legal advice needed!
Discussion
hi guys,
to cut a long story short, i've put a deposit down on a franchise, normally non-refundable but i insisted on it being "finance pending" as i was not sure weather the bank i was dealing with would come through with the money they promised. As it happens the bank never came through with the money, the loan failed on working capital and the fact i needed a 100% loan, they were worried i may lose my house etc if it went wrong.That was enough for me, if the bank didn't think it was right then neither did i. Now typical of franchisors they will not give up and are trying to sort finance out elsewhere, even though they know deep down there's little chance of me succeeding with such high overheads. By doing this and getting me finance it means they dont have to give me my deposit back.
Now i have not signed anything and have since heard of many franchisees in this business wanting to get out, due to the fact the figures the franchisor gives you are unrealistic, some have lost everything and still owe £55k plus!
What i need to know is, how can i go about getting my deposit back?? (£1175)
sorry for the long post only i'm getting a little bit desperate now as i gave up my job a month ago to do this
to cut a long story short, i've put a deposit down on a franchise, normally non-refundable but i insisted on it being "finance pending" as i was not sure weather the bank i was dealing with would come through with the money they promised. As it happens the bank never came through with the money, the loan failed on working capital and the fact i needed a 100% loan, they were worried i may lose my house etc if it went wrong.That was enough for me, if the bank didn't think it was right then neither did i. Now typical of franchisors they will not give up and are trying to sort finance out elsewhere, even though they know deep down there's little chance of me succeeding with such high overheads. By doing this and getting me finance it means they dont have to give me my deposit back.
Now i have not signed anything and have since heard of many franchisees in this business wanting to get out, due to the fact the figures the franchisor gives you are unrealistic, some have lost everything and still owe £55k plus!
What i need to know is, how can i go about getting my deposit back?? (£1175)
sorry for the long post only i'm getting a little bit desperate now as i gave up my job a month ago to do this
Sounds like it's worth looking at the Small Claims Court, but I'd look at reading this : http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_rights/le... first.
There are a few steps to be made _before_ going down that route. If you carry those out then it
will hold you in good stead.
I'd also start documenting and filing everything you do in relation to this. Phone conversations, time, date, length, name or names. and any written correspondance or emails. The more info. you've got the better and make sure it's organised, so that you won't
look like a disorganised complainer, but rather someone who knows exactly what they're doing and what they agreed to.
HTH
There are a few steps to be made _before_ going down that route. If you carry those out then it
will hold you in good stead.
I'd also start documenting and filing everything you do in relation to this. Phone conversations, time, date, length, name or names. and any written correspondance or emails. The more info. you've got the better and make sure it's organised, so that you won't
look like a disorganised complainer, but rather someone who knows exactly what they're doing and what they agreed to.
HTH
In the absence of anything in writing, it's going to come down to a conflict of oral evidence - you say that it was agreed that the deposit would be refundable if you could not obtain finance, and they will presumably say that either (a) no such agreement was reached or (b) finance CAN be obtained, albeit not from the provider had in mind.
In other words, it's your word against theirs and a court is going to have to try to determine what the parties agreed verbally. The onus is on you to prove that it was agreed that it would be refundable, and in what circumstances a refund would be given.
So, you will have to persuade a District Judge that, on the balance of probabilities (i.e 51% or better), the parties intended the deposit to be refundable and that the circumstances giving rise to the refunded have now actually arisen.
Small claims litigation is very informal - it's designed to be used by people who don't have solicitors acting for them, and so the judges are well-used to dealing with people who don't really know what they're doing.
It will cost you £75 to issue the claim, although you'll get that back if you win. You can pick up the papers from your local county court or issue it online using Moneyclaims Online.
Before you do so, send a formal letter of claim to the franchisor setting out the basis of your claim and giving them a reasonable period to respond and repay you the money. If they fail to do so, issue the claim.
In other words, it's your word against theirs and a court is going to have to try to determine what the parties agreed verbally. The onus is on you to prove that it was agreed that it would be refundable, and in what circumstances a refund would be given.
So, you will have to persuade a District Judge that, on the balance of probabilities (i.e 51% or better), the parties intended the deposit to be refundable and that the circumstances giving rise to the refunded have now actually arisen.
Small claims litigation is very informal - it's designed to be used by people who don't have solicitors acting for them, and so the judges are well-used to dealing with people who don't really know what they're doing.
It will cost you £75 to issue the claim, although you'll get that back if you win. You can pick up the papers from your local county court or issue it online using Moneyclaims Online.
Before you do so, send a formal letter of claim to the franchisor setting out the basis of your claim and giving them a reasonable period to respond and repay you the money. If they fail to do so, issue the claim.
Lurking Lawyer said:
In the absence of anything in writing, it's going to come down to a conflict of oral evidence - you say that it was agreed that the deposit would be refundable if you could not obtain finance, and they will presumably say that either (a) no such agreement was reached or (b) finance CAN be obtained, albeit not from the provider had in mind.
In other words, it's your word against theirs and a court is going to have to try to determine what the parties agreed verbally. The onus is on you to prove that it was agreed that it would be refundable, and in what circumstances a refund would be given.
So, you will have to persuade a District Judge that, on the balance of probabilities (i.e 51% or better), the parties intended the deposit to be refundable and that the circumstances giving rise to the refunded have now actually arisen.
