Deposit - Do you keep it if sale falls through?

[henry 351]

[QUOTE=Thunder]Oh please. Thats a silly comment. Is it "un-australian" when you buy a house at auction, give your deposit, then realise you cant pay the rest and the real estate agents starts laughing at you when you ask for the deposit back? ........

Indeed. Buying at Auction is unconditional, so its not subject to finance etc. Fred never mentioned the sale was subject to anything, and more than enough time has passed since you have heard from him. Sell it to someone else and if your conscience gets to you, give him his dough back. I'd tell him to get nicked though.

[qwigybo]

keep $100 give the other 200 back just to cover your costs, i've had to bail on a car before, told them to keep $100 to cover their costs, but i left $1000 deposit

[DanXR6T]

Its a tricky situation.

1. From what you have told us, there was no stated terms, only that he would send 10% and you wouldn't sell it to anyone else. Now to the letter of the "contract" (and don't say Internet PM's don't consitute a contract, because if he can reproduce them then they are admissible in court, same with emails, I have experience in this situation) you have promised without any other terms that you won't sell it to anyone else. You can't sell the bike.

2. There is "implied" terms that he would buy the bike conditional on getting his license. He didn't get it, and therefore has broken the implied terms of the contract.

3. It is irrelevant how many other people have offered to buy the bike in the deposit period, so that has no bearing on anything.

4. You haven't stated that the deposit was non-refundable.

5. You haven't actually stated he asked for money back have you?

I'd give it back to him, because thats the kind of person I am because a) you haven't stated he won't get his money back (that chance was gone the second he sent you the money) and b) you haven't actually spent any money in the process. If I was really tight I might ask for interest that the total sale could have accumulated in the time all this has taken, but thats being uber tight.

Dan.

[Racecraft]

Keep it.. If he'd done the right thing and contacted YOU about failing the test and not wanting the bike, fair enough I'd give him his cash back BUT he layed low for a week and it wasn't until you got intouch with him that you found out that the sale had fallen thru.. By him not notifing you asap sounds like he had already written the money off.

[Thunder]

Or you could invite him out to dinner and shout him a great feed and heaps of grog at a flash bar with his money

[gozza]

give him back 10%

[AU1FORME]

Originally Posted by ShockWaveXR6na

Depends how tuff Fred is, if hes a big basket with tatts and a harley id happily refund his deposit before he comes and breaks down your front door, if hes a doofus and you dont feel threatened by him keep it.

As they say sometimes its cheaper just to let the other party win even tho they are perhaps in the wrong...

You know not all nut case axe murderers are big baskets with tatts, i would be real carefull about what pidgeon holes you put people in.

[AU1FORME]

Originally Posted by merlin

Interesting keep it coming...by the way there was no contract - simply a couple of PM's along the lines of "if you put down a 10% deposit, I won't sell it to anyone else". I never told him it was non-refundable and he never asked about it. He simply sent me the money.

My 2 bobs worth is - If $300 bucks doesnt mean that much to you, give it back to him, how would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot.

[EA2BA]

Originally Posted by AU1FORME

My 2 bobs worth is - If $300 bucks doesnt mean that much to you, give it back to him, how would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot.

I would either accept the loss or buy the bike as intended, and go fro my L's again, i am sure delivery could be arranged and a lift back organised.

[OLDFORDNUT]

if your that hard up keep it,
fair would be you keep $100 and give him back the $200 left over,
i feel sorry for young bloke if you keep the cash as its not a thing i would do to someone.unless they were a smartarse.

[Woz]

I'd say keep the deposit for reasons previously stated. Especially if he hasn't contacted you at all to let you know what is going on.

But let him know that you're going to sell it to someone else first. Tell him that it's back on the market as of right now and if it sells to someone else, he's lost his deposit for the time he wasted.

Atleast that way he can't turn around in a weeks time and say "but I wanted it" and crack the sads with you. That way he knows he is about to lose it.

[Woz]

Originally Posted by ShockWaveXR6na

Depends how tuff Fred is, if hes a big basket with tatts and a harley id happily refund his deposit before he comes and breaks down your front door, if hes a doofus and you dont feel threatened by him keep it.

Yeah, a big basket with tatts and a HD. I'm sure that's who Fred is.

You reckon if that was the case, he'd have failed his L's test? Or even be worried about buying a bike based on whether or not he got them?

[LUXO_8]

Originally Posted by Racecraft

Keep it.. If he'd done the right thing and contacted YOU about failing the test and not wanting the bike, fair enough I'd give him his cash back BUT he layed low for a week and it wasn't until you got intouch with him that you found out that the sale had fallen thru.. By him not notifing you asap sounds like he had already written the money off.

agree 100%.
he should have gotten in touch with you the seccond he got home from finding out he failed the test.......... not a week later.....

in that week you could have sold the bike, but you were holding it for a guy that left a DEPOSIT - as mentioned a deposit is left to secure the item and ive never heard of anyone getting their deposit back on an item that they decided later not to buy.... the seccond you leave a deposit you forefit that money if you reneg on the deal....

without a doubt, keep the money, its yours, as someone said treat your missus or kids if you have any to something nice...:P

[One Drone]

This is not really too serious, it's only between two people privately so it's basically up to you. Are you a compassionate guy? I think you already have the answer with you..

