Would you refund the deposit?

I'm usually a soft touch when it comes to these sorts of things but on this occasion I would say keep the deposit on the grounds that it was to prevent further marketing of the horse and you could well have missed selling the horse to someone else in that time and who knows how long it will take to sell it now. Given that this was what I understand they stipulated when they left the deposit I would say that's fair as you are now back to square one...
 
People like that wind me up. IF you are within your ight to keep the deposit and IF they have simply changed their minds then I would not refund

Perhaps it will make them think twice about mucking people about next time
 
No I wouldn't as they messed you around, and if you had other viewers you would have cancelled them

Also was the deposit significantly more than a riding lesson??
 
http://www.signmaster.co.uk/documents/conditions_1.pdf

Ive spoke with trading standards a few times regarding deposits and rights etc. This wee sheet makes it simple ;)

Its really down to who backs out. There is zero point in a deposit if its refundable if the buyer changes their mind. There are even circumstances where you can request more money from the buyer if you have incurred costs above that of the deposit!


Simply say to them that you are saddened that they cannot complete the deal, however the deposit will not be refunded. :)
 
Giving them all or part of the deposit back, encourages these people to mess someone else around.

They are not entitled to any refund. They entered a legally binding contract and then changed their minds. If the seller had changed the terms of the sale or a problem with the horse was discovered, then they might have grounds to pursue reimbursement, but this wasn't the case here.

Any money returned would be a good will gesture, but personally, for time wasters,ie; people without good cause not to proceed with the sale, I wouldn't.
 
I would refund the full amount. You didn't write any contract stating whether it was refundable or not and to save grace and keep a good reputation I would never refuse a refund on that basis.
 
Initials thoughts are "no" as that is what a deposit is for, to secure the "item." Had you taken phone calls/enquiries and you've told them the horse is now sold, it's going to cost you to re-advertise plus those very potential purchasers may now be wary a horse is back up for sale again so soon.

If the seller feels they really want to give them some money back why don't you say you will use their deposit for re-advertising until the horse is sold and then they can have what is left as good will but only once the horse has sold.
 
Why would she need to re-advertise though? The horse has not sold. Only a deposit has been taken so surely no-one would take down an advert based solely on accepting a deposit? I certainly don't. No horse of mine is sold until full payment is in my bank account. I don't even tell other enquirers if/when I have other people interested in my selling horses, let alone take the advert down :confused:
 
Spring Feather said:
I would refund the full amount. You didn't write any contract stating whether it was refundable or not and to save grace and keep a good reputation I would never refuse a refund on that basis.
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So why would you take any deposit? A deposit is not refundable unless a contract exists to the contrary.
Agree with others - if the deposit was a substantial sum you could return what remains after readvertising and keep costs until sold are taken off.
 
I wouldn't return the deposit. I sold my horse onece and took a deposit and then the buyer pulled out of the sale. I wasn't going to give the deposit back until she came back the following week to buy him. I then pulled out of the sale as i didn't feel my horse was going to the right owner so i gave her the full deposit back.
If i was the OP then no i wouldn't return the deposit as the buyer has pulled out.
 
Spring Feather said:
Why would she need to re-advertise though? The horse has not sold. Only a deposit has been taken so surely no-one would take down an advert based solely on accepting a deposit? I certainly don't. No horse of mine is sold until full payment is in my bank account. I don't even tell other enquirers if/when I have other people interested in my selling horses, let alone take the advert down :confused:
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Well, I agree with you SP. Sure you don't want to encourage people to back out but they were obviously serious enough to place their money with the seller, rather than just saying 'yes I want to buy, can you hold'.

On a 2k horse that is 400 quid, that is a lot of money to keep for not selling a horse in my opinion and I would give it back perhaps minus reasonable costs because I think keeping it would be wrong. If i had given a receipt stating it is non-refundable then I would have no qualms keeping it.
 
alainax said:
http://www.signmaster.co.uk/documents/conditions_1.pdf

Ive spoke with trading standards a few times regarding deposits and rights etc. This wee sheet makes it simple ;)

Its really down to who backs out. There is zero point in a deposit if its refundable if the buyer changes their mind. There are even circumstances where you can request more money from the buyer if you have incurred costs above that of the deposit!


Simply say to them that you are saddened that they cannot complete the deal, however the deposit will not be refunded. :)
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Well there we go the LEGAL view on a deposit. Don't give their money back

SPRINGFEATHER - adverts run their course and may have expired. For example if the advert is in a periodical or newspaper. On line it will depend on the site whether ads run forever! I know that when I had a horse on the market I had to re list several times and each one cost me a fee to re list.
 
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Well done for getting a deposit! I've had so many requests to take her off the market as they'll have her but not one deposit yet (so I haven't taken her off!). One even had her vetted (which she passed) all pulled out last minute for no reason! I think there is just too much choice out there. Don't give it back, my ponies a saint but still not sold and you need that money to readvertise etc
 
Tnavas said:
SPRINGFEATHER - adverts run their course and may have expired. For example if the advert is in a periodical or newspaper. On line it will depend on the site whether ads run forever! I know that when I had a horse on the market I had to re list several times and each one cost me a fee to re list.
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Ah right, I don't advertise in newspapers so I wouldn't know. I only advertise on specialised equine sites and the adverts remain until I take them down and mark the horse as SOLD. I guess it depends where they advertised the horse and how long the advert stays up for or if seller even had a paid advert for the horse. I couldn't care less what other people do, but I personally wouldn't be able to see what the fuss is all about; it's not like the people gave the deposit months ago and have been messing the seller around. They paid it just a few days ago and obviously had a change of heart and don't want the horse anymore. To me, that really is no biggie at all and I'd let it ride, especially as the seller did not tell them whether it was refundable or not.

