Garage wont refund my deposit & sold car elsewhere

MimiCat

Last week I paid a garage £200 deposit (on my credit card) for a car, arranging to pay the rest when I collected the car on Friday. (the car had just passed at MOT, no advisories etc)
On Thursday the garage rang & told me they'd been valeting the car for me & noticed an oil leak & serious corrosion..& therefore were not going to sell me the car. ( I think I was just gazumped tbh) the chap said he couldn't refund me back on my credit card, but if I gave him my bank details he'd refund it into my bank. I did this & awaited the refund.
On Saturday still no refund, so I text him & asked for my refund, he replied, 'oops sorry, I'll do it later' I messaged him again yesterday, stating still no refund & it's now 4 days... he didn't reply.

It's now Monday (6 days after I paid him) & still no refund:mad:
Any advice on what to do next? I'm so annoyed both for him backing out of the deal & then being so brazen to not even refund me!!

DoaM

Contact your card provider for a refund, either a chargeback or a section 75 claim.

What do you have in writing from the scammer seller regarding the refund?

MimiCat

I don't have anything as it was all done over the phone.
It's a proper garage so I thought it'd be ok, but thats why I used my credit card - just in case it wasn't.
If I go down the section 75 route do they go after him for the money or does he just get away with it?

KeithP

MimiCat wrote: »

If I go down the section 75 route do they go after him for the money or does he just get away with it?

That's up to your card provider to decide.
They can if they want.

MimiCat wrote: »

On Saturday still no refund, so I text him & asked for my refund, he replied, 'oops sorry, I'll do it later' I messaged him again yesterday, stating still no refund & it's now 4 days... he didn't reply.

For goodness sake!
Pick up the phone and speak to him.

MimiCat

Yes thanks for the snotty reply Keith!
I haven't rang back for two reasons - I can't understand a word he says, he has a very strong accent so 'just picking up the phone & speaking to him' is easier said than done and after telling me on Thursday he wasn't going to sell me the car, he's just not answering my calls anyway.

Oakdene

MimiCat wrote: »

I don't have anything as it was all done over the phone.
It's a proper garage so I thought it'd be ok, but thats why I used my credit card - just in case it wasn't.
If I go down the section 75 route do they go after him for the money or does he just get away with it?

I'm quite surprised they are willing to refund you via BACS (or whatever method into your account). Usually the refund has to be made via the same method you paid in, at least this was true in the dealership I worked in.

Tom99

Oakdene wrote: »

I'm quite surprised they are willing to refund you via BACS (or whatever method into your account). Usually the refund has to be made via the same method you paid in, at least this was true in the dealership I worked in.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I assumed that is the usual practice because the retailer does not then have to pay the credit card fee.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I think the dealer could refund your credit card (if every other retailer can do it why not them) but maybe thinks you will forget about the deposit if they stall you for long enough.[/FONT]

Oakdene

Tom99 wrote: »

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I assumed that is the usual practice because the retailer does not then have to pay the credit card fee.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I think the dealer could refund your credit card (if every other retailer can do it why not them) but maybe thinks you will forget about the deposit if they stall you for long enough.[/FONT]

For us it was due to money laundering regulations...

DoaM

Tom99 wrote: »

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I assumed that is the usual practice because the retailer does not then have to pay the credit card fee.[/FONT]

The retailer has already paid a CC fee ... if they refund by the same method they get the fee returned, don't they? So a refund to CC would be better for the retailer.

PS - why do people use FONT and SIZE tags etc. in their posts? It makes quoting posts a right PITA.

arcon5

DoaM wrote: »

The retailer has already paid a CC fee ... if they refund by the same method they get the fee returned, don't they? So a refund to CC would be better for the retailer.

PS - why do people use FONT and SIZE tags etc. in their posts? It makes quoting posts a right PITA.

Yes they get it refunded back. At least that was the case when I had a machine a few years ago.
Also pay ing by bank transfer exposes them to further risk and complications if the payment is then disputed.

As for ops question they will probably process it as a chargeback as they can then claw back the money from him.
Also a chargeback usually incurs a fee payable by the retailer.

Message him again saying if you don't receive the refund in the next day you'll be processing a chargeback with the credit card company