Plaza Lincoln Mercury Dealer refuses to return deposit Leesburg Florida

On June 14 I responded to a newspaper ad regarding the new Mercury Marauder that was coming out shortly. The new car manager stated this was going to be a very hot item and if I wanted to be put on the list it would require a $1,000 deposit. I was told that if I changed my mind, he would return the deposit and he would go to the next person on the list.

On June 21, this dealer had not received any Marauder cars in so I went to another dealer in Orlando and purchsed one they had in stock.

On Saturday, June 22 I went back to Plaza and requested my deposit back and was told by the same new car manager that no one was there to sign the checks and to come back on Mondy June 24 and pick it up. On Monday I returned in the morning as was told by the office manager that the person that signs checks was not in and return in the afternoon and my check would be ready. I returned in the afternoon and spoke with the new car manager and was told that they had lost a sale because I changed my mind and they refused to return any of the deposit.

I have contacted Ford Motor Company, Customer Relations and was told they would not intervene because it was not a company owned dealership.
I have written to the Better Business Bureau and have not yet heard from them.

I have filed a claim in small claims court and the hearing date is set for August 14 in the Lake County Florida Judicial Center.

d**k
Eustis, Florida