BC car seller tried to keep deposit from young woman, court gives it back
A teenage BC driver who was convinced to give a $500 deposit to get a used car inspected, managed to get her money back after she refused to buy the car and the owner kept her money.
According to a Civil Resolution Tribunal, in September 2022, the unnamed young driver brought her dad to look at Steven Robinson’s 1994 Ford Taurus which was for sale for $3,500 but first wanted to get it inspected. When the inspection failed, she declined to buy the car but Robinson tried to keep her money.
Robinson told the tribunal that he had a signed contract for a non-refundable deposit on the vehicle but the girl’s father was unaware she signed something. Her father said he heard Robinson tell her the deposit was just “to hold the car while it was inspected” and that he only wanted $40 to insure the vehicle for the inspection.
Adjudicator Micah Carmody was also shown text messages between the girl and Robinson and when she asked for a refund, he replied “yeah, what’s your e-transfer?” which he wouldn’t have sent if he had a secure contract for a non-refundable deposit.
Carmody also said because the girl was under age 19, the law in BC says she didn’t have the legal capacity to enter into a contract and contracts involving minors are unenforceable.
That means Robinson had to return the $460 plus interest.
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