Deposit held by company after cancelling order question?

[Deleted User]

Hoping someone on here can help, my BIL recently looked at buying a motorbike, he pre-ordered a bike (limited run from a British Company) with delivery due next year. he paid his £500 deposit on his CC but a couple of months later he has had to cancel due to personal circumstances (losing his job basically).

He's cancelled the order and the company will not refund him, he did have a contract saying deposits refunded within 14 days (cooling off period I believe). Now this company will simply sell his order to someone else, they are a very sought after bike I believe. 

Basically I'm asking if there's any more he can do to get his refund back? I don't think so but thought I'd ask on here.

pinkshoes

Deleted_User said:

Hoping someone on here can help, my BIL recently looked at buying a motorbike, he pre-order a bike (limited run from a British Company) with delivery due next year. he paid his £500 deposit on his CC but a couple of months later he has had to cancel due to personal circumstances (losing his job basically).

He's cancelled the order and the company will not refund him, he did have a contract saying deposits refunded within 14 days (cooling off period I believe). Now this company will simply sell his order to someone else, they are. a very sought after bike I believe. 

Basically I'm asking if there's any more he can do to get his refund back? I don't think so but thought I'd ask on here.

Did he order in a store or online? 

[Deleted User]

He gave his payment details over the phone he placed the order.

Andy_L

"f you cancel the contract, the business is generally only entitled to keep or receive an amount sufficient to cover their actual losses that directly result from your cancellation (eg costs already incurred or loss of profit).

Businesses must take reasonable steps to reduce their losses (eg by re-selling the goods or services).

Non-refundable deposits should only be a small percentage of the total price.

Cancellation charges must be a genuine estimate of the business’ direct loss."

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cancelling-goods-or-services-guide-for-consumers/cancelling-goods-or-services

[Deleted User]

Andy_L said:

"f you cancel the contract, the business is generally only entitled to keep or receive an amount sufficient to cover their actual losses that directly result from your cancellation (eg costs already incurred or loss of profit).

Businesses must take reasonable steps to reduce their losses (eg by re-selling the goods or services).

Non-refundable deposits should only be a small percentage of the total price.

Cancellation charges must be a genuine estimate of the business’ direct loss."

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cancelling-goods-or-services-guide-for-consumers/cancelling-goods-or-services

Ahhh ok, so basically they can take some money for their admin costs maybe, tbh they are a very sought after bike and he said the company regularly has waiting lists for their limited runs, so would it be fair for him to try to get his money back then? 

Sandtree

Deleted_User said:

He gave his payment details over the phone he placed the order.

That doesnt answer the question fully... did he go into the store at all? If he did then even if the order is completed on the phone its not a remote purchase.

Deleted_User said:

Andy_L said:

"f you cancel the contract, the business is generally only entitled to keep or receive an amount sufficient to cover their actual losses that directly result from your cancellation (eg costs already incurred or loss of profit).

Businesses must take reasonable steps to reduce their losses (eg by re-selling the goods or services).

Non-refundable deposits should only be a small percentage of the total price.

Cancellation charges must be a genuine estimate of the business’ direct loss."

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cancelling-goods-or-services-guide-for-consumers/cancelling-goods-or-services

Ahhh ok, so basically they can take some money for their admin costs maybe, tbh they are a very sought after bike and he said the company regularly has waiting lists for their limited runs, so would it be fair for him to try to get his money back then? 

Admin costs, readvertising costs potentially, any price difference they have to accept to resell it etc. 

If they are as oversubscribed as you believe then it should be relatively minor beyond the basic admin cost however creating false sense of urgency by claiming they anticipate it to sell out in hours etc is not an uncommon tactic and may overstate how popular something is.

pinkshoes

Deleted_User said:

Ahhh ok, so basically they can take some money for their admin costs maybe, tbh they are a very sought after bike and he said the company regularly has waiting lists for their limited runs, so would it be fair for him to try to get his money back then? 

Yes, they cannot keep the entire amount.

Perhaps he can ask the shop to re-sell it again on his behalf and they can take an admin free? The shop needs to mitigate their losses, and as it is not due to be delivered for quite a while and is sought after, then they should have no problem reselling it.

[Deleted User]

Sandtree said:

Deleted_User said:

He gave his payment details over the phone he placed the order.

That doesnt answer the question fully... did he go into the store at all? If he did then even if the order is completed on the phone its not a remote purchase.

Deleted_User said:

Andy_L said:

"f you cancel the contract, the business is generally only entitled to keep or receive an amount sufficient to cover their actual losses that directly result from your cancellation (eg costs already incurred or loss of profit).

Businesses must take reasonable steps to reduce their losses (eg by re-selling the goods or services).

Non-refundable deposits should only be a small percentage of the total price.

Cancellation charges must be a genuine estimate of the business’ direct loss."

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cancelling-goods-or-services-guide-for-consumers/cancelling-goods-or-services

Ahhh ok, so basically they can take some money for their admin costs maybe, tbh they are a very sought after bike and he said the company regularly has waiting lists for their limited runs, so would it be fair for him to try to get his money back then? 

Admin costs, readvertising costs potentially, any price difference they have to accept to resell it etc. 

If they are as oversubscribed as you believe then it should be relatively minor beyond the basic admin cost however creating false sense of urgency by claiming they anticipate it to sell out in hours etc is not an uncommon tactic and may overstate how popular something is.

He has said his initial order was placed over the phone.

Ergates

Presumably, if he has only paid a deposit, then the bike would not yet have been registered to him (or anyone else), so there shouldn't be any loss from selling "second hand" (as it wouldn' tbe).

Ask them for a breakdown of the costs they're claiming.

k3lvc

If he genuinely believes it's sought after - maybe CCM or Norton - then have a look at advertising for someone to take over the order/place in queue for the cost of the deposit (or maybe more)

[Deleted User]

Ergates said:

Presumably, if he has only paid a deposit, then the bike would not yet have been registered to him (or anyone else), so there shouldn't be any loss from selling "second hand" (as it wouldn' tbe).

Ask them for a breakdown of the costs they're claiming.

Thanks, I'll ring him tonight and mention this and will also send him that consumer advice link someone posted earlier. It'd be a shame for him to just write off the £500 at this time, worth a try.