Just made $100 for putting down a deposit on a C7..*Florida members should read this*
06-11-2014, 08:06 PM
#1
Pro
Thread Starter
Just made $100 for putting down a deposit on a C7..*Florida members should read this*
So I put down a deposit back in May at a dealership which shall remain nameless. They wanted $1000.00 to give me a spot for a MY15, since it was unlikely they'd get enough MY14 allocations to get me a car by the end of the MY production run.
Fine. I gave them my debit card, they swiped it for $1,000.00 and gave me a receipt.
Then I decided I was going to get a MY14 from an out of state dealer and I called my local dealer to cancel my order. He was nice enough about it.. but 10 days later and the dealer has yet to return my deposit.
I did about 5 minutes worth of research and found Florida Statutes 501.976-.98, which are part of the Actionable, unfair, or deceptive acts or practices portion of the Florida Statutes.
Specifically, 501.976(10) states:
"t is an unfair or deceptive act or practice, actionable under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, for a dealer to: (10) Require or accept a deposit from a prospective customer prior to entering into a binding contract for the purchase and sale of a vehicle unless the customer is given a written receipt that states how long the dealer will hold the vehicle from other sale and the amount of the deposit, and clearly and conspicuously states whether and upon what conditions the deposit is refundable or nonrefundable."
Guess what? My receipt says none of that. And to be clear, it isn't the fact that the dealer has yet to return my deposit that is putting them in hot water -- it was merely the ACCEPTANCE of the deposit without providing the proper paperwork.
So I continue reading and before a suit can be filed for violation of the statute, I have to (and did) write a letter to the dealership putting them on notice of my claim. After which, they have 30 days to return my money ---- PLUS a surcharge of $500 or 10% of the claim (whichever is lesser). This portion is found in Florida Statute 501.98:
"A claimant may not initiate civil litigation, including arbitration, against a dealer or its employees, agents, principals, sureties, or insurers for a claim arising under this chapter related to, or in connection with, the transaction or event described in the demand letter if, within 30 days after receipt of the demand letter, the dealer pays the claimant the amount sought in the demand letter, plus a surcharge of the lesser of $500 or 10 percent of the damages claimed."
So I sent off my letter today, and I expect the dealership will be sending my $1,000.00 deposit + $100.00 penalty tout de suite!
So Florida car shoppers beware...make the dealership follow the law and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Fine. I gave them my debit card, they swiped it for $1,000.00 and gave me a receipt.
Then I decided I was going to get a MY14 from an out of state dealer and I called my local dealer to cancel my order. He was nice enough about it.. but 10 days later and the dealer has yet to return my deposit.
I did about 5 minutes worth of research and found Florida Statutes 501.976-.98, which are part of the Actionable, unfair, or deceptive acts or practices portion of the Florida Statutes.
Specifically, 501.976(10) states:
"t is an unfair or deceptive act or practice, actionable under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, for a dealer to: (10) Require or accept a deposit from a prospective customer prior to entering into a binding contract for the purchase and sale of a vehicle unless the customer is given a written receipt that states how long the dealer will hold the vehicle from other sale and the amount of the deposit, and clearly and conspicuously states whether and upon what conditions the deposit is refundable or nonrefundable."
Guess what? My receipt says none of that. And to be clear, it isn't the fact that the dealer has yet to return my deposit that is putting them in hot water -- it was merely the ACCEPTANCE of the deposit without providing the proper paperwork.
So I continue reading and before a suit can be filed for violation of the statute, I have to (and did) write a letter to the dealership putting them on notice of my claim. After which, they have 30 days to return my money ---- PLUS a surcharge of $500 or 10% of the claim (whichever is lesser). This portion is found in Florida Statute 501.98:
"A claimant may not initiate civil litigation, including arbitration, against a dealer or its employees, agents, principals, sureties, or insurers for a claim arising under this chapter related to, or in connection with, the transaction or event described in the demand letter if, within 30 days after receipt of the demand letter, the dealer pays the claimant the amount sought in the demand letter, plus a surcharge of the lesser of $500 or 10 percent of the damages claimed."
So I sent off my letter today, and I expect the dealership will be sending my $1,000.00 deposit + $100.00 penalty tout de suite!
So Florida car shoppers beware...make the dealership follow the law and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
06-11-2014, 08:50 PM
#2
Let me know how that works out for ya !!!
So I put down a deposit back in May at a dealership which shall remain nameless. They wanted $1000.00 to give me a spot for a MY15, since it was unlikely they'd get enough MY14 allocations to get me a car by the end of the MY production run.
