Teran drives his dad's truck back and forth to work, and he decided it's time to get one of his own. "I'm just trying to get something new, you know," Teran told us recently. "I can do it now since I'm ... making my own money."
Teran said he looked on Carfax and found a 2016 Chevy Silverado with good mileage and a decent price at Bayway Lincoln. He went, took a look and talked to a salesman. Teran left a $2,500 deposit to hold the Silverado for a few days to make sure he could get a loan and insurance.
"When I left the deposit, they told me, 'Hey, you can get your money back anytime. Even if you don't want the truck anymore. We'll give it back.' That's what I decided to do."
When Teran, a first-time truck buyer, found out just how expensive insurance and financing can be for a young driver, he wanted out of the deal and tried to get his $2,500 back. He said the dealer wouldn't give it back. "They told me it's company policy not to give deposits back."
He told us he took off work more than once to go back in person and ask for his money. When that didn't work, he called us.
"After I called you," Teran told us, "the very next day, they called me and they was like, 'Hey Omar, your check is ready.'"
When he called us, we called the Bayway Lincoln management team. They took care of it in 30 minutes. The manager said he didn't know why it was held and there's no reason to do it.
The best advice from the manager is to make sure you get a receipt for a deposit and save that paperwork in case you need it back.
The team at the University of Houston Center for Consumer Law suggests getting the deposit policy in writing before leaving a deposit. There isn't always a legal requirement to return one.
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