Can I keep the money.

i live in virginia. we just purchased a new 2002 car. after we closed the deal we found out the the dealer charged us $500 more than the sticker price and our payments were $10 more than we negiotated. we ask the dealer to give us back the $500. All they would do was refinance our loan to get the payment where they should have been in the first place.
as part of the orginal deal they gave us $1200 cash on our trade in to payoff the loan. in the process of getting the other problem straighten out the dealer gave us a check for the $1200. then in the mail we get another $1200. if we keep the money, is there any legal recourse the dealer can use to recover the money.

In my opinion, I would first think about how the dealership treated you when you made them aware of the $500.00 over charge. Were they nice about it and admitted to making a mistake? Did they give you a hassle about it? Did it correct the problem when they refianced the vehicle? Did they go out of there way to help fix the problem?
Personally, if they were anal about it then I would keep the money. If they were nice honest people then my conscience would not let me.
As for any thing legal they can do to you, Well I don't really think so( not an attoreny) but you will mostly never be able to buy another car from them if they figure it out and you don't repay.

I know there was a guy in the papers that got one of those worthless checks (vouchers), you know the one's that say paid to order of ....
$10,000 like to use at a car lot? Well he took it to the bank, they cashed it then they figured it out but he never had to pay back the money. it was the company's fault for sending it to him and the banks fault for cashing it.
Best thing to say is- do what your heart tells you. If you feel quilty about keeping it then there's your answer.

[JETX]

"Clayspretty" response was real nice and all, but has no basis in fact.

To answer your question ("is there any legal recourse the dealer can use to recover the money"), the answer is yes. They can demand that you return the money and if you refuse they could sue you. What you have is called 'unjust enrichment', which means that you have benefited from someone else's error. Further, by keeping the money with the knowledge that it is not yours, could be fraud.

So, if you really want to clear yourself, send the dealer (or whoever sent you the check) a letter (certified RRR) advising them of the situation and tell them you are prepared to return the funds upon request 'within 30 days from receipt'. Then, if they do NOT request the funds within the allowed time, you COULD have a much better legal standing to keep the funds.

And, don't believe these "I know there was a guy in the papers that got one of those worthless checks (vouchers)" stories. If you really want to see what might happen, read the contents at [url]http://www.dnai.com/~pcombs/[/url]$$tablecontents.html