Horsebox Deposit Refund?

[A.miller543]

Hi, I ordered a horsebox August last year via a distributor in Scotland and paid a sizeable deposit and at time of order estimated delivery was end of Feb/start of March. I chased for an update In December 2021 and was told sorry there was going to be a delay and the estimated delivery was now May 20th 2022! I made it very clear i was not happy and urged them that i needed my box delivered sooner as i am currently without transport. Anyway i followed up again last week to get an update on the status only to be told that they cannot commit to delivering in May in fact they cannot commit to any delivery date due to the Vehicle supplier letting them down! So nearly 7 months after my order i have no idea when this box is going to be delivered! I emailed the distributer instructing them i now wished to cancel and to return my deposit and they are refusing to refund my deposit. Hence my question is can they legally hold onto my deposit? i realise the delivery date is estimated but to go from Feb to May and now no date, surely i have grounds to cancel as they have fulfilled their side of the agreement? They have not incurred any expense at this point as they don't even have the chassis to start building.....

 

[AmyMay]

Have you spoken to Trading Standards?

 

[luckyoldme]

Just a note here but if it's a new vehicle there is a huge backlog to clear in all new hgvs
It's affecting the haulage industry currently in a massive way.
I was hoping to start a new job last month which was dependent on a new DAF being delivered. The waiting time on this truck is now 6 months
I also know companies with multiple orders in which are delayed.
The reasons given are a shortage of silicon and production of vehicles being held up by covid
Scania , Volvo and DAF were originally worst affected but other manufacturers were quickly sold out too

 

[PeterNatt]

As above speek to Trading Stabdards.

 

[HeyMich]

We are waiting for a new replacement Ford Ranger, it was booked for delivery in December 2021 and it looks like it will be at least May 2022 before we take delivery. The whole of the vehicle industry has delays at the moment due to lack of supply chain for multiple components. You need to decide if you'll get a better service elsewhere (and join the back of the queue again) or if you just need to wait out the nationwide delays. Admittedly, the dealer should have been better at keeping you up to date, but they probably don't know exact timescales to tell you which makes communication tricky.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Thing is even if you got your money back and ordered elsewhere you will have an even longer wait it's a nationwide problem at the moment, we ordered a new car in August and it was delivered in December I think I would be inclined to just wait it out.

 

[View]

As mentioned above, there are long delays for vital components. It’s not just new vehicles affected. Anyone running commercial fleets at the moment will have vehicles parked up, costing them money - and no idea when the parts will arrive.

I agree with the waiting it out rather than joining the back of an even longer queue.

 

[Quigleyandme]

If you trust them not to be fraudsters or at risk of bankruptcy I would wait it out. Frustrating I know but presumably you have a fixed price contract and as all raw materials have gone up in price exponentially, if you can obtain them, your box may well be a lot more expensive on a new contract.

 

[Britestar]

As everyone else says. Supply chain issues.
I was looking for a new Isuzu DL20. Was quoted May 2023!!