Small claims litigation is very informal - it's designed to be used by people who don't have solicitors acting for them, and so the judges are well-used to dealing with people who don't really know what they're doing.
It will cost you £75 to issue the claim, although you'll get that back if you win. You can pick up the papers from your local county court or issue it online using Moneyclaims Online.
Before you do so, send a formal letter of claim to the franchisor setting out the basis of your claim and giving them a reasonable period to respond and repay you the money. If they fail to do so, issue the claim.
Thankyou for the help much appreciated.In other words, it's your word against theirs and a court is going to have to try to determine what the parties agreed verbally. The onus is on you to prove that it was agreed that it would be refundable, and in what circumstances a refund would be given.
So, you will have to persuade a District Judge that, on the balance of probabilities (i.e 51% or better), the parties intended the deposit to be refundable and that the circumstances giving rise to the refunded have now actually arisen.
Small claims litigation is very informal - it's designed to be used by people who don't have solicitors acting for them, and so the judges are well-used to dealing with people who don't really know what they're doing.
It will cost you £75 to issue the claim, although you'll get that back if you win. You can pick up the papers from your local county court or issue it online using Moneyclaims Online.
Before you do so, send a formal letter of claim to the franchisor setting out the basis of your claim and giving them a reasonable period to respond and repay you the money. If they fail to do so, issue the claim.
they have actually found finance with a group who have offered 70% of it, leaving the bank to fund the remaining 30%.The banks business manager has agreed in principle to do this according to the franchisor. So i have phoned up the business manager asking him to refuse the loan, which he said he may not be able to do, as it puts him in an awkward position.
i'm thinking of trying to make it hard for anyone to give me a loan, i just dont know how to go about it!
Edited by Warnie on Tuesday 2nd October 19:07
Warnie said:
i'm thinking of trying to make it hard for anyone to give me a loan, i just dont know how to go about it!
This is actually the only way you will get your deposit back IMHO. Your agreement was subject to finance. If there IS finance available then you will in effect be pulling out of the deal.However, you can make it difficult. For example if they were going round giving my details to third parties who were each performing a credit check on me I would be pretty annoyed. I would put a stop to that to start with.
Now with regard to getting finance I would say there was two ways forward. Firstly explain to the business manager that you do not want his finance and wont be going ahead and level with him. Under the Data Protection Act the bank manager shouldnt be talking to ANY third party about your affairs without permission, and I would stress that too. You could then go back to the company and tell them you can't get credit - a white lie although that may be!
If you really want to get out of the finance to ensure you fail then for a few days agree that your wife/girlfriend/significant other now owns the house. When you apply for credit if you are not a homeowner, and lets say in the 'deal' you took over your spouses debt payments, then of course your personal financial situation does not look at good!
JustinP1 said:
Warnie said:
i'm thinking of trying to make it hard for anyone to give me a loan, i just dont know how to go about it!
This is actually the only way you will get your deposit back IMHO. Your agreement was subject to finance. If there IS finance available then you will in effect be pulling out of the deal.However, you can make it difficult. For example if they were going round giving my details to third parties who were each performing a credit check on me I would be pretty annoyed. I would put a stop to that to start with.
Now with regard to getting finance I would say there was two ways forward. Firstly explain to the business manager that you do not want his finance and wont be going ahead and level with him. Under the Data Protection Act the bank manager shouldnt be talking to ANY third party about your affairs without permission, and I would stress that too. You could then go back to the company and tell them you can't get credit - a white lie although that may be!
If you really want to get out of the finance to ensure you fail then for a few days agree that your wife/girlfriend/significant other now owns the house. When you apply for credit if you are not a homeowner, and lets say in the 'deal' you took over your spouses debt payments, then of course your personal financial situation does not look at good!
Warnie said:
JustinP1 said:
Warnie said:
i'm thinking of trying to make it hard for anyone to give me a loan, i just dont know how to go about it!
This is actually the only way you will get your deposit back IMHO. Your agreement was subject to finance. If there IS finance available then you will in effect be pulling out of the deal.However, you can make it difficult. For example if they were going round giving my details to third parties who were each performing a credit check on me I would be pretty annoyed. I would put a stop to that to start with.
Now with regard to getting finance I would say there was two ways forward. Firstly explain to the business manager that you do not want his finance and wont be going ahead and level with him. Under the Data Protection Act the bank manager shouldnt be talking to ANY third party about your affairs without permission, and I would stress that too. You could then go back to the company and tell them you can't get credit - a white lie although that may be!
If you really want to get out of the finance to ensure you fail then for a few days agree that your wife/girlfriend/significant other now owns the house. When you apply for credit if you are not a homeowner, and lets say in the 'deal' you took over your spouses debt payments, then of course your personal financial situation does not look at good!
I bought a car once and authorised the dealer to apply for the credit from my own banks car finance department. They come back two days later and I am told that I had not been given the credit. When I checked my credit report not only had the bank performed a credit check, it was obvious the dealer without asking me had gone through three or four sub-prime lenders without my consent!
The reason the credit failed was through their incompetance not correctly giving my details, but apart from that I also had 4 failed attempts for credit against my name... Needless to say, I walked away!
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