Sorry but I think that is rubbish - what you are basically saying is that I have absolutely no protection through the Distance Selling Regulations, the Consumer Credit Agreement or Sale of Goods Act, and that the Court would side with the Dealership and not the Individual in this matter even though the Dealer is clearly being dishonest, sly and very unreasonable.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that if the purchase was reliant on finance and it is rejected based on your credit history, then the garage must return the holding deposit. It's not like I changed my mind about the car, I simply couldn't raise the funds to pay for it. I was willing to part with a total cash deposit of £8500 and a £1000 trade-in so the finance I required was minimal. I even told the dealer that my credit history wasn't great, but he reassured me saying that it would be highly unlikely that I would not qualify for finance because I was paying a a high deposit. He told me verbally that the deposit was refundable, but I have no way of proving this.

Thank you Tony for your useful reply and I totally agree with your opinion.

I have already spoken to Natwest regarding this but they say that because I willingly provided the dealer with my debit card details the transaction isn't considered fradulent, but they agreed that it is a breach of civil law and the matter should be pursued in the Small Claims Court.

Are Natwest fobbing me off or can I enforce a chargeback by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, Section 75?

Good advice tony g. I had cause to invoke the distance selling regulations, not against the motor trade, but I believe the regulations cover most goods and services. My credit card provider, through M&S Money were very helpful. When they learned the circumstances they credited my account with the sum involved and recovered it from the seller. A lot easier than going to court. However the small claims court is still an option, albeit a long winded one. It just begs the question- why does a dealer attempt this sort of thing. Trying to get £500 from someone for nothing. I am sure he has had many a sale fall through in the past, but their is no need to profit from it. His reputation, if he cares about it, is now in shreds. I hope scotthunter lets us know how he gets on. Cheers Concrete

Sorry but that's rubbish. The dealer didn't give me any facts and did NOT state that the deposit was non-refundable. This is simply his word against mine.

I also made it clear that my credit rating was poor but the dealer reassured me saying that because I was paying such a large deposit it would be very unlikely for me to be refused finance. I asked the dealer to arrange finance at the same time as paying the deposit and he said he would have to get his assistant to call me back to arrange the finance proposal, which she did later that day.

He is now trying to use bully tactics to coerce me into choosing another car from his small dealership instead of doing the decent thing and handing the money back. Why should I be made to feel that I have any moral obligation to buy again from a dealership who are trying to get something for nothing from of me? At the end of the day they still have a very sellable car and have incurred no significant losses, whereas I am £500 out of pocket. This is a disgusing way to treat a would-be customer.

Replied yesterday as below;

Cars R Us (Bridgend) Ltd

Maesteg Rd

Tondu

Bridgend

Mid Glamorgan

CF32 9BT

20th August 2012

Dear Mr Asfi,

LETTER BEFORE ACTION – NON-RETURN OF DEPOSIT FOR FORD FIESTA METAL

I acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 16th August 2012.

There has been a breach of contract as the contract was based on a prospective credit agreement and was subject to the condition of finance being arranged as an expressed term of the contract. Because this prospective credit agreement wasn’t executed at any point the contract will automatically revert to the pre-contractual status and so a full refund should be given at this time.

You knew the purchase was reliant on credit being arranged. I have sought legal advice from Trading Standards and I am entitled to a full refund. Please adhere to your legal obligations. Your potential losses are not my burden to bear.

Yours sincerely,

Scott Hunter

I quite agree, Ted.

Could posters in future not quote the whole of a letter they've written: much better just to summarise briefly what you've said.

I've just found out the following information from Trading Standards.

Mr Asfi was not entitled to sell the Ford Fiesta Metal as it had outstanding finance.

He has ripped off 16 other victims by illegally withholding their deposits. Statements are being given to Trading Standards one by one.

Trading Standards executed a search warrant at the company's premises in Feb 2012 for missing paperwork.

The company will be prosecuted and due to the seriousness of the offences it will be dealt with at the crown court.

Trading Standards has blocked Cars R Us (Barry) Ltd from being dissolved. His current "assets" would appear to include a Ferrari F430 and a Audio R8 but I wouldn't be surprised if these had outstanding finance too.

There you have it. If you're thinking about buying a used car from Mr Nasser Asfi of Cars R Us, don't!

Hi Scott ,it sounds like a business that at best goes in for dubious practices ,if not outright fraud .However you now have a very strong case to present to your bank to recover your deposit. Just a small point ,offering the fiesta for sale that has outstanding finance is not illegal in itself .It does become a major problem for the person that buys it though.The person that buys it would have problems in proving clear title to the vehicle ,usually the finance company would have title and could seize the car. The buyer would then be faced with prospect of suing the seller for the return of the money.No hope of that with Asfi ! Regards Tony g

The bank still won't do a chargeback because under Visa rules this isn't considered fraud.

Stay in there gal!

I'm rooting for you!