Car dealer won't return my deposit.

woody84

I recently put down a deposit on a uk import car that was coming into the country. At several stages the dealer told me if I had any problems with the car he would give me back my deposit. It was a verbal agreement no paper work. He also told me a certain price. After delays in getting the car into the country it finally arrived. But upon viewing the car I wasn't happy with a few marks on it. Plus the price had gone up another thousand euro. I left to mull it over. I rang the dealer to say I wasn't going to buy. He got my address and said he would post back my deposit to me. Three weeks later no cheque. Rang him to see what the story was. He was quite rude and obnoxious. He said I would only get credit to be used at his garage which is of no use to me at all. What's my chance of getting my cash back from this guy

Harry Palmr

If matters are as you describe then you are dealing with a chancer and you have been naive. No paper work leaves you completely exposed.

woody84

Harry Palmr wrote: »

If matters are as you describe then you are dealing with a chancer and you have been naive. No paper work leaves you completely exposed.

He is local and a well known mechanic. Been importing high end cars for years . Giving me credit at a garage is completely useless when I don't even have a car.

Into The Blue

Did you even get a receipt for the deposit?

woody84

Into The Blue wrote: »

Did you even get a receipt for the deposit?

I met him after hours with the deposit since I couldn't get away from work myself so no. Stupid of me I know

Into The Blue

If he was to put in writing that you are due X in credit, wonder could you take him to small claims court to explain why credit and not refund?

woody84

Into The Blue wrote: »

If he was to put in writing that you are due X in credit, wonder could you take him to small claims court to explain why credit and not refund?

Exactly what I was thinking. I'm going to my solicitor to see where I stand. What's the difference in giving me back my X amount of cash and giving me credit. He also claims I messed him about about buying the car

RossieMan

With no receipt or proof of payment is her jumping at the credit, you're lucky you're even getting that. It's his word against yours.

bazz26

Is he actually a dealer or a guy selling cars from his back garden no the QT?

woody84

RossieMan wrote: »

With no receipt or proof of payment is her jumping at the credit, you're lucky you're even getting that. It's his word against yours.

He's not standing by his word. That's what really pissed off

woody84

bazz26 wrote: »

Is he actually a dealer or a guy selling cars from his back garden no the QT?

He's a mechanic with a garage out in the country. Has loads of high end motors on yard at the front of the garage. Has a website but hasn't been updated in quite a while

Nody

woody84 wrote: »

Exactly what I was thinking. I'm going to my solicitor to see where I stand. What's the difference in giving me back my X amount of cash and giving me credit. He also claims I messed him about about buying the car

You stand without your deposit because it's exactly that a deposit on your future purchase which they keep if you don't go through with it; same applies to any other deposit as well as a side note. As for the store credit he can simply explained it as a good will gesture and nothing else.

woody84

Nody wrote: »

You stand without your deposit because it's exactly that a deposit on your future purchase which they keep if you don't go through with it; same applies to any other deposit as well as a side note. As for the store credit he can simply explained it as a good will gesture and nothing else.

Then why did he keep telling me that if I didn't like it he'd write me a cheque

mullingar

Small claims court????

woody84

mullingar wrote: »

Small claims court????

See what my solicitor says first. Then I'll pay the "dealer" a visit and let him know of my intentions. See if that changes his mind

umop apisdn

woody84 wrote: »

He's a mechanic with a garage out in the country. Has loads of high end motors on yard at the front of the garage. Has a website but hasn't been updated in quite a while

I wonder does he have proper planning permission for his operation, pay proper commercial rates etc.
He might find that was one expensive deposit.

This guy sounds like scumbag, trying to force you to buy his sub standard car off him unseen, after promising you it was a refundable deposit. The credit in lieu is only a con, he'd just jack up the price of any car you look at or work you get done by the value of the deposit.

