# How can I get my car deposit back?



## cyber0066 (Aug 9, 2007)

Sorry for the lengthy post.

I found a used car on craigslist for $6000 CDN. I went to see the car and put a $500 deposit on the car with the intention of buying it. When I gave him the deposit, we both signed a paper that said I would buy the car subject to passing mechanical inspection.

After I put down the deposit, I found out about carproof and ran a search on the car. Turns out there was an accident claim to the car. He's also the 3rd owner of the car after owning it for a couple of months. I decided things were shady so 3 days later, I told him I didn't want the car and asked the seller if he could return my deposit. The reason I told him was because of financial problems since I initially may have bought it despite it being in an accident. First he said sure, after the check clears the bank. I call back and he says he'll give it back after he sells the car. Fair enough.

Now it's been almost 2 months and I've called him a few times to check up on the status of the calls. He ignores all my calls and doesn't call me back after I leave voicemails on his cell phone.

I know it's partly my fault for not doing a full background check, but I was relying on his goodwill to return my deposit. Being a student, I'll do anything I can to try and get it back.

So now I'm trying to think of ways to convince him to give me back my deposit. So far I just told him its because of finance troubles, but since he hasn't called me back, I may have to go forward and tell him he mislead me with his false advertisement. But I don't want to go that route because I may have to end up in court which is time consuming and will cost money. Besides, I don't even know if that is a good enough reason to win the case. His craigslist post expired so I only have a saved webpage file as proof. All I have is his name and cell phone #.

Any suggestions?


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

If the only subject-to the contract of sale was the mechanical inspection (that is, if you didn't write in as a condition that he had to have owned it for more than 2 months and that the car had never crashed), AND if he did not represent the car as never having been in an accident, then you are out of luck.

If the car passed mechanical inspection (and if the other legal requirements were met, such as the seller had title to the car) then by backing out you are in breach of contract, and you forfeit the deposit (unless the deposit was written as being refundable).

It doesn't matter what you think about the deal, if not "being shady" wasn't written in as a precondition, then it is not grounds for backing out.

If the seller actually said that the car had never been crashed or repaired, and you can prove it, then that's misrepresentation and you have a case. 

But if he just said "Ya, it's a good car, never gave me any trouble, drives well", none of that represents that it was never crashed.

Refunds and Deposits - Government of Ontario (Canada)


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## Sonal (Oct 2, 2003)

Small claims court is not expensive, though it will take time.

He has no basis for keeping the deposit, so file a claim. Short of that, there's not much you can do... if you can get an address for him, and a friend whose a lawyer I might send a threatening letter, but all you could threaten is that you will go to court--and be prepared to actually go.


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## cyber0066 (Aug 9, 2007)

CanadaRAM said:


> If the only subject-to the contract of sale was the mechanical inspection (that is, if you didn't write in as a condition that he had to have owned it for more than 2 months and that the car had never crashed), AND if he did not represent the car as never having been in an accident, then you are out of luck.
> 
> If the car passed mechanical inspection (and if the other legal requirements were met, such as the seller had title to the car) then by backing out you are in breach of contract, and you forfeit the deposit (unless the deposit was written as being refundable).
> 
> ...


Thanks for the quick reply.
On his craigslist ad, it said "Clean history, No Accidents."
But like I said, the ad expired. All I have is a saved webpage .htm file. And let's be honest...it's very easy to modify a .htm file. I don't even know if that's good enough proof in court.


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

cyber0066 said:


> Thanks for the quick reply.
> On his craigslist ad, it said "Clean history, No Accidents."
> But like I said, the ad expired. All I have is a saved webpage .htm file. And let's be honest...it's very easy to modify a .htm file. I don't even know if that's good enough proof in court.


Well, that becomes a civil matter between you whether the misrepresentation in the advertisement is sufficient to void the contract you entered into.

He'll argue of course that No Accidents means he never crashed it in the 2 months he had it. Your leverage comes in the pairing of Clean History with No Accidents, which states that the seller knows the history of the car and assertd that it has no accidents in its history.

You're going to have to go to small claims or to some kind of other arbitration and prove that.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Under Onario law you have a 10-day cooling-off period that allows you to reclaim your deposit for any reason on any deal over $50. At that point, the guy has 15 days to return the cash, otherwise he's in violation of the law.


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## cyber0066 (Aug 9, 2007)

Macfury said:


> Under Onario law you have a 10-day cooling-off period that allows you to reclaim your deposit for any reason on any deal over $50. At that point, the guy has 15 days to return the cash, otherwise he's in violation of the law.


Is this really true? Do you have some sort of reference to this law?


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

Here's something from Ontario Consumer Protection re: used cars, but which doesn't specifically address cooling off period or crashes.

Macfury, IIRC the cooling off period applies to certain types of sales only - direct sales that are made in the buyer's home ("contracts for goods or services signed in the consumer’s home that are worth more than $50")

Ministry of Government Services: Services for Individuals

""Consumers now have a 10-day cooling off period for door-to-door sales worth $50 or more when their front step becomes the marketplace," said Sterling. "As well as increasing consumer protection, this will boost confidence in direct sellers, enhance profitability for ethical businesses and harmonize standards across the country."

