Winner winner chicken dinner! First take your wife out to dinner with some of the money and your car hobby just moved up the ladder to whatever you want to do with the Cougar is Ok with me. I’m sure AC would be a nice up grade in your location. I would never put that much money down on a deal unless I was 99% sure I was going to complete the deal. If it was a family tragedy that made him back out, then some of the money would go back to him. Just because the wife said NO! Sorry you are out the deposit. Want your deposit, buy the car and re-sell it.
I would put the cash aside for awile and not do anything with it in case the idiot’s boss decides that he should try to sue you to get the deposit back. Yes, I know you have a signed contract but you never know how some judges will see things.
Randy Goodling
CCOA #95
Definition of a bad day: Getting reamed out by the wife, not getting a Cougar, and losing $2k in the process (and probably getting a second reaming for that).
Very good advice. The wife will be trying to figure out how to get that money back, you can bet on that. Wait and hope they don’t find a way to fight you. I am not a lawyer, but have dealt with my share.
It would be a small claim which would probably go to arbitration, but you could get stuck with attorney’s fees if you lost.
If the deposit was not part of a sales contract, and the signed paper you have is deposit based on intent to buy, some laws may not allow such practices. I could see in a court how you may have to establish that the deposit was to protect you from lost opportunities for a sale. However, you yourself stated it was stupid money, and you would have held it for him anyway against, say a 15K offer, if you even had any.
My neighbor sold a 'dozer to a guy up in Alaska (as is), which was rebuilt by a local shop before sending it up. The buyer let it sit for 6 mos. over the winter then fired it up and had issues.
Sued both the shop and my neighbor, and won back like 20k of the sale.
You could offer them half as a refund and sign a waiver of legal action and settlement of claim, or wait and hope for the best.
I know this will not be a popular opinion but I would give the money back. Just sayin’
Bob, you’re probably right that it’s not a popular opinion, but I agree with you. I would only keep the money if I’d lost a deal while waiting or had incurred some cost as a result. But based on the information we have, this looks like a “no harm, no foul” situation and I wouldn’t feel right keeping the money.
Wow, a fellow Cougar lover out two grand for.wanting.to.buy.your.car and not coming through! I don’t think the prospective buyer would have given you the money if he wasn’t really really planning on buying the car, and not just jacking you around. If it was me I’d arrange for a compromise, say take $200 out for a nice night out on the town and give the poor SOB the rest back. Lesson learned and you still get some good karma. Just sayin’…
The potential buyer paid $ to have a car held and not sold to anyone else for a certain amount of time. Apparently in this case the potential buyer did get what he paid for.
If you do not wish to adhere to a deposit agreement then you should not leave a deposit nor ask for a deposit.
It was earnest money. If a seller backs out the earnest money is returned to the buyer. If the buyer backs out the seller is awarded the earnest money. Why would you expect a refund of earnest money you agreed to pay if you backed out of the deal? Are people really that unreliable and naive to expect a return of those funds when they fail to complete the agreed to terms of the sale?
If it was me, I would probably split it: 1k for me, 1k for the “buyer”. That would asuage my guilty conscience (for keeping money for essentially doing nothing), plus it would pay me for my time and effort, yet still teach the buyer a good lesson while helping him on the home front a little (something I can sympathize with).
We understand the arrangement that was made and that the seller doesn’t really have a right to ask for the money back. I’m just saying that I personally wouldn’t be able to keep a significant sum like that when I was never actually affected by the buyer backing out. The “karma”, to borrow from relentless, would be more important to me than the cash. But T3 is within his rights per the agreement to keep the cash; there’s no argument there.
Don’t ever go into the insurance or real estate business you would probably explode. To me bad karma would have occurred had he sold the car to someone else while still holding that guys deposit in his hands.
I am going to be even more impopular, I probably would have not accepted a “stupid offer” in the first place.
I own a retail business and we routinely have people who ask to return things that are beyond our return policy. We have a simple approach, really. If you are bringing the item back in new and resell-able condition and it is a normal stocking item, we generally will allow the return. The only time we don’t is when people are rude, threatening, or trying to pull a fast one (it’s easier to tell than most people think).
The customer goodwill is important to us and it’s how we like to do business. It’s the same idea I expressed above - if it’s not having an adverse impact or costing us money to help someone out, that’s what we’ll do. If it is costing us some money, we’ll exercise our right to apply a restocking fee, but that’s more the exception than the rule.
I run a very successful technology consulting company. We go beyond customer expectations and take great pride in having a 100% referencable client base and that goes back more than 15 years. Nearly all of those clients gladly pay an annual maintenance fee to us so that they will have immediate access to our staff and services. Each are aware that if they do not have a need or use our service they will not receive a refund and none have ever asked for one.
If you wish to receive special dispensation (hold a car for me while I round up the money) you should expect to pay for it, the amount is irrelevant; that is a negotiated item. If your conscious hurts you to charge for an agreed to service then do not do it. Your business methods differ from mine and others and that is OK.
If I make a deal with you either by handshake or contract, be assured I will in fact keep my end of that contract, I have no control over what you do with your end of it but I will expect and help you keep your end of that deal if it is within my ability.
I recently sold a very nice pick-up truck to a gentleman in southern New Mexico, I’m in Colorado. I held that truck for him and his deposit for 2 weeks while he arranged his transportation and cash. I even picked him up at the airport. He was extremely happy with the deal. Had he backed out I would have kept his deposit as we had agreed and re-listed the truck for sale. Had I been the type to misrepresent the vehicle then that is when the buyer should go after that deposit. Was that the case with the MO2872 deal? If so then it is a different story.
Situational ethics? Yes, there are extenuating circumstances that occur and I do believe policy (business or personal) is only a guideline. In the end it is your business and your deal and you will handle it as you see appropriate.
There was no misrepresentation, as I wasn’t advertising/looking to sell, HE approached me, so I think I’m pretty well covered there. Am I concerned about legal action to try and recover the cash? I’m not losing sleep over it. If he’s like most guys I know around here, myself included, he’s probably got a stash of what we call “Mad Money”. Consider his deposit a nice stash…in my stash.
I suppose in the end, it’ll all work out one way or another.
C7XR7, your business is delivering a service. The right of access is what the maintenance fee is all about. It’s an insurance policy. For me, this deal we’re discussing doesn’t equate to the same thing but that’s just for me.
We also deliver product as there are multiple releases to software and hardware, maintenance gets you those upgrades if you request them (not mandatory). At least that is how the govt. sees it when tax time comes, they tax product but not service. To us however, it is the same. Service is also a product depending on how it is packaged and sold. Service is actually much easier to sell as a product. I understand there are those who do not subscribe to that thinking.
MO2872 was providing a service by holding a product for the potential buyer for an agreed to dollar amount. I admit I fail to see any significant difference, but that’s just for me perhaps. Potato, potahto…
That money, could it be taxable as a revenue?
get it out of the country, and FAST!!!
Pssssttt… I’ll pm you my address, I’m in another country, and very near, more or less…
Interesting topic for my return. I know most of you had no idea I was gone. 
T3 is well within his rights to keep the money. If it was me would I keep it? I’m really not sure…
Having watched every episode of “Married With Children” I know what Al Bundy would do… And probably ask his family for a “Whoa Bundy” high five while doing it!