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nsco2
13th August 2009, 05:07 PM
has anyone had any bad experience with a dealership that sells landrovers? well i have. i put down a deposit for a freelander 2 and they wont give it back? where do i stand? i didnt sign a contract or anything it was simple EFT. I was pressured into giving them a deposit before the end of the financial year and i told them i had to get financed approved - which took 4 weeks. i did in the end get finance then when i rang the dealership they didnt want a bar of me - so i went and bought a car off the fab people at MLR. now im trying to get back my $1000 from the old dealership! please give me some advice!:(

Offender90
13th August 2009, 05:20 PM
What did you give them a deposit for?

Did you have any kind of written contract / agreement as to what your deposit was getting you, what it binds you to and what it binds them to?

I'm not a lawyer, but in order to have a valid contract there has to be consideration on both sides. If not, as far as I can tell, the law is on your side, as any contract would be null and void.

Even if you had a verbal agreement, it is very difficult to prove, and given they are a dealership, they presumably take deposits all the time so you'd have a strong case for your money back.

Having said all that, the legal procedure is unpleasant - I went through a similar situation a couple of years ago when a **(insert your choice of expelative here)** mechanic **(another expelative)** up my engine. The legal procedure was just too time consuming that I gave up in the end. Sadly I cant publically rubbish the shop in question (as much as I'm itching to) as it leaves this great forum liable to a lawsuit.

Let us know how you go.

mike 90 RR
13th August 2009, 05:24 PM
With all legal matters ... there is 2 sides to a story

Take all your paperwork and your story and ring Consumer Protection .. They will be able to make sense of the issue at hand


Mike
;)

nsco2
13th August 2009, 05:30 PM
it was a deposit for a freelander 2 (and I did buy one and I LOVE IT to bits). I didnt sign a contract or anything legal and i have a receipt for the deposit. I will ring consumer affairs or maybe vcat and see where i stand.

thanks for your suppport im glad im not the only one out there who has gone through this process. I guess im struggling to see the reason as to why the first dealership never returned my calls when my finance was approved as they missed a sale.

Ill keep you all posted and thanks for the speedy responses

gazk
13th August 2009, 05:32 PM
Not sure what the Govt. organisation is called in Victoria but approach the equivalent of "Consumer Affairs" / "Department of Fair Trading" and ask for advice on how to proceed. Generally these types of dispute can be handled by a "Small Claims Tribunal".

Regards

BilboBoggles
13th August 2009, 05:36 PM
Actually I think you would have been better off if you had signed a contract and made it subject to Finance being satisfactorily received. Even if you do get finance it's your decision as to whether it's satisfactory. But I've been through this before - I just kept ringing them and eventually it was refunded.

spudboy
13th August 2009, 06:22 PM
How far up the chain have you pushed this? Have you spoken to the Dealer Principal, or just the sales people?

frantic
13th August 2009, 06:29 PM
Go sit in the dealership ask to see the sales manager, on a saturday( in NSW that is the bussiest day) and very vocally, in front off as many customers as possible, demand your deposit be refunded as their customer service and care are useless.(Make sure you speak as though you just walked out off a heavy metal concert where you stood next to the speakers and where partially deafened:wasntme: )
Make it clear to the sales manager you will be back next saturday etc, but also make sure you take along 1-2 friends with mobiles/camera's/ video camera's as sales managers/ staff can be aggressive.

mudmouse
13th August 2009, 06:57 PM
I agree with frantic - be a pest, I'd be embarassed but it's a thousand bucks!

Be careful with the video/recording stuff. There are laws (Listening Devices Act) that makes it an offence to record audio and or video of a person or conversation without their knowledge and or consent....

Good luck with it :D

Matt.

WhiteD3
13th August 2009, 07:05 PM
Print up some signs along the lines of "These mongrels are cheats and thieves and owe me $1000. All I want is my money back". Hang 'em on your F2 and park out the front of the dealership in trading hours. Make sure you are NOT on their property.

See how long it takes for the manager to come out for a chat.

Bigbjorn
13th August 2009, 07:32 PM
Do you know any Hell's Angels, Odin's Warriors, Rebels, Bandidos? Take a couple along with you and tell the dealer principal they will wait with you whilst he organises the refund. Whilst waiting they will have a chat with any customers in the showroom about the dealerships business principles. Shouldn't take long.

mudmouse
13th August 2009, 07:35 PM
Do you know any Hell's Angels, Odin's Warriors, Rebels, Bandidos? Take a couple along with you and tell the dealer principal they will wait with you whilst he organises the refund. Whilst waiting they will have a chat with any customers in the showroom about the dealerships business principles. Shouldn't take long.

:D:D:D


Matt.

p38arover
13th August 2009, 09:57 PM
Print up some signs along the lines of "These mongrels are cheats and thieves and owe me $1000. All I want is my money back". Hang 'em on your F2 and park out the front of the dealership in trading hours. Make sure you are NOT on their property.

That might get you sued.