Funny story (I think anyway) I went to look at a horse once and the owner told me it had sold 3 times already. I asked why it wasn't with one of the three of it's new owners then, he replied "oh they didn't pay for it". Okkkkaaayy then. So I said "Ahh so the horse didn't sell 3 times then" to which he replied "Yes it did, they just didn't give me the money for it". You can't fix stupid it would appear :)

I digress, the seller here can do whatever they want, makes no difference to any of us. I'm a seller who has a very good reputation, and if the OP/seller on this thread has a good reputation also, and wants to keep it then I can't understand why they would want to jeopardise that for the sake of someone changing their minds just a few days after viewing. Seems penny-pinching and pushing someone into a decision they have not fully thought out, but maybe that's just my thinking. I don't need sales that badly and I sure as anything don't want my horses going to someone who changed their mind about the horse. But we're all different :)
 
Brownmare said:
To secure the horse for themselves and prevent me selling to anyone else. I did give them a receipt but didn't specify whether it was refundable or not. TBH they were so excited and happy I never dreamt this would happen :(
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If they have simply changed their minds, then no I certainly wouldn't refund but if there is a genuine reason such as an unexpected change in circumstances, e.g redundancy/illness/
unexpected pregnancy, I probably would refund at least partially, although I'm sure that there is no obligation to do so.
 
ALWAYS ALWAYS when selling anything from car ----horse -----washing machine
give a receipt and print in large letters
THE DEPOSIT IS A COMITMENT TO BUY AND IS NONE REFUNDERBLE. YOU HAVE 7 DAYS TO PAY THE BALANCE OF £??? AND COLLECT THE ITEAM. OR THE ITEAM WOULD BE RESOLD.
 
Stateside said:
ALWAYS ALWAYS when selling anything from car ----horse -----washing machine
give a receipt and print in large letters
THE DEPOSIT IS A COMITMENT TO BUY AND IS NONE REFUNDERBLE. YOU HAVE 7 DAYS TO PAY THE BALANCE OF £??? AND COLLECT THE ITEAM. OR THE ITEAM WOULD BE RESOLD.
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LOL! I love it! ^^^ :D I think my buyers might run a mile it I sent them that though, but it did make me laugh, so thanks :D
 
To be honest, around here, deposits are given back no questions. Maybe it's just Wiltshire and the people I know but I have not known of it even being an issue here. You like the horse, put a deposit down, but then go back for a few more viewings, if at any time you decide the horse isn't quite right, or it is but fails the vetting, deposit returned.

Just last week I had found a horse for a friend. She viewed him, loved him, left a deposit to ensure he wouldn't sell while she viewed again and had vetting sorted. 6 days later, call from owner to say suspected Strangles nearby, so delaying vetting while waiting for results.

On confirmation of strangles, the owner was upfront and offered to refund deposit if buyer wanted to back out.

No problems, no issues.

I would always refund, whatever the reason, but then I would not be worried about being able to sell one of my horses to someone else, nor would I be worried about re-advertising costs. I would not remove an advert until the horse had been paid for and taken. Instead, I just respond to enquiries by saying that a deposit has been left, but I have given buyers 7 days to arrange everything, so I will contact you then if it falls through.

If you take down an advert just because you have a deposit, you're pretty much asking to lose money on advertising when things go wrong.
 
amymay said:
So what update op? To return or not return - that is the question.
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The owner has taken advice from the CLA legal helpline who have said they are under no obligation to refund the deposit, as is the general consensus here.

Unfortunately when the purchasers were told this they started threatening court etc :( According to them there is a cooling off period that should apply so they can change their minds, and they mentioned preventing us selling the horse to anyone else until it is settled. Can they do this?

They also said they would be acting against me not the owner but I am pretty sure that was just a scare tactic. Anyway, you can't get blood out of a stone :rolleyes::(
 
Brownmare said:
The owner has taken advice from the CLA legal helpline who have said they are under no obligation to refund the deposit, as is the general consensus here.

Unfortunately when the purchasers were told this they started threatening court etc :( According to them there is a cooling off period that should apply so they can change their minds, and they mentioned preventing us selling the horse to anyone else until it is settled. Can they do this?

They also said they would be acting against me not the owner but I am pretty sure that was just a scare tactic. Anyway, you can't get blood out of a stone :rolleyes::(
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Credit agreements have to have a cooling off period. This wasn't a credit agreement, so I would imagine that one hard to argue, but that's not to say it can't be argued.

They probably found a horse they preferred and need the deposit to buy it. If that is the case, tough luck.
 
Cooling Off periods are for consumers buying without seeing....distance selling regulations

They tried and tested before making the decision so the seller is not obliged to refund the deposit and there are no mitigating circumstances to support why the seller should refund.

Good Luck and omg I hate time wasters!!
 
Brownmare said:
The owner has taken advice from the CLA legal helpline who have said they are under no obligation to refund the deposit, as is the general consensus here.

Unfortunately when the purchasers were told this they started threatening court etc :( According to them there is a cooling off period that should apply so they can change their minds, and they mentioned preventing us selling the horse to anyone else until it is settled. Can they do this?

They also said they would be acting against me not the owner but I am pretty sure that was just a scare tactic. Anyway, you can't get blood out of a stone :rolleyes::(
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Actually I'm not too surprised about their response. There are certainly cooling off periods for deposits on purchases however it depends on what it is as to how it works and what the goods are. The buyers are probably going after you as you were the agent in this sale and you were the one who took the money, so they'll likely use the Consumers Rights Act to get the money back that they paid you. No-one here can say for sure what the outcome will be in a small claims court tbh because it's pretty subjective. You could win or you could lose, either way it's a giant pain in the butt.
 
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