Important advice needed!

[DazSamFishing]

Hey fellas'

I just need some advice or some opinions...

Hypothetically; if I place a $1000 deposit towards a boat which is about a month away from being finished/fitted out... and the order is cancelled... What happens?

Keeping in mind there is no formal contract or binding agreement in place, and no terms/conditions provided at all.

Any feedback is appreciated!

Daz

[Grand_Marlin]

Are you cancelling? Or the boat builder cancelling?

and for what reason?

[Roughasguts]

Don't do it, they might be going broke.

[seatime]

why would the order be cancelled?

are you taking up an unfinished project that the original order pulled out of?
if you cancel, you'll lose the $1K

why would the builder cancel if he has a sale?
if he has a good reputation he has no need to cancel. he will be taking a risk as well, finishing a boat to your specs that another buyer may not want. all on a $1K deposit.

if you don't feel comfortable, don't do it.
if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

[DazSamFishing]

A boat is being built for a mate, and he has recently found out that his position at work is redundant...

Which means he cannot commit to the original purchase...

I don't think that the 1k deposit is a great concern for him and he seems to still be in a position to buy another boat (from the same manufacturer), but for a smaller value.

....

Daz

[PinHead]

tricky one that...if he is buying another boat from the same builder then perhaps he will be okay...if I was the builder and he cancelled then I would keep his thousand until I managed to sell the boat.

[seatime]

very tricky one, might be best for your mate to sit down with the builder and explain his change in circumstances, and try and work something out.
be prepared to loose the deposit tho.

[Grand_Marlin]

Your mate isnt you in disguise is it Daz??

You're not backing away from your new boat????

Cheers

Pete

[Noelm]

a bit depends on the integrity of the dealer as well, SOME builders are 'good blokes" and will refund ,unless the boat is very special and a 1 off that may never sell, but if you have no signed contract or anything he could just say "who the hell are you" and keep the grand!

[FNQCairns]

Those agreements do nothing for blood presure I had the same type not long ago with a boat builder.
Best to at the start after money was given (if not cash) to write up an Email stating what money was paid for, total cost and a cut n paste/scan of the deposit reciept then CC this to trusted friends when it is sent.

He will change the order to a smaller boat easily I suspect, as long as he gets and changes the order before the original is being built.

cheers fnq

[DazSamFishing]

Your mate isnt you in disguise is it Daz??

You're not backing away from your new boat????

Ha ha,

Nice one Pete, but no... My boat will be ready in 2 weeks... well that's what they said 2 weeks ago...

Daz

[joeT]

If the deposit of $1000 is greater than 10% of the cost of the whole boat, the 'deposit' is actually treated as an instalment not a deposit in the legal sense of the word. In which case because your mate is no longer getting the boat, he should get the instalment back (special rules applying to instalment contracts).

Of course, the boat is most likely worth more than $10k so if thats the case he'll lose the deposit if he cancels. But its a good thing to keep in mind for others.

[Dirtysanchez]

Me thinks that since he is buying another boat from this supplier he would be alright, but if he wasn't he wouuld be deemed to have defaulted on the agreement & hence the deposit would not be refundable

I just had this experience with a car yard, didn't give them any where this much, because they aren't allowed to insist on an amount, so for a $25K car I gave them $200 to get the deal rolling (certain colour etc) while I went of and decided where I would get finance etc)

Dealer stuffed me around but claimed it wasn't their fault, so when I said I would go elsewhere they politely advised me they would be keeping my $200 >:(

Some hard to stay calm words were exchanged and they miraculously produced the car for the Mrs :D