Dealer Not Returning the Deposit

**sweetraskels** · 05-01-2012, 11:11 AM

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: new jersey

i recently thought of buying a car , so i went in to a dealer near by and asked him to show the vehicle, it looks good outside, he asked to put deposit for the car for reserving it for me, i told him that i need ot inspect the car before i put the deposit, he dint agree to it, he told me to put the deposit and inspect the car , and if i dont like it and if there is any fault in the car he ll retrurn the deposit, thats wat he told me, upon agreeing to it i put the deposit took the car for inspection, and then the mechanic told me this engine is very worse in shape and i have to spend like 3000 for fixing those,i was unhappy and came back to the dealer to return the money. he asked me to come other time as his manger is not there. i went in back in the evening he left the companry for the day, i kept calling him almost 10 times and then finally he agreed to pay me the rest of money taking out 4% for the bank transaction fee telling reason as the bank charges him to put it back to my account, etc. I agreed to it too. its been almost 4 days till the money haven got to my account. what should i do now. ?? am totally confused... Can i file a complaint against him ?? am relocating to different state in two days. If i file a complaint will i have to come to this state for any reason ? please advice? how to get the moeny back.

**df04527** · 05-01-2012, 02:06 PM

You may want to allow a week to 10 days for the money to be refunded back in to your account. In this electronic age you would think it would be instant but it isn't.

**sweetraskels** · 05-02-2012, 05:53 AM

How about i paid in a credit card , and if i dispute the transaction ? is there a way they can sue me if i cancel the transaction ?

**Insons Insontis** · 06-07-2012, 05:32 PM

This is a very common scam used by dishonest car dealerships. You should never give money to a dealer before you are satisfied that the car is in working order to your satisfaction and a final deal is made. Most states do not have a "Lemon Law" for used cars, however, New Jersey does. You need to call the NJ Division Of Consumer Affairs at: Consumer Service Center at (973) 504-6200. Typically if the car cost more than $3000 and has 100,000 miles are less, the dealer is required to provide a warranty. DO NOT WAIT 10 days to take action. There is no reason you should have to pay a transaction fee for a deposit he should have never received, let alone actually credited to his account. The deal was not finalized, the deposit is not income. It is HIS fault for making the deposit into the bank, and thus it is his loss for trying to scam you.

Always get a CARFAX vehicle history report before buying any used vehicle.

In my opinion any honest dealership would have no problem with your personal mechanic inspecting the car on the lot or letting you drive it to the mechanic for an inspection. If they are asking for money just for you to complete your due diligence then I would run, not walk, from that dealership. I have never had to give a deposit in order to have a vehicle inspected, and this makes me very suspicious.

We need more information Was this a verbal agreement or did you have a written contract? How much was the deposit? Does the dealership have any written policy in regards to the refund of the deposits?

The car dealership can always try and sue you. You can sue someone for almost anything; whether they would win is the real question, and no, I don't think they would. I don't even think they would try and sue you as it costs money to file the lawsuit, time, and I am just going to go ahead and bet my life that the dealer is not an attorney.

Yes, dispute the charge on your credit card immediately and do not wait. The clock is ticking and the longer you wait the worse it will get. Call the number I gave you and they will be happy to assist you in filing a complaint against the dealership.

**Mr. Knowitall** · 06-07-2012, 05:40 PM

Quoting Insons Insontis

The car dealership can always try and sue you....

From the fact that we haven't heard back from sweetraskels, I expect that either they got the full refund or decided to roll with the 4% fee (which, I agree, shouldn't be charged unless it was part of the contract).

I'm not seeing why you believe the dealership might sue the buyer.

**STATcom** · 06-07-2012, 05:45 PM

Definitely dispute the charge if you paid with a credit card. Hopefully, if it was a debit transaction, maybe the bank was delayed in processing the return of funds. However, if I were you I would definitely listen to Insons advice and call that hotline.

As far as having to travel back to the state, usually this is only the case if you file a lawsuit. But even then, you can send an attorney in your place. However, it doesn't sound like it will get that far. Also, was any of this in writing? It would make your complaint a lot easier to produce. If not, you might also want to record a conversation with the car dealer and get him to say or agree to all the details you described above. Fortunately, New Jersey has a one-party consent rule for recording conversations under N.J. Stat. §§ 2A:156A-3-4.

**Insons Insontis** · 06-07-2012, 06:46 PM

Quoting Mr. Knowitall

I'm not seeing why you believe the dealership might sue the buyer.

I'm not seeing it either, as if you read just a few words further for the context you will see this: "You can sue someone for almost anything; whether they would win is the real question, and no, I don't think they would. I don't even think they would try and sue you . . ."

I was being facetious. The car dealer is hoping he will go away and not fight for his money or rights. In my opinion the dealer would not have a case, and would most likely find himself in trouble for not returning the OP's deposit in a timely manner. I am betting that the car dealer knows this as well, and thus they would never even try and actually sue, although he might bluster and bluff someone he thought he could scam.

**Mr. Knowitall** · 06-07-2012, 06:51 PM

I'm not sure that you understand the meaning of the word "facetious". Perhaps you were looking for "unhelpful"?

If you're going to run around the forum posting "anybody can sue anybody for anything" in every thread, even though you see no relevance to your own comment, I don't expect your account to remain active for much longer.