deposit refund - any advice?

[marcoyeung]

A bit long but can anyone help?

My sister visited ron brooks toyota ilkeston to test drive a 09 toyota aygo on 24th september 2022, she paid GBP500 deposit to buy it. The sales consultant did not provide her with the T&C and order forms after payment is made. At that time she didn't notice the deposit is refundable or not.

Two days later, my sister decided to buy another toyota approved car in wigan, therefore she requested a refund of deposit from ron brooks ilkeston. The sales consultant told my sister that the deposit was non-refundable. While i asked two toyota dealers (one in wigan and one in nottingham), both said that in this case the deposit shall be refunded. Therefore, i helped my sister to email and use their online chating to request a refund from 28 september 2022 onwards. More than a week the dealer/sales consultant did not give any responds to us. I finally drop a 1 star comment in google and trustpilot still no use.

we didn't call them because my sister's english is not good while i am staying in overseas.  is this deposit refundable and what else i can do? thx

[FROSTYBALLS]

Why did your sister choose another dealer to buy from?

Rather than use chat or speak to the salesperson, contact the dealer principal in writing (e-mail or letter), explain why your sister went elsewhere, and request the refund.

[APS]

First off, I don't know the exact legal terms of a deposit, but in my books, it is a commitment to buy.

This is the point of a deposit. It is a smaller amount than the full price, but it is still large enough that you would not want to walk away from it. The seller will take the item (car) off the market until the buyer comes back and completes the purchase. If the buyer walks away, they will lose the deposit. Conversely, if the seller sells the car to someone else, they owe the buyer the deposit back.

As Mike indicated, your sister probably needs to have a good reason for not buying the car.

 

[furtula]

Depends on the definition of deposit. In some places it's only a reservation for a car until you look at it, and will count towards the buying price.

For example, if the car is on another lot, you give them the deposit, and they will move the car for the nearest dealership for you to view.

You need to read the fine print if it's available on their website.

Worst case, contact a lawyer, and have them deal with it. Some money back is better than no money back.

 

[Roy124]

Frosty asks a good question. 

If, having placed a deposit, she inspects the car and decides the car is not as described, say not to the value asked, then she has a case. 

If the deposit caused the car to be taken off the market and she then changes her mind, then her case is far weaker. 

We bought a second hand 10 year old car from a dealer 100 miles away.  My garage had questioned the dealer and recommended it as a good buy.  We visited and agreed to buy.  No holding deposit. 

[flash22]

Did they get a receipt for the deposit, T&C's will be on the reverse, any contract has a 7-14 day cooling-off period

A quick google shows Ilkeston is their HQ

Registered in England & Wales: 04467594 | Data Protection No: 8490826
Vat Registration: 813970522

Registered Office: Address: C/O Ron Brooks Limited, The Gateway, Derby Road, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 5FH

 

[Budz]

If english isnt your sister's first language and surely there's an valid argument to if the dealer had explained everything to her in her own language and she understood what she's signing for. A company like Toyota shouldn't be damaging their reputation over a £500 and let her have this money back especially when she buys another car instead from Toyota.

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

7 minutes ago, Budz said:

A company like Toyota shouldn't be damaging their reputation over a £500

It won't have been Toyota the deposit was paid to, it would have been the dealer - which in this case is Ron Brooks Ltd.