Liquidation Damages - £100 deposit

[BelfastEV]

“Unfortuantely, in line with the order agreement we had, the deposit for the car is to be retained by us as liquidated damages for the cancelled order. If you have any questions about this, your order agreement is a great place to refer to.”

People had this before ? Tesla refusing to refund my deposit !

 

[impingu1984]

It is in the order agreement rightly or wrongly

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/order/download-order-agreement%3Fredirect%3Dno%26country%3DGB%26model_code%3Dmp&ved=2ahUKEwjj_LSZ9PH5AhVxnf0HHRFXAy0QFnoECAcQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0EhzFvahcAvqsmUt7QAT1l

 

[Jason71]

I was under the impression that, so long as it is a private order not a company one, you are covered by the distance selling regulations.
Others have said that if you phone up and quote this they will cave and give you the money back.
The law trumps the user agreement

£100 deposit refund

Has anyone managed to have their £100 deposit refunded and on what grounds ?

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[Cardo]

Distance selling regulations state you get your deposit back. As above.

 

[Uatru]

Distance selling regulations state you get your deposit back. As above.

There is a time limited period within which you can get your deposit back. I think it is within 14 days of signing the contract, though haven't checked. So once that period has gone there is no cooling off period and this doesn't apply. But within that period it does, and you are definitely entitled to your deposit back.

 

[Darreno]

There is a time limited period within which you can get your deposit back. I think it is within 14 days of signing the contract, though haven't checked. So once that period has gone there is no cooling off period and this doesn't apply. But within that period it does, and you are definitely entitled to your deposit back.

DSR 14 days after delivery of the car, not 14 days after reservation. That is why people get the money back after the 14 days.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

If distance selling regulations don't get them to refund you then you can go down the route of "unfair terms"

The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999

These Regulations revoke and replace the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1994 (S.I. 1994/3159) which came into force on 1st July 1995.

www.legislation.gov.uk

Unfair Terms​

5.—(1) A contractual term which has not been individually negotiated shall be regarded as unfair if, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract, to the detriment of the consumer.

(2) A term shall always be regarded as not having been individually negotiated where it has been drafted in advance and the consumer has therefore not been able to influence the substance of the term.

(3) Notwithstanding that a specific term or certain aspects of it in a contract has been individually negotiated, these Regulations shall apply to the rest of a contract if an overall assessment of it indicates that it is a pre-formulated standard contract.

(4) It shall be for any seller or supplier who claims that a term was individually negotiated to show that it was.

(5) Schedule 2 to these Regulations contains an indicative and non-exhaustive list of the terms which may be regarded as unfair.


The fact they can give you an estimated date then move it around at will, can give you a nearby EDD which you take in good faith, sell your existing car and then they move it back by months with out comeback etc but they can claim liquidated damages if you want out, means the contract is heavily in their favour and as a result would also certainly fail in any court room. Note, this only applies to consumers buying.

 

[KennethS]

All good advice re rights to have the deposit returned. On a fundamental level, the notion that Tesla is entitled to keep it as "liquidated damages" is unjustified. Tesla have zero problem selling every car that gets shipped here. I might have sympathy if buyers were able to order odd configurations that prove difficult to sell. But there are buyers already on the list that any canceled order will just shift to. And, as pointed out by @GeorgeSymonds, Tesla moves delivery dates around freely and often. This in itself should give a buyer the right to cancel -- circumstances change.

I am an unashamed Tesla fan (and shareholder) and I completely disagree with their "non-refundable deposit" policy. Perhaps on a car like the Roadster which may be harder to re-allocate to another buyer (when/if they are sold here) but not on a car that remains in high demand.

 

[Jason71]

All good advice re rights to have the deposit returned. On a fundamental level, the notion that Tesla is entitled to keep it as "liquidated damages" is unjustified. Tesla have zero problem selling every car that gets shipped here. I might have sympathy if buyers were able to order odd configurations that prove difficult to sell. But there are buyers already on the list that any canceled order will just shift to. And, as pointed out by @GeorgeSymonds, Tesla moves delivery dates around freely and often. This in itself should give a buyer the right to cancel -- circumstances change.

I am an unashamed Tesla fan (and shareholder) and I completely disagree with their "non-refundable deposit" policy. Perhaps on a car like the Roadster which may be harder to re-allocate to another buyer (when/if they are sold here) but not on a car that remains in high demand.

the problem with refundable deposits are that they invite speculative and frivolous orders which must make demand management hard so I can kind of understand it. obviously not so much of an issue when you can sell every car you build easily but I can see why you would want to do it in principal.

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

the problem with refundable deposits are that they invite speculative and frivolous orders which must make demand management hard so I can kind of understand it. obviously not so much of an issue when you can sell every car you build easily but I can see why you would want to do it in principal.

Maybe, but the law is quite clear. In my work life I was talking to an internet retailer, loads of people buy TVs online before a football tournaments, and many are returned afterwards for a full refund under distance selling regs. You just have to build it into your pricing and business model.