[oov802]

Keep it.... Unless he's Really Big Scary lookin an knows where you live

[Damo]

what kind of bike is it ?

I say keep the deposit.

[buickman]

I kept the $500 deposit from a time waster.
If these type of guys ИИИИ you around on a agreed price and what needs to be done to the car then ring up a few days later & say they don't want it after you have made a agreement with a deposit & have told other prospective buyers the cars sold.

Why give them the deposit back

[LG]

I reckon, give the bloke back $150. 1/2 of it. He might even have his L's booked in for next week, you never know.

Going for your L's costs a fair bit for a bike i think. Aint it like $300 for the 2-day course. So he (pressumably young), will be out of pocket nearly $900. Bit harsh on a young person. If he looks like he's a smart ИИИИ or made of cash, then yeah keep it.

[b-juggles]

keep it!!!

I had a guy keen as from Melbourne for my eb xr8 when i was selling...he sent me a $500 deposit and told me he would send me $500 a week for a few months and once he paid it off he would come and get it....about 2 months later i had not received another payment from him so I call him and says he will deposit $1500 into my bank account. that didnt happen. A week later he calls up oh my other car was stolen so now I cant afford to buy yours...I kept the $500 for the fact he stuffed me around and I had others that wanted it. I stopped answering his calls and he got the message...

think of it like this - dealers wouldnt give back a deposit so why should you?

[Penelope Pitstop]

I would give it back… it’s a karma thing. It would not have even crossed my mind to keep it.

He sounds like a young bloke and $300 is probably a lot of money for him. Do whatever you are comfortable with but I think the “nice” thing to do would be give the money back and move on… Seriously how much time and effort did this bloke really waste of yours. $300 worth? Imagine how long it takes to make $300 clear at his age...

[Thunder]

Originally Posted by PirtekGirl76

I would give it back… it’s a karma thing. It would not have even crossed my mind to keep it.

He sounds like a young bloke and $300 is probably a lot of money for him. Do whatever you are comfortable with but I think the “nice” thing to do would be give the money back and move on… Seriously how much time and effort did this bloke really waste of yours. $300 worth? Imagine how long it takes to make $300 clear.

Fair enough.

But it would be a fun lesson to hold on to it for as long as possible : Now thats an education on life that twerp will never forget.:evil_laug

[AUIII XR8 MAN]

I would give back the money less the cost of readvertise.

[merlin]

*UPDATE*

So a 3 or 4 days have now passed and suddenly my bank balance has improved substantially.

So here I am tryingt o figure out how I came across my sudden wealth when Fred rings me. Fred tells me he resat his test and passed and has depositied the rest of the money in my account. He wants me to bring the bike around to his house asap so he can test ride. No worries says i, see you on the weekend. So it appears to be all settled.

However I put it that Fred has a bit of a communication problem - why would you just deposit money in a complete strangers account, with no contract, no agreement ect. Also he still wants to test ride - Umm I am of the opinion that even if the bike explodes (which it wont, its in very good condition), he is still stuck with it seeing he has already paid. Fred needs to be less trusting, and he is lucky that I am an honest person, because there is plenty of people out there that would just take him for ride (excuse the pun).

[pauljh74]

Since he's paid in full now, you could say that he has bought it, and even if he doesn't like the bike after the test ride, he's bought it, unless you've promised a RWC and it fails that. He should have organised a bike riding friend or a professional inspection before handing over the balance

[OLDFORDNUT]

aren't you glad you did not ring him to say your keeping the deposit now,hahaha
bikes are quite hard to sell and you got original asking price so be happy about it.
i must say im quite shocked at the replies from people on this thread,
seems there is quite a few with very harsh outlook's,remember that word everyone
KARMA.
this young blokes trusted you and you have benefitted from his trust
just remember that

[troppo]

I'd send him another email with a deadline to make a decision, after which his deposit becomes unrefundable. If he goes through, all well and good. If he pulls out, refund less costs and bike back on market. If you don't hear from him, keep it all.

Edit: Bah, nm....already sorted

[Stav]

Oh boy!! Firstly ...your advertisement is not an offer to sell.It is an invitation to treat. If Fred said I will pay xxxdollars for the bike then he makes you the offer.If you accept and he pays the contract is done. Fred did not say this.He said "dont sell it to anyone else"then gave you a deposit. He never made an offer to you for the bike.In any matter he failed his test and actually said he wont be getting it.Hes dissolved any first offer any way.

He cannaot revive any offer once its been rejected as he already has. The fact that hes deposited more money does not constitue a contract.There is no offer avaialable anymore.If you wish to sell,do so,if you dont tell him to get stuffed.
Fred must be a young bloke.
Also my advice may be incorrect s get legal advice first.

[OLDFORDNUT]

the young blokes paid in full.
you cant be serious Useless
i know what id do if i found out my kid had paid in full and been ripped off,and no it would not be with legal help especially as plane fares are so cheap nowadays,worth the expense to see the look on rip off merchants face when i was standing on his doorstep.
please remind myself not to do bussiness with you from interstate.if thats your attitude to customers money.

[I bleed ford]

i agree with nicholas.....fred paid for the bike...although i would of handled it different to fred anybody who pulled that caper on me just might regret it.....give the kid a break...too often young people are trying to get into the car scene and suffer the embarassment of being ripped off by older blokes...we gotta help the kids so they don't get drastic and start driving sneezing imports