Hello all,

I put a £500 deposit down on a car over the telephone. I haven't seen the car because it's almost new and was a very good price at £12,300). I told the dealer before paying the deposit that I didn't have the cash to pay for the car outright, and explained that I would require finance to pay for the outstanding amount (about £2,700). I asked the dealer to arrange finance but the finance was rejected based on my credit score.

Because this was a verbal / telephone contract I have no written T&C's, but I do have a voicemail message from a secretary asking me to call with my details for the finance proposal.

Please help as I don't want to loose £500! I've written a letter to the dealership threatening court action but need some legal advice first on whether I have a good case.

I have written two letters to the dealership, copies of which are below. Any further legal advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you so much for any help by the way - this issue has so far cost me £500 plus over £20 in calls to CAB, TS etc. and is causing me a great deal of stress, especially since the dealer in question is basically being an arrogant, uncooperative, dishonest and sly ba*tard (this isn't a generalisation of car salesmen by the way, just the manager of Cars R Us in Bridgend).



Scott Hunter
***********
***********
***********
***********

Trade Price Cars Ltd (Cars R Us)
Maesteg Rd
Tondu
Bridgend
Mid Glamorgan
CF32 9BT


12 August 2012

To the Manager of Cars R Us,

Please arrange for the immediate return of my £500 deposit for the Ford Fiesta Metal that I was unable to purchase. The reason I was unable to complete the purchase is because finance was not agreed by the Third Party. I made my position very clear at the time of paying the deposit that I would require finance in the order of £2790 to pay the balance of the vehicle and I asked you to organise a finance proposal on my behalf, which was subsequently rejected by the finance company. The finance proposal is recorded on my credit profile.

I have been in contact with Trading Standards, Consumer Direct and several experienced professionals within the motor trade industry who all confirm that your non-returnable deposit policy is not enforceable because I agreed to purchase the vehicle without face to face contact subject to satisfactory viewing and agreement of finance by the third party. Distance Selling Regulations states that either party can withdraw from the agreement at any time without financial penalty for withdrawal from the agreement. Any contract that was entered is therefore unenforceable and you must by law provide a full refund under these circumstances. You also failed to provide written conditions of contract which is in breach of the Sale of Good Act.

Before I gave you my bank card details I asked you if the deposit was refundable should the finance proposal be rejected and you said yes. You have broken our verbal agreement and are now holding my deposit illegally. I also do not agree that you have incurred any losses since you admitted yourself that this particular vehicle “is the cheapest in the country right now” and would sell again easily.

Please comply with your legal obligations and return my deposit in full, otherwise I will have no hesitation in enforcing my consumer rights through the Small Claims Court.

My bank details for a direct bank transfer are as follows:

Account holder’s name: ***********
Account number: ***********
Sort code: ***********

Please note that I have agreed to purchase a vehicle from elsewhere and require this money immediately for payment of the vehicle.

Yours faithfully,




Scott Hunter





Scott Hunter
***********
***********
***********
***********


Trade Price Cars Ltd (Cars R Us)
Maesteg Rd
Tondu
Bridgend
Mid Glamorgan
CF32 9BT


14 August 2012

To the Manager of Cars R Us,

Further to our conversation today and my letter dated 12 August 2012 I still haven’t received any indication from you that you intend to refund my £500 deposit which you are currently withholding from me illegally. Your position is really quite astonishing and you leave me with no option but to file for redress with the Small Claims Court. I have been advised that this will be successful. I am prepared to do this.

May I remind you that where a deal is dependent on finance being obtained through the dealership (Three Party finance agreements) and for any reason the finance deal does not proceed and the intended sale collapses, the prospective buyer is then entitled to withdraw from the deal without loss of the deposit. You are in no way absolved of your legal obligations within the context of this deal under applicable UK law.

The sale was also based on the need to complete a regulated consumer credit agreement, which would only become “executed” when signed by the debtor and creditor. As I have not received any paperwork or signed anything I am entitled to withdraw from the prospective agreement under Section 57 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Under Section 57 my notice to withdraw from the sale on 11th August 2012 cancelled the credit agreement which means that any linked transaction to buy the car should be treated in the same way as a cancellable agreement i.e. I am entitled to a refund of the deposit.

The following extract is from a Lincolnshire Trading standards report about Motor Trade Sales.

“Deposits are usually considered to be non-refundable. However, if you are in breach of contract, or if you agreed that the deposit would be refundable as an express term of the contract, then you should return the customer’s deposit. You would also be under a duty to mitigate your losses - i.e. only take from the deposit any losses that you have actually made. If the deposit was taken as part of a sale which was to be completed via a finance agreement, then the deposit must be refunded if the finance agreement is cancelled.”

I would also like you to demonstrate your losses and how you can justifiably claim that you are acting reasonable and fair by withholding £500 of my money because a deal subject to finance did not proceed.

You deny that the sale was subject to finance despite me explicitly stating my financial situation to you and requesting you to undertake a finance proposal on my behalf prior to taking payment of my deposit. I even have an answerphone message recorded on my Apple iPhone from your assistant Bethan Richards, whom I understand no longer works for Cars R Us, recorded on 31st July 2012 at 11:27—the same day as the transaction took place—asking me to contact her in order to provide personal details for the finance proposal.

If a positive outcome to this dispute has not been reached by Wednesday 22nd August (one week from when you received my first letter) then I shall inform Trading Standards of my intention to escalate the matter to the Small Claims Court. I will request that the hearing will be held at my local county court in Torquay.

Yours faithfully,




Scott Hunter Read more

Hi there, I like the Focus 1.6 TDCi estate but having suffered a £1000 bill for new injector/turbo/new oil feed pipes etc etc on my 2005 I want to upgrade to a newer one but will not do so if the same gremlins are there on the 2008-2011 model.

HJ's reviews don't mention turbo problems on the 2008-2011 1.6 TDCi facelift model but I am trying to check if there have been problems with those model years as I understand Ford improved the oil supply pipes for 2008+ model year... Read more

I'm still on the lookout for a new car to replace my trusty old Yaris. SWMBO has taken a liking to the new-style Polo. I must admit I do like the looks of it but am a bit concerned about the spec of the base model which is the only one anywhere near in my budget.

I'm quite surprised the base engine only gives out 60ps - is this really enough for this size of car? My old 998cc Yaris has 67bhp and that feels... well, I can't say I'd want any less power, put it that way. It copes but more would be nice.... Read more

Hi All

Son's girlfriend needs brakes and pads replacing on a 10 reg Ka, and because she's skint I may volunteer to take it on myself. Could someone please tell me whether Ka brake replacement is any trickier than the relatively simple procedure on the Focus; and if so, why?... Read more

I am a keen fisherman belonging to a club so make journeys to Lakes frequently.

On July 8th a Sunday morning I drove to Ingatestone Essex, down the A10 onto the M25 and back up the M11.... Read more