money deposit

[prodigy1692]

i recently put money down on a vehicle ($300). i signed no agreement, i signed nothing actually i even have a reciept. he said it can be returnable since i totalled a vehicle i purchased from him and got nothing out of the settlement. he then later called me and told me if i give him another $300 i can take the vehicle off the lot. so when i got the other 300 the next couple of days, the person who took my deposit was on vacation so i wasnt able to get a vehicle from them because the person covering for them had no idea about my deposit. so i bought a vehicle somewhere else. when he returned from vacation i called and told him i need my down money back since i had bought a vehicle from somewhere else. his was reply was its not refundable. so in other words he lied and changed his story. my question is am i able to get my money back ?

 

[ElleMD]

Who is "he"? If I understand you, you paid some sort of deposit in two installments to a car dealer/someone selling a car but never had any sort of written agreement. When you dropped off the second installment the dealer/seller was on vacation and no one else at the residence/dealership knew the terms of this verbal agreement. Instead of taking your money back or waiting for the seller to return, you went and bought a car elsewhere. Now you want the original deposits back. The seller is saying it was a non-refundable deposit and you disagree.

Aside from a lesson on how not to do business and the importance of having written agreements, your options are few. You can try suing in small claims court for the money but if the seller has an established policy or makes a better case that the deposit was not refundable, you may be out that money.

 

[Betty3]

Agree that small claims court might be your only option. You need to decide if it is worth your time & effort & you might not win.