I'd talk to your solicitor, and consider the small claims court. Did you have any witnesses to his remarks. Verbal can stand up sometimes. Even if you don't win, the small claims court and a few solicitors letters, along with checking with the council is he legit in all aspects, and reporting him if he is not, won't cost you much, and might teach him a few manners.

I'd line up all of the above nicely, and then pay him one last visit and then let him decide if holding onto your deposit will be worth all of the above.

woody84

umop apisdn wrote: »

I wonder does he have planning permission, pay proper commercial rates etc.
He might find that was one expensive deposit.

This guy sounds like scumbag, forcing you to buy a car off him unseen, after promising you it was a refundable deposit. The credit in lieu is only a con, he'd just jack up the price of any car you look at or work you get done by the value of the deposit.

I'd talk to your solicitor, and consider the small claims court. Did you have any witnesses to his remarks. Verbal can stand up sometimes. Even if you don't win, the small claims court and a few solicitors letters, along with checking with the council is he legit in all aspects, and reporting him if he is not, might teach him a little manners.

He even asked was I gonna buy it or not because another lady would buy it if I wasn't going for it. Haven't been there since to see if it's gone or not

_Brian

I hope it wasn't too big of a deposit, my understanding is that deposits are non refundable unless specifically detailed otherwise.
You have no receipt and no details on the deposit so what's to stop him saying ye agreed it was non refundable.

Did you pay it in cash or say by cheque that would have a traceable aspect.


Maybe ye could come to a compromise.
Maybe at the new price with the marks repaired or at the old price and accept the marks and repair yourself.

Best of luck.

woody84

_Brian wrote: »

I hope it wasn't too big of a deposit, my understanding is that deposits are non refundable unless specifically detailed otherwise.
You have no receipt and no details on the deposit so what's to stop him saying ye agreed it was non refundable.

Did you pay it in cash or say by cheque that would have a traceable aspect.


Maybe ye could come to a compromise.
Maybe at the new price with the marks repaired or at the old price and accept the marks and repair yourself.

Best of luck.

I did ask him about repairing the marks and he said he wouldn't get into that. Payment was cash. I wouldn't deal with him now. God help anyone who does

mickdw

Do a planning search on his property. It should be straight forward and at no cost to you.
Could soften his cough for him.

Jayop

Nody wrote: »

You stand without your deposit because it's exactly that a deposit on your future purchase which they keep if you don't go through with it; same applies to any other deposit as well as a side note. As for the store credit he can simply explained it as a good will gesture and nothing else.

That's fine, but regardless of him saying he would return the deposit surely the fact the price has changed upwards should put the OP in the right.

Sadly though being right is no use to you and it's not a great situation to be in.

woody84

Jayop wrote: »

That's fine, but regardless of him saying he would return the deposit surely the fact the price has changed upwards should put the OP in the right.

Sadly though being right is no use to you and it's not a great situation to be in.

I'll be hounded him till he sees sense.

Jayop

The best of luck with it!!

selous

Just curious, is he in Kildare, near M7? (without naming names or pinpointing)

woody84

selous wrote: »

Just curious, is he in Kildare, near M7? (without naming names or pinpointing)

No he's not. Won't say where. Till I get this sorted. Then I'll let anyone know if they wantto steer clear of him

bazz26

OP, did the price include VRT, number plates, etc or where you expected to pay the VRT yourself? If he is a legit dealer then the price he quoted you should include paying VRT, registering it and putting Irish plates on it. If he was telling you to VRT it yourself then chances are he was operating under Revenue's radar. Could be used as leverage to encourage him to return your deposit.

Sam Kade

woody84 wrote: »

See what my solicitor says first. Then I'll pay the "dealer" a visit and let him know of my intentions. See if that changes his mind

Why would you be going to your solicitor? The whole idea of the small claims court is to settle the case without the cost of a solicitor.

selous

No, that's grand, cause his "brother" is in Kildare, a flippin cowboy if I ever met one, couldn't give me a trade in price for my car "give me a bell on Thursday", had mine almost sold, but the alarm bells rang, asked him for the English reg number of the car, hey presto, car disappeared from website and front of garage, I did pop in next day to see if he got a trade in price for mine but he told me the car was sold, may be true, may be not.

