Refund of Deposit

Have any members had problems in getting a refund of a deposit paid for a car when the sale was cancelled for a VALID reason?

I have discussed this with several dealers during my recent purchase and find a wide range of attitudes.

(Ignore the legal position the general proinciples of which I am aware, but in practice I find the the 'Law' is for the powerful and not the consumer).

I have a problem with a dealership not too far from the end of the M1 and who is being B. minded - unlike most of the other dealers whom I have encountered.

Frustrated, I am.

It it true of course that for those with money and power, getting justice is easier but provided the law is fairly and squarely on your side, I see no reason why you should not take legal action through the small claims system.

George

Resident near Leuven in Belgium

'87 745 GLE Turbo Diesel Intercooler
'88 745 Turbo Intercooler

[sheerwater]

The situation depends upon what the valid reason is. Both sides make a contract subject to terms and conditions. Should either side break the contract for whatver reason then the opposing side may take action to recover losses. For example A decides to buy a car but it must be delivered by 25th of December. If it is not deliivered by the 25th of December then A has a case for damages i.e. hire car,cancel the deal, and may enforce the delivery clause in the contract . If however the garage supplies the car by the 25th of December but A does not like his chosen colour when he sees it then the garage has a case for damages as they have complied with all conditions and clauses but the buyer has merely changed their mind.In this case the garage may have to sell the car at a loss and may claim this point when claiming damages. Take care to read small print in the dealers contract. This is something that most people do not do due to the excitement of choosing the colour ,upholstery and bits. Contracts are often complicated but it must be remembered that when buying a house for example we always (but do not have to) use professionals to read the contracts just in case there are penalty clauses. I wonder how many people who buy cars personally get someone else to read the contract. My guess is nil. The problem with buying a car from Volvo is that YOU specify the car with certain bits and it is built to order. Its not off the shelf. You must sign a contract with all details on so if the dealer delivers you are kind of stuck with the deal. If however it comes without say factory fitted foglights then you may reject the car. This worked in our favour once. A friend ordered a new Volvo on contract hire. When delivered he found that the car was the wrong shade of grey and had a manual gearbox instead of an auto. I didnt get involved iin who was to blame but the dealer was stuck with a car that had been registered in the lease companies name. It was second hand!!! So we picked it up at a very good price annd it had never left the forecourt. A last word. Get some legal advice before taking action. Remember in a small claims court you may lose and if so the other party has a great chance of claiming a lot of cash from you. Cheers Nige