ScooterSales
Junior Member
What is the name of your state?I live in Illinois.
I am in the process of selling a scooter for $1200. I had several interested parties in mid-July but only one person was able to meet my price. The downside was she was not going to have the money in her account until mid-August. She offered to give me a $200 deposit to hold the scooter for her, and wrote in the memo line "200 down, 1000 owed" Her personal check cleared and I allowed my newspaper ads to lapse even though I had time remaining on them. She contacted me after getting the money in August and we arranged to meet to make the transaction. I told her (as I had previously) that I was uncomfortable giving up possession of the vehicle for an unsecured out-of-state personal check. She hemmed and hawed about how she could not get a cashier's check (her bank is in California) and did not want to wire the money to my account because "I'd have to go to Kinkos and fax them a form, and pay $25 to my bank." I offered to take the $25 off the remainder owed and she told me she would simply give me the check and let me keep the scooter until it cleared. I agreed, but when we met up, she said she had changed her mind and was just going to go to a dealer, and now wants her deposit back. As I understood it, a deposit is a security given to make sure the seller holds the item in question. I held the scooter for around a month before she told me she had changed her mind. As she broke our sales agreement, I think she forfeits her deposit. There were no contracts or paperwork between us, save for the check. Am I liable if she decides to litigate?
Thank you.
I am in the process of selling a scooter for $1200. I had several interested parties in mid-July but only one person was able to meet my price. The downside was she was not going to have the money in her account until mid-August. She offered to give me a $200 deposit to hold the scooter for her, and wrote in the memo line "200 down, 1000 owed" Her personal check cleared and I allowed my newspaper ads to lapse even though I had time remaining on them. She contacted me after getting the money in August and we arranged to meet to make the transaction. I told her (as I had previously) that I was uncomfortable giving up possession of the vehicle for an unsecured out-of-state personal check. She hemmed and hawed about how she could not get a cashier's check (her bank is in California) and did not want to wire the money to my account because "I'd have to go to Kinkos and fax them a form, and pay $25 to my bank." I offered to take the $25 off the remainder owed and she told me she would simply give me the check and let me keep the scooter until it cleared. I agreed, but when we met up, she said she had changed her mind and was just going to go to a dealer, and now wants her deposit back. As I understood it, a deposit is a security given to make sure the seller holds the item in question. I held the scooter for around a month before she told me she had changed her mind. As she broke our sales agreement, I think she forfeits her deposit. There were no contracts or paperwork between us, save for the check. Am I liable if she decides to litigate?
Thank you.