But good luck to you in getting your deposit back.

bajer101

Maybe ask him for a credit note as he has nothing in stock that you fancy. This might strengthen your case if you are going down the Small Claims route and you don't have a receipt for the initial deposit.

woody84

bajer101 wrote: »

Maybe ask him for a credit note as he has nothing in stock that you fancy. This might strengthen your case if you are going down the Small Claims route and you don't have a receipt for the initial deposit.

Good idea thanks. And thanks to all to you all for your help. Very much appreciated

Seamus1964

I also giving my money to local people with no reason whatsoever (and no paperwork ) as they seems to be nice people so they are (but I complain afterward just for the craig)

umop apisdn

Seamus1964 wrote: »

I also giving my money to local people with no reason whatsoever (and no paperwork ) as they seems to be nice people so they are (but I complain afterward just for the craig)

Who's craig ?

bajer101

Seamus1964 wrote: »

I also giving my money to local people with no reason whatsoever (and no paperwork ) as they seems to be nice people so they are (but I complain afterward just for the craig)

That's not at all helpful to the OP. It is easy to be wise in hindsight, but we all make mistakes.

Seamus1964

Typo....craic....yeah...but....well...been there done that...No paperwork - no proof.. well...yeah...Sorry OP . Life is tough!

woody84

Seamus1964 wrote: »

Typo....craic....yeah...but....well...been there done that...No paperwork - no proof.. well...yeah...Sorry OP . Life is tough!

I'll have proof if I can get a copy of the credit note from him

chin nuts

Good man Seamus. Fairly insightful post there. W**ker

Seamus1964

There you go. Once you've a proof you can go to small claims court. Total cost 20 euro and waiting time up to 9 months. Most likely you'll win! Good luck!

bajer101

Seamus1964 wrote: »

I also giving my money

Seamus1964 wrote: »

Typo....craic....yeah...but....well...been there done that...No paperwork - no proof.. well...yeah...Sorry OP . Life is tough!

Not just Craig! Everyone makes mistakes. But if you are going to berate someone for making a mistake and offer no helpful advice, you really should double check your unhelpful smart árse reply.

woody84

All I know is I'm not letting him think he can walk all over people and get away with it.

5ub

This is probably none of my business, but could you not have not given him a deposit and said "I'll take a look at it when you have it, and decide then". Leaving a deposit for a car you haven't even seen seems a touch...brave

To me now, if someone left me a deposit but changed their mind afterwards, I'd say tough. A deposit is security for holding the car, you aren't supposed to get it back. But thats if you've actually seen the car and said "yeah, I'll have it".

mickdw

These car sourcing people tend to take a fully refundable deposit pending inspection of the car. Now it does seem like a dodgy practice and I'm not so sure how easily the cash was returned but that is generally in their terms and conditions.
Also I wouldn't go taking a credit note either as that could be seen as to be accepting his terms.

bazz26

Well in reality any car sourcing crowd who imports a specific car on request of a customer would require a deposit otherwise they could be out of pocket very quickly if the customer just decided to forget the whole thing or buy a car elsewhere. I'd imagine the deposit must be of a substantial amount going by reading the small print that these type car sourcing crowds look for. Of course there should be certain circumstances where the deposit is refundable such as in the OP's case where the car is not in the condition as described.

Of course the difficulty here is that everything seems to have been conducted in cash only with no paper trail and the seller in question may not to be following legitimate business practices.

Sam Kade

bazz26 wrote: »

Well in reality any car sourcing crowd who imports a specific car on request of a customer would require a deposit otherwise they could be out of pocket very quickly if the customer just decided to forget the whole thing or buy a car elsewhere. I'd imagine the deposit must be of a substantial amount going by reading the small print that these type car sourcing crowds look for. Of course there should be certain circumstances where the deposit is refundable such as in the OP's case where the car is not in the condition as described.