"These mongrels owe me $1000" might not - althought the "mongrels" might still.

gav1968
13th August 2009, 10:25 PM
The Office of Fair Trading is the new name for Consumer Affairs in Victoria. I would make a written complaint to them and hand deliver a copy to the dealership and demand to see the sales manager and have him explain why you haven't been given your $1000 back - Produce a copy of your receipt - keep the original in your car off their property. Take a recording device with you and tape the conversation. In Victoria you can secretly record a conversation with another person as long as YOU ARE PRESENT - if you were to leave the device in the room with them and you're not present then you are breaching the Listening Devices laws of Vic. Good Luck, and let your experience be a warning to others to not be pressured by sales staff - never get into anything you aren't simply prepared to walk away from - and to have something in writing.

nsco2
14th August 2009, 08:53 AM
hi all

thanks for your response. apparently the process is "send a written letter explaining and including all details "copy of the receipt" etc" via registered post giving them 10 days to pay. if that gets me nowhere i need to go to small claims tribunal in vic. after speaking with landrover australia they were unable to help because it is a an issue between an independant dealer and a purchaser - although they did take down a complaint and expressed their apologies and concerns and gave me the number for consumer affairs (they also spoke to the dealership and received a response like "we have our reasons" as to why we dont want to refund). Im thinking the dealership thought I wouldnt end up buying the car or something like that. i think in future when purchasing a vehicle worth 50K plus ill take somebody else with me - it sure is a lesson to be learnt thats for sure!

land864
14th August 2009, 09:32 AM
Hey Offender

Would you PM me the Mechanic in question

I'm just about to have lots of work done to my car and I'm niot sure where to take it.

Only Rovers
14th August 2009, 09:48 AM
Why wasnt there a contract???

why did you give them a deposit without one?

to be honest If you came into our yard and put a deposit on a car then brought elsewhere i would hang you out & make you work for your deposit back too.

Some of this makes no sense. a new car franchise that doesnt lock you in with a contract and then loses interest in the customer?? why wouldnt they want a bar of you??.. your their income

where they holding a specific car for you?

i sometimes get customers who put a deposit a car i hold it for a week or so and then they buy one elsewhere, they never have got their money back and so they shouldnt.

i know not having a contract sometimes happens but rarely.

They probably thought you had a 1000 reasons to honour the deal.

I think that if your story is genuine and you push hard enough you will get your money back.

hope it goes well for you

scott

Scallops
14th August 2009, 11:51 AM
has anyone had any bad experience with a dealership that sells landrovers? (

Had to laugh, sorry! :wasntme:

But I can offer you this information. I paid my dealer a deposit too - when I ordered my Defender. It was a new model - I'm tall. I remember asking them hypothetical questions, and the upshot was that if I didn't want the vehicle they would refund my deposit. Perhaps it's a dealer to dealer thing - but my dealer was willing to offer a refund.

spudboy
14th August 2009, 12:05 PM
"Originally Posted by nsco2 https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2016/08/768.jpg (http://www.aulro.com/afvb/freelander/85814-give-me-back-my-deposit.html#post1044374)
has anyone had any bad experience with a dealership that sells landrovers? ("


I paid $1K deposit on a 90 for the dealer (Alto at Artarmon) to hold it, until I could inspect it (car in Sydney, I live in Adelaide).

They sent me an email saying the deposit was fully refundable if the car was not as described etc. So some dealers are happy to give you the option of a refund.

The deposit protected both of us. They knew I was serious. I knew they wouldn't sell the car to someone else before I got there. We didn't have a formal contract, but there was an email trail to cover me/them.

To get the money back sounds like it will cause you a bit of grief, but who wants to just let $1K go :mad:

Dorko
14th August 2009, 10:43 PM
Not good mate... you will get the $1K back im sure. Make noise and make sure everything in writing and sent via resisted post.

Well atleast you are driving a cool car :angel:


Dorko

p38arover
14th August 2009, 11:05 PM
after speaking with landrover australia they were unable to help because it is a an issue between an independant dealer and a purchaser -

Sounds like their response to me when I had a issue with a Sydney dealer (not Trivetts who have always been helpful).

"We can't interfere with how a dealer runs his business" - even though it's gunna cost me around $1600 or more just in parts to fix it just because the mechanics were too lazy to note the keycode of my lockset in the LR database. That $1600 doesn't include the money already spent.

b0son
17th August 2009, 03:46 PM
If you paid the deposit via credit card, is a chargeback a possibility? Chargebacks can be made if you paid for something but the seller failed to deliver?

The absence of a sales contract would appear to support your version of events, ie. they took your deposit then failed to follow through on a vehicle order.

nsco2
17th August 2009, 04:19 PM
well i dont know why they never got back to me when i told them i had my finance approved (i rang them 10 times and emailed them). i thought that was weird too and i did leave a 2 week break waiting for them to contact me before calling another dealer. considering they pressured me into putting down a deposit before the financial year i did tell them that it would take me 4 weeks to sort out finance (as i am self employed and banks are difficult when youve been only working for youself for 5 months)

anyway i didnt sign a contract of sale (although they printed it gave it to me, they signed it) needless to say i have that original document. also i have a copy of the receipt for 1K from a receipt book which clearly says "deposit for freelander 2, One thousand dollars with their signature.

Iv seeked legal advice and it seems very evident that they have broken the law - should the receipt have included a date or timeframe to purchase the car that may be different but it didnt.

the other good news is that being self employed and if i go to court they will have to pay me the cost of a days work!

also after talking to MLR they mentioned they always refund deposits contract signed or not because they try to do the right thing.

im sure ill get my money eventually even if it costs me 1K in legal fees i just think its god dam awful to cheat somebody out of a deal!