help been let down by a buyer

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rembrandt

New Member
Feb 9, 2013
3
0
0
Hi All Im hoping some one can help O sold my motorbike to some one I know at the end of July last year he paid a deposit of £500 and said he would have the rest within a few weeks , a few months later he paid me another £1000 and said he was having money problems then about a month after that he paid another £200 so he had paid me £1700 but left owing £4700 but he did say he would have the money by christmas , no money was forth coming so I told him if didnt pay the rest by the 1st Feb that the bike would go back up for sale ,1st feb came no money so The bike went up for sale and it sold this weekend at a lot less than the agreed price 7 months ago as the bike is now worth less than it was then , he now wants his £1700 back ,but that leaves me out of pocket were do I stand

thanks Dave
 
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ALewis

Moderator
Nov 23, 2010
691
4
0
South Wales
Well quite simply you can't just keep his £1700, after all, he's not getting the bike.
I understand that months later the value has gone down, however there's not a lot you can do about that really.
You could request to keep some of the money for the lost value, however you have no legal backing with it, and would merely be good will.. Which I'm sure the buyer will not agree to.

Adam
 
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rembrandt

New Member
Feb 9, 2013
3
0
0
but isnt he the one who broke any contract verbal or otherwise by not paying the agrred some left to pay I even gave him a bit longer, No Im not looking to keep it all only some that makes up any difference between the agreed some in July last year and what i got for the bike today

cheers Dave
 
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ALewis

Moderator
Nov 23, 2010
691
4
0
South Wales
In my eyes - and of course you are welcome to disagree, but I believe you've mutually terminated the contract, he hasn't turned around a said he no longer wants it, however you've given a deadline for payment with the threat to resell the bike if the deadline isn't met.
So in one hand, he hasn't paid = breach. But in the other, he hasn't paid = you've cancelled.
Either way if there was a breach, what sort of remedy can there be? He hasn't got the bike.
I suppose there is consequential losses that you could try to claim (the value of bike decrease) however can you base a new valuation simply on how much the new buyer is willing to pay?

If you wish to claim consequential losses, try everything to keep it out of court to start with, however if no agreement can be made, you can go to the small claims court.
Do bear in mind though that you simply can't keep hold of the money until an agreement is met, you could be committing theft or alternatively the other person could claim at court that he was forced to an agreement as you kept hold of the money.

Adam
 
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