Ruby B. is a Virginia consumer who wrote Consumer Help Web on February 11, 2005 about a $5,500 down payment her mother had placed on a mobile home in Alabama.
The Facts
The funds were issued to the temporary home building company via a personal check dated November 26, 2004. The sales agent had reportedly promised Ruby’s mother that the down payment would be returned if she could not obtain financing.
Within a day, Ruby learned that her mother could not qualify for a loan in the amount that had to be financed. A refund was requested, but the manager insisted that Ruby’s mother had signed a contract and there was nothing more to discuss. To make matters worse, he hung up the telephone while still talking to Ruby.
The Facts
The funds were issued to the temporary home building company via a personal check dated November 26, 2004. The sales agent had reportedly promised Ruby’s mother that the down payment would be returned if she could not obtain financing.
Within a day, Ruby learned that her mother could not qualify for a loan in the amount that had to be financed. A refund was requested, but the manager insisted that Ruby’s mother had signed a contract and there was nothing more to discuss. To make matters worse, he hung up the telephone while still talking to Ruby.
The company responded several weeks later, and Ruby’s mother received a check for the full amount on March 7, 2005.
What The Participants Had To Say
Ruby initially praised Consumer Help Web in a note she sent shortly after her mother received the check. She later told the company, “There are so many victims out there who feel they have no one to turn to when they are taken advantage of by consumers. It is a blessing to know there are people out there like you and your organization that can help them.”
“Ruby’s mother was very lucky,” admits Joan Bounacos. “The company recognized the value of standing behind their salesperson’s promise, but without having that promise in writing, this matter could easily have gone to court and dragged on for a long time. The bottom line for consumer is that any contract they sign is typically binding unless their state provides a ‘cooling-off” period.”
Consumer Help Web, the web’s leading complaint resolution service, strongly recommends that consumers compel salespeople to add an addendum to any contract they sign when special provisions or promises are made. “If the salesperson is unwilling to commit to their promise in writing, walk away from the transaction,” advises Bounacos.
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