Paid deposit for car, car was not available

[Gremlin1]

It's worried I might lose a £500 deposit after the secondhand car I wanted to buy was no longer available.

At the weekend I paid a car dealership a £500 deposit to secure a car they said they could get from another of their dealerships elsewhere. I had only seen a photo but knew the spec and colour were what I was looking for and they assured me it they would do all the relevant checks etc.

I didn't get anything in writing. I paid the deposit over the phone and have since received a receipt in the post.

They said they would call me on Monday morning to confirm when I would be able to get the car.

They didn't call on Monday and failed to return my call despite me leaving three messages - I actually had a question about the spec, and was not aware there was an issue at this point.

I called again yesterday and managed to speak to the sales manager, and he said they were having issues getting hold of the car but they were hopeful it would be sorted.

Today they called me to see if I was interested in another car of the same spec but a different colour. I pressed them on the other car and they said it wasn't going to be available. I asked them to email me a photo of the new car and said I would let them know if it was of interest.

On receiving their email I sent an email back to say that I wasn't interested in the new car and asking them to refund my deposit ASAP.

I've had no reply to this and have got a horrible feeling they may try to get out of refunding it.

How strong is my position at this point? Am I within my rights to get the £500 back? Worried that as nothing was put in writing they could try and screw me over.

*I'm worried

You will get your deposit back don't worry, my dh once put £1000 deposit on a car in a dealership on his credit card, then decided he'd change his mind I thought we'll have a battle to get it back but it was fine, so in your circumstances it's not even your fault it's their's so they have to give it back.

You can request a chargeback if it was a debit card or if a credit card you are protected by s75 CCA so you'll get your money back either way.

Thank you both, feeling slightly better now.

But don’t put a deposit down on a car you haven’t even seen!

As they have multiple branches I presume they are a national brand dealership rather than an independent local concern? If they have a reputation to protect I wouldn't worry. If they are a smaller business then they could be dodgy.

Can you physically go to the shop and demand they do the refund onto the card right away? They will be delaying in the hopes of tying you to them for a sale next time they get the right spec combo in and they are hoping that will be soon as obviously they acquire new cars all the time. They probably aren't planning to rip you off as such but will almost certainly put an elevated price onto that car when the do find one as they know they have a buyer and already have your money so have no incentive to price competitively.

You may need to threaten to report them to the police and go to the papers with sadface photos if they don't refund you. Kicking up a stink may be the only way to make them take you seriously.

Yes, they are a national dealership for a major car brand.

After all my worries, they actually called me up to process the refund today!

It hasn't hit my account yet but hoping it will be there tomorrow/Monday.

I had feared the worst as they seemed pretty unprofessional but fortunately I was proved wrong!

Thanks all.