Fine. I gave them my debit card, they swiped it for $1,000.00 and gave me a receipt.
Then I decided I was going to get a MY14 from an out of state dealer and I called my local dealer to cancel my order. He was nice enough about it.. but 10 days later and the dealer has yet to return my deposit.
I did about 5 minutes worth of research and found Florida Statutes 501.976-.98, which are part of the Actionable, unfair, or deceptive acts or practices portion of the Florida Statutes.
Specifically, 501.976(10) states:
"t is an unfair or deceptive act or practice, actionable under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, for a dealer to: (10) Require or accept a deposit from a prospective customer prior to entering into a binding contract for the purchase and sale of a vehicle unless the customer is given a written receipt that states how long the dealer will hold the vehicle from other sale and the amount of the deposit, and clearly and conspicuously states whether and upon what conditions the deposit is refundable or nonrefundable."
Guess what? My receipt says none of that. And to be clear, it isn't the fact that the dealer has yet to return my deposit that is putting them in hot water -- it was merely the ACCEPTANCE of the deposit without providing the proper paperwork.
So I continue reading and before a suit can be filed for violation of the statute, I have to (and did) write a letter to the dealership putting them on notice of my claim. After which, they have 30 days to return my money ---- PLUS a surcharge of $500 or 10% of the claim (whichever is lesser). This portion is found in Florida Statute 501.98:
"A claimant may not initiate civil litigation, including arbitration, against a dealer or its employees, agents, principals, sureties, or insurers for a claim arising under this chapter related to, or in connection with, the transaction or event described in the demand letter if, within 30 days after receipt of the demand letter, the dealer pays the claimant the amount sought in the demand letter, plus a surcharge of the lesser of $500 or 10 percent of the damages claimed."
So I sent off my letter today, and I expect the dealership will be sending my $1,000.00 deposit + $100.00 penalty tout de suite!
So Florida car shoppers beware...make the dealership follow the law and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Fine. I gave them my debit card, they swiped it for $1,000.00 and gave me a receipt.
Then I decided I was going to get a MY14 from an out of state dealer and I called my local dealer to cancel my order. He was nice enough about it.. but 10 days later and the dealer has yet to return my deposit.
I did about 5 minutes worth of research and found Florida Statutes 501.976-.98, which are part of the Actionable, unfair, or deceptive acts or practices portion of the Florida Statutes.
Specifically, 501.976(10) states:
"t is an unfair or deceptive act or practice, actionable under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, for a dealer to: (10) Require or accept a deposit from a prospective customer prior to entering into a binding contract for the purchase and sale of a vehicle unless the customer is given a written receipt that states how long the dealer will hold the vehicle from other sale and the amount of the deposit, and clearly and conspicuously states whether and upon what conditions the deposit is refundable or nonrefundable."
Guess what? My receipt says none of that. And to be clear, it isn't the fact that the dealer has yet to return my deposit that is putting them in hot water -- it was merely the ACCEPTANCE of the deposit without providing the proper paperwork.
So I continue reading and before a suit can be filed for violation of the statute, I have to (and did) write a letter to the dealership putting them on notice of my claim. After which, they have 30 days to return my money ---- PLUS a surcharge of $500 or 10% of the claim (whichever is lesser). This portion is found in Florida Statute 501.98:
"A claimant may not initiate civil litigation, including arbitration, against a dealer or its employees, agents, principals, sureties, or insurers for a claim arising under this chapter related to, or in connection with, the transaction or event described in the demand letter if, within 30 days after receipt of the demand letter, the dealer pays the claimant the amount sought in the demand letter, plus a surcharge of the lesser of $500 or 10 percent of the damages claimed."
So I sent off my letter today, and I expect the dealership will be sending my $1,000.00 deposit + $100.00 penalty tout de suite!
So Florida car shoppers beware...make the dealership follow the law and feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
06-11-2014, 08:55 PM
#3
Safety Car
That's great research on your part!!!! I hope you nail them to the wall with that letter and get your $1,100!! Nicely done! If you haven't done so, make sure you send the letter certified with return receipt, or though a traceable method such as FedEx or UPS. Dealer can claim they never received your notice. If you haven't done so, send another using the above method so there can be no 'excuse.'
Last edited by Mfserge; 06-11-2014 at 08:57 PM.
06-11-2014, 08:58 PM
#4
Moderator
Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Just sayin'.
06-11-2014, 09:06 PM
#6
Pro
Thread Starter
That's great research on your part!!!! I hope you nail them to the wall with that letter and get your $1,100!! Nicely done! If you haven't done so, make sure you send the letter certified with return receipt, or though a traceable method such as FedEx or UPS. Dealer can claim they never received your notice. If you haven't done so, send another using the above method so there can be no 'excuse.'
