Possibly need to cancel order - advice sought

[Jammy1]

Hi All

My firm has just announced a redundancy round.  I have no idea if I will be affected or not yet, just that specific groups will be informed in the next four to six weeks if they will be at risk.  Then it will go down to a scoring exercise.

I've contacted the supplying dealer but haven't been able to speak to each other as yet.  I think what I'd like ideally is to have the choice wether to accept or reject the car upon delivery (or as late in the process as possible), which I don't think will be before end of June.  The car is currently at the 'with factory' status.  I assume if I cancel now then no car is built and I'd have to re-order if all goes well at work?  At what point in the process do I have the right to cancel?  Is the deposit refundable?

The initial reaction from the dealer seemed to be ok, they didn't seem too concerned that they'd have trouble selling on a GTD.  I need to have a proper chat though still.

Any advice from folk appreciated.

James.

[2014GTi]

Hi James,

just be open and honest with the dealership and explain your situation, afterall you may still buy one in the future?
I am sure they will refund you your deposit if it came to cancelling the order.
However I don't think the factory will just cancel the build.
The car will end up getting built and the dealership will have to sell it on.

You could just cancel the order and buy mine next year     

[Jammy1]

Thanks 2014GTi.  I agree with the honesty approach, I phones them last night but the sales guy was mid handover so couldn't speak for long.  I'm not one for playing games.  Like you say, if all goes well I'll either a) collect the car as planned or b) reorder in the future.

Thanks again.

[Exonian]

When there were the silly long production delays last year a few on here cancelled their orders and got their deposits back ok.
A GTD in particular isn't going to be hard for a dealer to shift, I think at least about 30% of mk7's I see are GTDs.

You've let the dealer know and they've been ok about it so far so just hold your nerve a little while and see what happens with the job. Fingers crossed for ya!

[Jammy1]

Thanks for the replies folks.  Just spoke to the dealer who advised that VW charge them a £500 re-stocking (might have been cancellation fee) for cancelling/ceasing the order/production?  Anyone come across this?

[2014GTi]

Thanks for the replies folks.  Just spoke to the dealer who advised that VW charge them a £500 re-stocking (might have been cancellation fee) for cancelling/ceasing the order/production?  Anyone come across this?

I haven't but it could be true... if they insist you have to pay £500 then you have very few options, it might state in the sales contract that deposits are retained in the event of a customer cancelling a car... (please check your sales invoice).
 

[monkeyhanger]

Thanks for the replies folks.  Just spoke to the dealer who advised that VW charge them a £500 re-stocking (might have been cancellation fee) for cancelling/ceasing the order/production?  Anyone come across this?

Have you been allocated a confirmed build week? If not they might just want to keep your deposit and are telling you that to make it seem plausible to do so. If VW haven't allocated you a build week yet, they haven't accepted your order and the ordering process should be cancellable.

There is a dealer that used to frequent the forums that I haven't seen on here in a while, he'd know (Lee?)

[Mark V GTD]

Whoaaaa......

The law is very clear on this - unless the goods have been supplied (which they have not) there is no way that they can retain your deposit.

DO NOT accept any BS from the dealer on this point - whatever nonsense they come up with they have to retrn your deposit. You can mebtion small claims court if you really need to but if they are smart they will relaise their position and return your money.

[valvebounce]

No, a deposit is not automatically refundable up to the point of delivery of the goods. The whole point of a deposit is to demonstrate your serious intent to purchase the very high value vehicle, built to your individual spec, and to give the supplier the prospect of recovering some of their costs to resell the vehicle should you subsequently cancel. Essentially a contract is effective when a consideration is paid (the deposit) and one party does some work against the contract (ordering parts for example). So it depends on whether the factory has ordered parts and scheduled the build. This should be covered in the t&cs of your order with the dealer.

Did you order over the phone or internet? If so you're covered by the distance selling regulations and you will have some rights to cancel. How long ago did you order?

Are you able to visit them and discuss face to face? I would like to think that in your circumstances they will exercise some discretion and refund you, they want you to come back in the future and buy a car and really it's no skin off their nose. Try escalating your discussion to a higher level in the dealership? I really hope it works out for you, sorry that you're in this position.

[Jammy1]

Thanks guys.  I've just looked at the paperwork I signed when ordered, should have done this first    With cancellation it does say that you forfeit your deposit and they can hunt you down for any additional costs/losses, well it implies it anyway.  Strangely there is a clause of 'Failure to Collect Goods' whereby if you don't collect within 14 days of the 'goods' been made available the Seller will refund your deposit less a sum equivalent to any loss or damages.  So if I just don't turn up and collect the car I'm actually in a better position than cancelling. 

The tracker is still saying 'with the factory' and the dealer gave me an estimated build week 22.  All I'm trying to do is be given a little more time so I know the outcome of my position at work. If I'm going to lose my deposit regardless then it seems I'm better just waiting and then deciding to collect or not collect when the car is delivered. Probably wouldn't make me popular with the dealer though.

My sister is a lawyer so she's looking through the paperwork for me to see how screwed I am or not