Can anyone help me (German motorhome)

Ian C

Ian C

Free Member
Joined
Sep 4, 2016
Posts
33
Likes collected
53
Location
Spain
Funster No
44,950
MH
Morelo Loft 82 LB
Exp
3 years
Hi, I found a motorhome on Mobile.DE from Germany and after many photo’s and emails I put a deposit on the 22/01/20, after deciding on a date for collection that suited both party’s I was going to pick it up on the 3rd of June🙂. Then COVID-19 happened and the date went out of the window, I received a email on the 29/03/20 from him saying there are flights on the 02/07/20 asking me to book a flight to go and collect the motorhome (there were no boarders open at this point) I replied to his email saying I cloud not travel on this date due to my health ( I am in the high risk group) and suggesting a date in mid August when the situation with COVID-19 had got better. This was not acceptable to him, he told me he needed the money to fund his business. So to cut a even longer story short he won’t give me my deposit back.
Has anyone had this happen to them and what did they do, does anyone know of a solicitor who deals with this matter.

Many thanks Ian C

PS I purchased my last MH in Germany without any problems at all.
 
I think you would need a German lawyer because UK solicitors won’t know about German law. You might find one in London but I suspect they will be pricey.

I guess it depends how big the deposit was before deciding if it’s worth chucking money at it.
 
I am guessing that this was from a private sale not a dealer, it may depend on the terms of your deposit if there were any but I would think you will struggle getting it back.

I can understand his position in that your deposit secured the sale and he took it off the market so now if you can't complete he has lost out on a few months of potential sales.

Maybe you should explore the possibility of getting it delivered to the UK/Spain by truck.

Martin
 
The MH is from a dealer, I have offered to go on the 11/07/20 to collect it and the he said no to that as well, in all of the emails and the description of the vehicle he never said it was used for rental and is Now saying the deposit is for loss of income. He could not rent it out due to COVID-19 restrictions anyway.

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The invoice for the deposit had no dates on it for collectio.
 
Ian C said:
The MH is from a dealer, I have offered to go on the 11/07/20 to collect it and the he said no to that as well, in all of the emails and the description of the vehicle he never said it was used for rental and is Now saying the deposit is for loss of income. He could not rent it out due to COVID-19 restrictions anyway.
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That's rubbish, loss of income my foot, he's just trying to keep your deposit as he has probably had a few more enquiries about it. The market over there is probably buoyant at the minute just like here.

If he has resorted to this then it would worry me the condition of it and he would not be preparing it in a satisfactory manner for you to collect anyway.

Talk about being unhelpful to a customer knowing full well what the world has been through. Shocking.

You are offering to collect it in just over 3 weeks for lords sake.

Which dealer is it?
 
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I can see both points of view. On the one hand if you are shielding why would you want to take the risk of going to get a new MH on the other the dealer is otherwise stuck with waiting for you when it would never have occurred to them that they should ask about your health before accepting a deposit.
I suppose it depends on the terms of the contract to purchase.
 
It all depends on German contract law , so you need to ask a German lawyer , anything else , other than getting someone to go and get it isn't going to resolve it .
 
I assume you haven't seen the van in person, if not was the deposit refundable if you didn't like it when viewed?

Like someone mentioned above see if they will deliver or if someone can collect for you.

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The Wino said:
I can see both points of view. On the one hand if you are shielding why would you want to take the risk of going to get a new MH on the other the dealer is otherwise stuck with waiting for you when it would never have occurred to them that they should ask about your health before accepting a deposit.
I suppose it depends on the terms of the contract to purchase.
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Both points of view, you have to be joking, seriously

The dealer emailed and said there are flights on the 2nd July to collect and he is offering to collect it 9 days later but the dealer has said NO to that as well.

Which bit of the you can see both sides of it do you mean?
 
Looks like he has another buyer, if you still want the van then you’re probably going to have to go on the 2nd.

Your alternatives are forgetting the whole thing, or employing a solicitor (more than your deposit?)
 
If you paid the deposit by credit card have a word with your lender ?
 
The provisions of The Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies to Germany as it derives from an EU directive. You might contact this organisation and ask if they can advise or direct you to somebody who can.
www.evz.de

Shopping in a Brick and Mortar Store: Consumer Rights in Germany

There is no right of exchange or return when buying in a shop. However, many sellers offer it voluntarily. Observe the deadlines and keep the receipt.
www.evz.de www.evz.de

As others have posted, it may depend on the terms of the deposit And even if the dealer is acting in terms of the deposit, those terms may well be unfair as regards dealing with you as a consumer. Also as others have said, if you paid the deposit with a credit card, and the deposit was more than £30, I'd get in touch with the card provider. Even if you used a debit card, it may be worth speaking to the bank.

Hope you get it sorted.
 
CazPaul said:
Both points of view, you have to be joking, seriously

The dealer emailed and said there are flights on the 2nd July to collect and he is offering to collect it 9 days later but the dealer has said NO to that as well.