Of course the difficulty here is that everything seems to have been conducted in cash only with no paper trail and the seller in question may not to be following legitimate business practices.

The op never mentioned that he requested a specific car. If every car dealer had to get a deposit for every car they imported I'd imagine that they wouldn't be importing many.

woody84

bazz26 wrote: »

Well in reality any car sourcing crowd who imports a specific car on request of a customer would require a deposit otherwise they could be out of pocket very quickly if the customer just decided to forget the whole thing or buy a car elsewhere. I'd imagine the deposit must be of a substantial amount going by reading the small print that these type car sourcing crowds look for. Of course there should be certain circumstances where the deposit is refundable such as in the OP's case where the car is not in the condition as described.

Of course the difficulty here is that everything seems to have been conducted in cash only with no paper trail and the seller in question may not to be following legitimate business practices.

There's no paper trail but a verbal contract can still stand up. If he doesn't stick by his word then that makes him a coward

bazz26

woody84 wrote: »

I recently put down a deposit on a uk import car that was coming into the country. At several stages the dealer told me if I had any problems with the car he would give me back my deposit. It was a verbal agreement no paper work. He also told me a certain price. After delays in getting the car into the country it finally arrived. But upon viewing the car I wasn't happy with a few marks on it. Plus the price had gone up another thousand euro. I left to mull it over. I rang the dealer to say I wasn't going to buy. He got my address and said he would post back my deposit to me. Three weeks later no cheque. Rang him to see what the story was. He was quite rude and obnoxious. He said I would only get credit to be used at his garage which is of no use to me at all. What's my chance of getting my cash back from this guy

Sam Kade wrote: »

The op never mentioned that he requested a specific car. If every car dealer had to get a deposit for every car they imported I'd imagine that they wouldn't be importing many.

The OP mentions putting a deposit on a car that wasn't in the country yet so I presumed that the guy importing it would only bring it in when he had a buyer lined up and deposit secured on it.

bazz26

woody84 wrote: »

There's no paper trail but a verbal contract can still stand up. If he doesn't stick by his word then that makes him a coward

He said, you said. Honestly I'm genuinely curious how do these verbal agreements hold up? Was there an independent witness present who can verify the conversation took place?

As for being a coward, well it's water off a duck's back to most of the chancers out there.

woody84

bazz26 wrote: »

He said, you said. Honestly I'm genuinely curious how do these verbal agreements hold up? Was there an independent witness present who can verify the conversation took place?

As for being a coward, well it's water off a duck's back to most of the chancers out there.

No witnesses. I'll be getting my money back one way or another.

bazz26

And I hope it works out for you.

woody84

bazz26 wrote: »

And I hope it works out for you.

Thanks. I've a very good solictor I've used in the past with an extremely good success rate under his belt. A letter from him might make the dealer think twice

sean1141

woody84 wrote:

Thanks. I've a very good solictor I've used in the past with an extremely good success rate under his belt. A letter from him might make the dealer think twice

Or he will just ignore it or say you never paid a deposit etc etc.

How much are you willing to spend to get your deposit back? If it was a large deposit then maybe it might be worth chasing but if it's a small amount then financially it could be better to forget about it.
solicitors don't write letters for nothing and 2 or 3 of them could add up to your deposit..

if you have lots of money to throw away and it's just for the principal of the matter then yes go ahead..

Personally I would forget about it and never darken his door way again..

Wile E. Coyote

bajer101 wrote: »

Maybe ask him for a credit note as he has nothing in stock that you fancy. This might strengthen your case if you are going down the Small Claims route and you don't have a receipt for the initial deposit.

Don't request or accept a credit note if this isn't what you want. You'll never get your deposit back if you do. If you eventually take it to the small claims court it will be deemed that the matter has already been settled.