amazon etc. Might not be as sophisticated as your man and his written report, but good enough to avoid a wet one and find a dry one.

like this http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/moisture-meter-n20fr?cmpid=ppc&gclid=CIaw0q3e3c4CFUgo0wod548Cqg