Which bit of the you can see both sides of it do you mean?
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I don't know the sequence of events. If he went straight back to say that he would go just a week later the dealers being unreasonable. If the original reply was I can't come as I'm isolating for the foreseeable future and I want the deposit back then it looks a bit different especially if there was then a gap timewise before suggesting a week later. Maybe I missed the dates. If the dealer lined up another buyer quickly at the same price or higher they ought to refund the deposit maybe minus an admin fee but I've got no idea when they could have marketed and potentially sold it if they weren't holding it for the op I think some UK dealers have sold MH online during the time they were closed. If that would have been an option for the dealer but they held it as they had taken a deposit but then when flights opened and they contacted the op I could see why the dealer might be miffed.
As I said I can see both sides I'm sure there are lots of things that are like this with covid as no-one expected it or has experience of what ought to happen.

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Ian C said:
The MH is from a dealer, I have offered to go on the 11/07/20 to collect it and the he said no to that as well, in all of the emails and the description of the vehicle he never said it was used for rental and is Now saying the deposit is for loss of income. He could not rent it out due to COVID-19 restrictions anyway.
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He is advertising it with 0km so can't see how he can rent it.
 
Sadly this has highlighted that whilst there are certain advantages in buying a motorhome outside the UK there can also be disadvantages . Hopefully you can get this resolved without too much financial loss.
 
The Wino said:
I don't know the sequence of events. If he went straight back to say that he would go just a week later the dealers being unreasonable. If the original reply was I can't come as I'm isolating for the foreseeable future and I want the deposit back then it looks a bit different especially if there was then a gap timewise before suggesting a week later. Maybe I missed the dates. If the dealer lined up another buyer quickly at the same price or higher they ought to refund the deposit maybe minus an admin fee but I've got no idea when they could have marketed and potentially sold it if they weren't holding it for the op I think some UK dealers have sold MH online during the time they were closed. If that would have been an option for the dealer but they held it as they had taken a deposit but then when flights opened and they contacted the op I could see why the dealer might be miffed.
As I said I can see both sides I'm sure there are lots of things that are like this with covid as no-one expected it or has experience of what ought to happen.
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Whichever way you want to interpret events the dealer is being unreasonable, if he has found another buyer which seems the most likely outcome.
The van is still at the dealers and the OP has offered to come on the 11th July, just over 3 weeks away.

So it begs the question, if the van is still at the dealers at this very minute and someone else has bought it or wants to buy it, would they pick it up before 3 weeks which is when the OP could collect.

Something not right here, I like to deal with nice reasonable good people in life. It looks like someone else has offered to buy and he wants to not only make a profit on the van(Which is reasonable) but keep the OP deposit in addition.
 
Innkeeper said:
Where does is say zero km?
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Screenshot 2020-06-18 at 10.24.21.png

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Trev45 said:
Sadly this has highlighted that whilst there are certain advantages in buying a motorhome outside the UK there can also be disadvantages . Hopefully you can get this resolved without too much financial loss.
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I think all this has highlighted is there are good and bad dealers in every country. There are some excellent dealers in Germany as well.

Look at the tales of woe some get from bad UK dealers.
 
I think I’d just go and fetch the van on the 2nd as the dealer is suggesting.

all other options will just cause stress and financial loss

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mickyc said:
I think I’d just go and fetch the van on the 2nd as the dealer is suggesting.

all other options will just cause stress and financial loss
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I agree but stay there overnight as I get the impression the van won't now be prepared to the correct standard, check everything thoroughly.
 
The vehicle had 20,000km on it when paid the deposit he has re-advertised it on Mobile.de for 10,000 euros moor and it now has 25,000km on it so it has been used. I paid the deposit with a currency exchange company. I will try to contact consumer rights in German. I do not know if I want it now because it has left a bad taste and i do not trust him.
 
Ian C said:
I do not know if I want it now because it has left a bad taste and i do not trust him.
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If he is that desperate he might be about to go belly up. I have no idea about German law but I recall one UK dealer going bust having taken out loans secured against forecourt stock, including some motorhomes he had already sold. I am inclined to think your lack of trust may be well founded.
 
Ian C said:
The vehicle had 20,000km on it when paid the deposit he has re-advertised it on Mobile.de for 10,000 euros moor and it now has 25,000km on it so it has been used. I paid the deposit with a currency exchange company. I will try to contact consumer rights in German. I do not know if I want it now because it has left a bad taste and i do not trust him.
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Have you got a pic of a different van on your avatar? Thinking about it which I should have earlier I guess the dealer park them all in the same place for photos.

Dumbo;)
 
lorger said:
I assume you haven't seen the van in person, if not was the deposit refundable if you didn't like it when viewed?

Like someone mentioned above see if they will deliver or if someone can collect for you.
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I and not seen the vehicle and it was refundable if I did like it

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