Hi everyone. Quick question, is it possible to get the £500 reservation deposit back? I ordered a T-Roc from my local dealer a few days and he said all the documents would be sent to my email the same day. Fast forward 5 days, and I still haven't received anything. He's difficult to reach, and when I do speak with him, he keeps saying "Oh that's strange, I'll make sure they're sent right now". I have since found out from this forum that some features I got the impression would be with the car are in fact not. And in all honesty, I have lost trust in the dealer and I just want to cancel my order and go to another dealer. Is there a way out?
Reservation deposit
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Thanks, Impala. Can there be a pushback all the way up from the dealer principal? I mean I don't even know what the T&Cs are around the reservation since he never even provided me with the documents. So not 100% under what terms I'm entitled to get my deposit back. Would like to rely on something in case they try to lie about that I'm not entitled to anything.
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When a dealer takes an order, it doesn't become official until they have entered it into the VW system, then it has to be verified as a valid order in terms of the combination of model, engine, gearbox, colour, seats etc. together with any options. As part of that, the dealer has to provide you with a printed copy of the order for you to confirm/verify it is correct, then they have to provide you with the VW order number and expected delivery date.
The fact that after 5+ days you still haven't received anything other than excuses suggests that they may be delaying the order for some reason, eg as part of meeting weekly/monthly sales targets or as part of the dealer's quota with VW.
The fact that after 5+ days you still haven't received anything other than excuses suggests that they may be delaying the order for some reason, eg as part of meeting weekly/monthly sales targets or as part of the dealer's quota with VW.
That's great to hear! Very helpful insight! Will go to request it back and if there's pushback, argue that the order hasn't even been placed. Such a shame that the dealer experience has been poor, as I really like the car and want it...
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Assuming that you ordered in the showroom, both you and the dealer will have needed to sign copies of the order form to validate the contract of sale with the dealer. If either party didn't sign the order form then your Contract will not be enforceable and the dealer would not be legally able to keep your deposit. If both parties did sign the contract, then you would need to have been given a copy of their terms and conditions and as it looks like they haven't provided them to you, it would be almost impossible for them to be enforced and for the dealer to keep your deposit. If you do find that your dealer wants to play difficult, it maybe worth dropping into the conversation that you are a member of this forum. I am sure the dealer would not want the bad publicity of being named on here or other social media for providing poor service and then not keeping to their side of the deal. Dealers rely on their reputation and won't want bad publicity. Just make sure that if you do decide to publish anything that could be seen as being detrimental to the dealer that it is absolutely and cant land you in court for defamation.
Thank you for this helpful legal advice, JohnyH5! No, I didn't sign anything (definitely not an order form). He only filled out my personal details for the credit check, and that's it. And before I paid the deposit, he said everything will be sent to me electronically via email the same day. So that's a relief to hear that they can't legally keep my deposit. Also, that's a good point on mentioning that I am a member of this forum; will do so if it comes that (hopefully not). Just to clarify, if I do actually publish anything, it can land (rather than can't) in court for defamation?
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You gave them £500 but have nothing in return?........not even a receipt??
Seems very strange but there are always two sides. Did you actually visit the showroom in person and sign anything or was it a distance sale?
All depends on the T`s and C` s but generally there is no automatic legal right to a full refund, the dealer will have incurred costs and as a result is entitled to recompense.
Suggest you have a look around this site and talk face to face with someone versed in consumer law.
The Motor Ombudsman | Motor Industry Codes of Practice
I wouldnt go in all guns blazing!, They have their own legal people and will know far more about the rules and laws surrounding new car sales than the average "forum specialists" Back in the day my DP had a hotline to the company solicitor!!
As for the threat of bad publicity...........it happens everyday in every main dealer across the country!!
Seems very strange but there are always two sides. Did you actually visit the showroom in person and sign anything or was it a distance sale?
All depends on the T`s and C` s but generally there is no automatic legal right to a full refund, the dealer will have incurred costs and as a result is entitled to recompense.
Suggest you have a look around this site and talk face to face with someone versed in consumer law.
The Motor Ombudsman | Motor Industry Codes of Practice
I wouldnt go in all guns blazing!, They have their own legal people and will know far more about the rules and laws surrounding new car sales than the average "forum specialists" Back in the day my DP had a hotline to the company solicitor!!
As for the threat of bad publicity...........it happens everyday in every main dealer across the country!!
Happened at the dealer, but didn’t sign anything as he said everything will happen electronically. I have the receipt from the card payment, but again he said everything will be sent electronically. During these post-pandemic times, I didn’t find that unusual. Since then, just excuses on why I haven’t received anything from them. This is an official VW dealer by the way. And a big one at that. If they misled me, the fault lies with them, not with me because I didn’t insist on physical documents the day of. I relied on the fact that a big VW dealer won’t screw over its client. I was clearly wrong.
What costs would the dealer have incurred?
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If an order has been placed with the factory the salesman will want paying, admin staff will want paying, overheads will need to be paid etc etc. End of the day you have given them £500 and instructed them to get you a car, regardless of the paperwork concerns.......that is the action of a serious and committed buyer.
If I were you I would be speaking to someone higher up than the salesman and ask what is going on but I think the best advice anyone can give you on this topic is to seek professional advice. A couple of lines from yourself simply isn't enough for anyone to take sides or draw conclusions.
If you have legal expenses cover on you home insurance get in touch with them, it would be a good place to start.
If I were you I would be speaking to someone higher up than the salesman and ask what is going on but I think the best advice anyone can give you on this topic is to seek professional advice. A couple of lines from yourself simply isn't enough for anyone to take sides or draw conclusions.
If you have legal expenses cover on you home insurance get in touch with them, it would be a good place to start.
Wouldn't I have received confirmation that the order was placed with the factory? Also, this happened only 6 days ago. I haven’t even received finance documents. How would they have placed the order with the factory without the financing being confirmed? Hence my question, what costs could have been incurred without anything being finalised?
Good point on reaching out directly to the manager. Will do that.
I don’t want to approach a solicitor though without actually seeing if there is any pushback from the dealer. Since everything happened recently, they might deem it fair and reasonable to just return the deposit.
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I hope you got a receipt for your £500 !
I wouldn't start down the legal route as most dealers are willing to return a deposit, as many have found on this forum. Unless the car is some weird combination, with every option under the sun, then the dealer or franchise would just take the car as part of their regular dealer stock and in today's market would probably have no bother finding another buyer.
If you start talking legal advice etc. you will just get their backs up.
BTW - what model spec did you order ?
Yes, I have the card machine receipt. Although, I also have the bank statement showing the deposit payment.
I agree with you, Impala. Bringing up anything legal will be my last resort. I'm also hoping the manager is reasonable and would just prefer giving the order to someone else (if even placed) rather than getting in an unnecessary conflict. It's a seller's market at the moment. And who knows, if the manager is reasonable and nice, and places a responsible salesperson on my order, I might even keep the order!
The model and spec are sort of similar to yours: 1.5 TSI DSG Style Indium Grey, rear view camera and driver's assistance pack. I was also under the impression that there would be a powered tailgate and the salesperson even mentioned that he would add the easy open and close pack for the foot sensor to the quote, but I found out from this forum that it's actually not the case in the UK (even though I see it's offered in the other European countries strangely enough). I haven't received any word from the salesperson yet as to that feature (nor anything else as everyone here already knows).
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