I put a £300 deposit down on a MV F4 on Friday - guy wanted full asking price saying that he’d rather keep it than sell it for less ( the bike is well worth it and like new for a 2009 F4)
In the end he agreed to £200 off the asking price, we shook hands and went inside to take a deposit (£300) and write a receipt .
His wife was there and didn’t look pleased that he’d come down £200 and kept going on about how great the bike was and she’d have kept it herself.
Anyway paid up - took receipt and went away ready to pick bike up this Sunday.
I didn’t have a good feeling about this deal due to what the wife said and sure enough I get a text this moring from the bloke saying he’s “not sure about the sale”.
Well I offered price, he accepted, he took £300 , he wrote and signed a receipt and I was REALLY looking forward to getting the bike (I guess you all can sympathise with that ) … so 'm mega pissed off.
If he reneges on the deal I’m thinking of,
a) asking for the deposit back (natch)
b) asking for about £60 to cover expenses in going to see the bike he had no intention of selling (he lives in Norfolk)
c) Maybe asking for another £60 to cover my insurance cancellation fees (actually a lie because I haven’t arranged anything yet)
Or I’m thinking of going to the small claims court and do him for breach of contract…
you should be fine mate if you have that. I’d probably sneakily film or at least record the convo when you get there just in case (that could be me being paranoid)…
at worst he will be have to give deposit back. unless you take him to small claims court for the expenses and wasted time I doubt much will come out of that side of things.
Maybe ask him to wire your deposit back to you and put it down to experience. Sounds like an idiot. If he refuses to return your deposit go to https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome and initiate a claim in the small claims court. Upon receipt of the first letter he’ll probably pay, unless he’s a total chancer in which case you have to follow it through to court.
You don’t have time for people like this and you’ll find people have no conscience. I’ve had people arrange to collect large items sold on ebay and just not turn up on the day and not answer their phone with no explanation. They just think if they ignore it, it’ll go away. No consideration for your lost time.
The whole deal was a bit “odd” . The bloke was ok but when we got in front of the wife things changed.
He was a very quite,soft spoken bloke whereas she had a lot to say for herself and was obviously the one “in charge” of their lives.
She mentioned a few times that they were thinking of keeping it for next summer etc,etc… pisses me off.
But Joby you’re right - people aren’t guaranteed to actt they way you would act in the same situation.
I already had a seller piss me off on another MV I was going to buy last week. Guy puts ad in - I msg him and it turns out he’s in Dubai for the next two weeks and wont be able to let me view for another 3 weeks!!! … Why the FUCK did he put the ad in for now then???
I was glad I’d found the right bike at last and was really looking forward to picking it up at the weekend and planning my blatts out with it over the next month,
Dubai bloke is more than likely in an Internet cafe in Lagos hoping you will wire him a securing deposit…
As for ejit, small claims you are more than likely to get back your deposit plus reasonable costs - if you haven’t taken insurance out yet though not really cricket to try and squeeze that out too - even though you have been messed around a bit
Ask for your deposit back …wipe your mouth and move on.
Yeah it’s a pain and it’s a waste of time, but it’s not the end of the world.
Everything happens for a reason and take it as a sign that it’s not meant to be and there’s a better bike out there for you.
You don’t have the same legal rights with a private sale as you do with a business seller and there is a difference between what is legally correct and what is feasible or practical.
The way to tackle a breach of contract is though the courts, which has some costs and has an element of risk.
If he goes back on the deal you have a legal right to get your money back but your travel expenses won’t be covered.
Of course you could ask for your money back and a little something on top for the inconvenience but that will be down to how convincing or charming you are and how guilty he feels. From the sounds of it he might be a bit of a soft touch.
Maybe try to arrange a time where the wife isn’t present- sound like she will be the hurdle to this.
To go through the courts you need their full contract details.
You have a contract. The receipt more or less outlines that contract and its your property upon payment in full of the balance as stated on the receipt. If he fails to fulfil the contract you’re entitled to reimbursement of any losses and reasonable expenses attached to the sale. You’ll not be entitled to claim travel expenses in the first instance since had you not liked the bike you’d have walked away and still incurred that expense, your reasonable expenses start from the time the contract began, when you handed over the deposit and received the receipt.
@Alba maybe his wife does this sort of thing for the compensatory shag because he’s a proper wanker and unable to satisfy her.
@Ross I’d only go for the refund and a shag if the wife is over 25, under 35, a redhead and your allowed to film the entire proceedings for when we call custard