Changes to the Consumer Protection Act will be implemented in two stages:

Stage one - May 18, 2001

* The 10-day cooling off period takes effect. This applies only to goods or services worth $50 or more that are not delivered at the time of sale or paid in full at the time of purchase.

Stage two - August 3, 2001

* The cooling off period will be extended to apply to all sales made at the consumer's home, whether the goods are delivered or services are provided at the time of sale or afterwards, and regardless of whether payment is made in full or in part.
* The only exception to the cooling off period is in a case of emergency home repairs, and then the consumer must have approached the seller and have requested the services to be provided within 10 days of receiving the written contract.
* Consumers may cancel any direct sales contract if goods are not received or services not provided within 30 days of the date promised.
* All direct sales contracts must include:
o a description of the item and price
o delivery dates and charges
o start and completion dates, and
o the buyer and seller's name and address."


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

cyber0066 said:


> Is this really true? Do you have some sort of reference to this law?


Here you go:


Your Consumer Protection Rights - Government of Ontario (Canada)

A cooling-off period
Let’s say you make a purchase or sign a contract in your home and then change your mind. If the deal is worth more than $50, you have the right to cancel within 10 days. It’s best to cancel by registered mail or fax, to get your money back.

Remedies must be timely
When you take advantage of your 10-day cooling-off period and notify the company (preferably in writing) that you have changed your mind, the company has 15 days to return your money. The business has the right to take back the goods provided under the agreement by either picking them up or paying for the cost of sending them back.


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

Macfury said:


> Here you go:
> 
> 
> Your Consumer Protection Rights - Government of Ontario (Canada)
> ...


The key being -- signed in your home -- it is only applicable for direct or door-to-door sales signed in YOUR home. Not applicable if you go to someone else's location and buy a car from them.


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

I would never put a deposit on any car. If the seller doesn't allow me to take the car to my home mechanic, there is no sale. If the place is unreasonably far, at least a BCAA inspector. This would assume that I have serious intent to buy.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Sorry, CanadaRAM--you're right. It must be signed in your home. My apologies.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

The promise of "Clean history. No Accidents" is enough to ruin the deal. You do stand a good chance in court.


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## cyber0066 (Aug 9, 2007)

Ya it doesn't look like the cooling off thing works since it wasn't signed in my home. Plus, this was a private sale and not through a company.

Anyways, court is my last option. I'm just trying to think of a way to convince him to give it back.


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## Sonal (Oct 2, 2003)

If he won't talk to you or return your calls, you have no hope of convincing him of anything.

At best, you could leave a message telling him that you would really like to work this out with him before taking legal action, so could he call you back to explain what is going on?


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## MrB398 (Feb 25, 2008)

I would take this guy to a civil court and make him either pay up or pay up and spend some time in jail plus a criminal record.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

What's cool about that link is that you can really go after this guy, no matter which U.S. state he lives in.


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## krs (Mar 18, 2005)

CanadaRAM said:


> Well, that becomes a civil matter between you whether the misrepresentation in the advertisement is sufficient to void the contract you entered into.
> 
> He'll argue of course that No Accidents means he never crashed it in the 2 months he had it. Your leverage comes in the pairing of Clean History with No Accidents, which states that the seller knows the history of the car and assertd that it has no accidents in its history.
> 
> You're going to have to go to small claims or to some kind of other arbitration and prove that.


I don't think the "Clean History/No Accident" argument is going to go anywhere simply because that was not the reason the OP told the seller he wanted to back out of the deal.
As I read it, the "official" reason was financial.

And as to the seller not being entitled to the deposit..........he/she will argue that they spent time and effort with the OP and can also argue that they lost another potential client (or more) because they expected the OP to buy the car.
IMHO the best bet is a lawyer's registered letter, but if he ignores it, I doubt that the OP will win in Small Claims court. Everything else is too expensive.


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

krs said:


> I don't think the "Clean History/No Accident" argument is going to go anywhere simply because that was not the reason the OP told the seller he wanted to back out of the deal.
> As I read it, the "official" reason was financial.
> 
> And as to the seller not being entitled to the deposit..........he/she will argue that they spent time and effort with the OP and can also argue that they lost another potential client (or more) because they expected the OP to buy the car.
> IMHO the best bet is a lawyer's registered letter, but if he ignores it, I doubt that the OP will win in Small Claims court. Everything else is too expensive.


No it's immaterial why the OP said they were backing out. The contract is void because of the misrepresentation, therefore there is no contract to breach on the backing out. If proven, the misrepresentation trumps the 'time and trouble' argument too. 

MrB398 -- What are you smoking there, pal?  You don't get a criminal record or do jail time for a small claims court loss -- it is a civil matter not a criminal matter.


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## Sonal (Oct 2, 2003)

The OP also stated that the seller said that he would give back the deposit, then the seller said he would give back the deposit after he sold the car, and now he's been ignoring all calls for the past two months.

Sure, the OP doesn't know if he's sold the car or not, but it's suspect. 

You know, you can call a Lawyer Referral Service, and get a free half-hour with a lawyer to get a bit of advice here... can't hurt to try that.


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## cyber0066 (Aug 9, 2007)

I guess most people think the lawsuit is the only way left to go. I'll try to call him again from different numbers and see if he'll return my deposit if I threaten to go to court.


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