06-11-2014, 09:08 PM
#7
Pro
Thread Starter
06-11-2014, 09:17 PM
#8
Safety Car
$500/hour sounds reasonable go get em!!! Looking forward to hearing the outcome.
06-12-2014, 12:36 AM
#11
06-12-2014, 12:54 AM
#12
Melting Slicks
with Al BlueWhat a D-Bag you are mfear..... You post and brag wanting to sue them over a receipt, that YOU in fact cancelled the order and in which THEY took the time and their money to talk to you and put you on their 2015 list and was upfront with you on their allocations. Also, you said it has only been 10 days.. Depending on when you cancelled it could only be 6 business days for them to process it.
Sorry the world doesn't revolve around you in that you want your deposit back in one day, but I am sure they have a process to refund deposits and back office procedures. Ever thought maybe deposits get refunded bi-monthly or monthly.. Probably not since you seem like an ambulance chaser...
So how many other dealers have you done this to? Not buying you only spent 5 minutes researching. And don't PM this clown lawyer...
06-12-2014, 02:18 AM
#14
Safety Car
06-12-2014, 03:09 AM
#15
Le Mans Master
This is why I stopped doing business with attorneys years ago. They think they are perfect, and if someone or something is not, they deserve to be sued. Heaven forbid if a "Normal Distribution" of failures exists. Too bad statistics isn't part of the Law curriculum.
I had an office partner of an attorney I did work for call me one day to work for him. By this time, I had had it with attorneys. I told him, "I wouldn't set foot in that office.". You could hear his jaw drop over the phone.
I'm sure they are some nice attorneys. I just haven't met any yet.
Michael
I had an office partner of an attorney I did work for call me one day to work for him. By this time, I had had it with attorneys. I told him, "I wouldn't set foot in that office.". You could hear his jaw drop over the phone.
I'm sure they are some nice attorneys. I just haven't met any yet.
Michael
06-12-2014, 03:14 AM
#16
Le Mans Master
Specifically, 501.976(10) states:
"t is an unfair or deceptive act or practice, actionable under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, for a dealer to: (10) Require or accept a deposit from a prospective customer prior to entering into a binding contract for the purchase and sale of a vehicle unless the customer is given a written receipt that states how long the dealer will hold the vehicle from other sale and the amount of the deposit, and clearly and conspicuously states whether and upon what conditions the deposit is refundable or nonrefundable."
"t is an unfair or deceptive act or practice, actionable under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, for a dealer to: (10) Require or accept a deposit from a prospective customer prior to entering into a binding contract for the purchase and sale of a vehicle unless the customer is given a written receipt that states how long the dealer will hold the vehicle from other sale and the amount of the deposit, and clearly and conspicuously states whether and upon what conditions the deposit is refundable or nonrefundable."
Michael
Last edited by Michael A; 06-12-2014 at 03:19 AM.
06-12-2014, 08:00 AM
#18
Advanced
with Al BlueWhat a D-Bag you are mfear..... You post and brag wanting to sue them over a receipt, that YOU in fact cancelled the order and in which THEY took the time and their money to talk to you and put you on their 2015 list and was upfront with you on their allocations. Also, you said it has only been 10 days.. Depending on when you cancelled it could only be 6 business days for them to process it.
Sorry the world doesn't revolve around you in that you want your deposit back in one day, but I am sure they have a process to refund deposits and back office procedures. Ever thought maybe deposits get refunded bi-monthly or monthly.. Probably not since you seem like an ambulance chaser...
So how many other dealers have you done this to? Not buying you only spent 5 minutes researching. And don't PM this clown lawyer...
I can't believe anyone would brag about this.
06-12-2014, 08:04 AM
#19
Pro
Thread Starter
And everyone ignores that the dealer hasn't returned my money. They were able to take it from me within 10 minutes of me walking in the door, but they can return it in a reasonable amount of time? Another dealer I had a deposit with returned my money the very next day when I told them I found a car elsewhere, no issues. I could have sent them a letter, too, but I didn't because they understand how to conduct business.
Let me know how lonely it is up on your soapbox, fellas.
Let me know how lonely it is up on your soapbox, fellas.
06-12-2014, 08:04 AM
#20
Race Director
Member Since: Sep 2013
Location: Ft Lauderdale
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I doubt that was his intention. Just that there are laws in place to get your money back. I've said all along that a deposit, no matter what is written, is refundable as a dealer never wants the bad press. Pushed a bit, and the dealer caves, always...esp with a hot car.