Went with my mate to look at bikes, and at a dealer he put a (big) deposit down on one that I thought looked a bit ropey, against my suggestions I might add. We happened to look at another one later on, which was the same price but of course much much cleaner!

I know he's a bit of an idiot to mess the guys around, but can he back out of the deal now? Is there a cooling off period?

And yes, it really is a mate - not me :D

He can back out of the deal any time he likes until its fully paid for but getting the deposit back is a different matter. Depends on the good will of the dealer. Legally a deposit is non refundable so if you pull out tough luck. If he can come up with some sob story to give to the dealer it will all depend on how soft hearted the dealer is.

I think you're probably right. He was mad to put such a big deposit down. I was biting my tongue as it went through on his switch card!

why such a big deposit?
normally 10% will hold it for you have you any documents when you put a depoist down i.e if you signed for it you have entered a contract.
or do you have just a reciept for deposit .
read the small print:wonder:

So far as I am aware, there is no law specifically saying whether or not a deposit is refundable. That would depend on what was agreed at the time and why a deposit was placed on the bike. Having put a switch payment down, that's money spent and you are entirely at the whim of the dealer unless you have a receipt which states one way or the other.

Go back cap in hand and hope for a decent treatment.

Or go back with a sob story like, you've just lost your job...

Screwd.

Your legally intitled to a full deposit without any charges, my m8 put a deposit down on a impreza and 3 days before he was to pick it up he lost his job. Subaru in widness wouldn’t give him his deposit back, so he went to the citizens advice burro they told him the legal stuff to tell Subaru then straight away he got his cash back.

The dealer known he has to give him a full refund.

Your mate should get all his deposit back, the dealer is intitled to charge reasonable expenses caused by your mate pulling out the deal, for example additional cpst of advertising the bike. As you can imagin they will not be much, i would be surprised if £50-£100 was not top wack. But this should be invoiced to your mate not taken from the deposit.

Most dealers will happily give you all the money back.

The dealer is not legaly intitled to hold on to any of your deposit, as no goods have changed hands.

Get the money back.

Your mate should get all his deposit back, the dealer is intitled to charge reasonable expenses caused by your mate pulling out the deal, for example additional cpst of advertising the bike. As you can imagin they will not be much, i would be surprised if £50-£100 was not top wack. But this should be invoiced to your mate not taken from the deposit.

Most dealers will happily give you all the money back.

The dealer is not legaly intitled to hold on to any of your deposit, as no goods have changed hands.

Get the money back.

Have you got evidence to back this up? The point of sale is when the deposit is made, not when you come and pick the bike up as far as I understand it. Perhaps the law is different for a commercial sale as opposed to a private sale although I don't think it is. Again I think it also depends on the terms of the deposit such as a receipt saying deposit is non refundable or at the time of putting down the deposit being told verbally it is non refundable.

For example if I sold my bike, someone comes along and says i'll have it and puts down a £200 deposit and then I have other calls and turn these people away and then the buyer says he has changed his mind there is nothing anywhere that says I have to give him his deposit back, thats the whole point of a deposit, you are proving you want the bike by leaving a portion of the purchase price to prove you are coming back to take the bike. If you don't come back you lose the deposit. You have turned down other potential buyers who might have bought the bike. The deposit is there to protect the seller from this situation. If it wasn't legally enforceable nobody would bother as it would be a waste of time.

He went ahead with the deal anyway guys, he didn't feel right about pulling out. Had a go on it tonight, it's pretty tidy!

The point of sale is when the deposit is made

No goods changed hands, therfor no sale. Simple as that.

No i dont have anything to back this up, other than my own experiance with the sale of goods and very small amount of contract law i have read.

Use the power of google, i'm sure you can find all the cast iron answers there.

OK will have to agree to have different opinions on this one as I am pretty sure (not 100% and admit I could be wrong as i'm not a lawyer!) that a deposit isn't returnable under law if the sale is cancelled by the buyer. If the seller cancels then it is refundable.

Again I think it boils down to the agreement at the time as making it clear before a deposit is made thats its non refundable should you cancel and then there is nothing you can do to get the money back if you pull out. Its no different to booking a hotel room, paying a deposit over the phone and then saying later you have changed your mind, you lose the deposit.

IIRC if you pull out of a contract for the puchase of a house you:-
- lose your deposit
- get sued for interest on the full completion monies which have not been paid under the contract.

.........but i may be wrong

Pete the Biker

Unless the contract he signed (if in fact he did sign one) specifically states that the deposit is non refundable he is entitled to it all back, unless the dealer can prove that it has cost him financially to lose the sale, eg. that he has spent money because of the order.

I know this is the case for cars, try the local CAB.

As far as I know with 25 years retail experience that the deposit is non refundabal as a contract was made to purchase the bike on trade premises and no cooling off period allowed .

As far as I know with 25 years retail experience that the deposit is non refundabal as a contract was made to purchase the bike on trade premises and no cooling off period allowed .

And that is the exact point of the deposit, you are effectively guaranteeing the contract with the deposit. The cost of breaking that contract is the loss of the deposit.

As far as I know with 25 years retail experience that the deposit is non refundabal as a contract was made to purchase the bike on trade premises and no cooling off period allowed .

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:QMG9EqzVJFB2VM:http://images.dpchallenge.com/images_challenge/421/thumb/269460.jpg (http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://images.dpchallenge.com/images_challenge/421/thumb/269460.jpg&imgrefurl=http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/832063/page/0/fpart/all/vc/1&h=92&w=120&sz=8&hl=en&start=6&um=1&tbnid=QMG9EqzVJFB2VM:&tbnh=67&tbnw=88&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfrayed%2Bknot%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%2 6hl%3Den%26sa%3DN)


Its an old one but funny.... :lol:

A deposit is indeed subject to a contract.

The terms of that contract will dictate whether or not the deposit is refundable.

There is no "standard" contract, you and your dealer could agree to anything.

A guaranteed sale or the return of your weight in bananas for example.

Screwd.