ComplaintsforSomerset Outdoor Equipment, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  10/13/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Ordered a tractor from this business. Placed a deposit on it of $1000.00 on 5/24/21. Was told by employee Andy C********* that I would receive tractor by mid to late August. August and September came and went. I received no tractor. On 10/5/21 I called to cancel the order and Andy got very upset with me and told me he would not refund me back my deposit. I never received a bill of sale just a quote only and I never signed anything. I feel that I gave them plenty of time over the August delivery date to have my tractor ready. I am requesting my $1000 deposit be refunded to me. Also, no where on the quote does it state that my deposit was non refundable. My check #**** was for $1286.20 due to additional equipment that I paid for in advance and they did refund me $286.20 for the extra equpment. They still have my $1000 deposit which I would like back.

  Business response

  11/05/2021

  Please accept the following as a formal written response to Complaint ID ********* 
  Somerset Outdoor Equipment LLC's company policy is to take an upfront deposit on all special ordered equipment. This deposit is non-refundable and is taken to ensure the customer's seriousness and commitment to taking delivery of the equipment when it arrives. We also do not return any new serialized equipment after purchase. Customer deposits are taken in three scenarios. The first is when we are currently or temporarily out of stock of an item that we always inventory for immediate sale. This deposit guarantees the customer to attain the next available unit received in stock. The second scenario is when an individual orders an item that we never stock. The third is when a customer requests custom adaptations that change the configuration and price of the base unit that we traditionally stock. 
  In the course of our business with ******* ***** we took a $1,000 deposit to secure the order of a factory mounted 3-point hitch on the Ventrac tractor that he chose. It is a custom addition that added $1,950 to the package cost at the time of commitment. The customer and I agreed on the amount and it was verbally and clearly communicated that this deposit was to add the 3-point hitch to the tractor and that it was non-refundable. The addition is something that only a small percentage of purchasers ask for, and one that would be quite labor intensive to remove and re-install in the future. Included is the first page of the Ventrac installation instructions that suggest that it takes at least 4 hours. We also do not stock the 3 point hitch attachment, but rather pre-order it upon customer request. 
  I acknowledge that we returned the $286.20 to Mr. **** for the return of additional parts he added to the original quote. We verbally agreed to this amount on the phone when he called in early October to cancel his order. At this time we are not able to return the $1,000 deposit as the tractor was built past the phase of adding the 3-point hitch whenever the customer called me to cancel the order. We are retaining this deposit to cover the costs involved in re-selling this tractor configuration to the next potential buyer. 
  Regards, 
  . 
  
  Andy C********* 
  

  
  

  Customer response

  11/07/2021

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

  I went to Somerset Outdoor Equipment on 5/21/2021.  I spoke with Andy C********* about the availability of a diesel Ventrac.  Andy told me that the next "already ordered for inventory diesel Ventrac" coming into their store  was coming sometime in mid August and to secure my name to the "already ordered incoming unit" I would only need to put a $500 deposit down on the "already ordered incoming unit".  At that time, we did not even discuss adding on the 3 point hitch.  Then we discussed pricing and all the other options that I added to the tractor.  I told Andy that I wanted the factory to add the 3 point hitch since it was it was already coming down the assembly line and I thought it would be easier to just add as it came through the factor assembly line instead of having somebody at the dealer add it on after the fact.   Once we figured out the pricing, I told Andy that I was going to put down $1000 on it just to even out the figure I would need to bring when I picked up the tractor which was an even  $33,000.  This figure was on the hand written "non bill of sale" that was handed to be me by Andy.    That is why there is $1000 down not because it was required due to the 3 point hitch. Andy was willing to take $500.  I decided on the $1000.00 deposit myself.

   

  August and September came and went and I still had no tractor.  I was told I would have it by then.  Sometime in September I received a phone call from Andy telling me there was good news and bad news.  The good news was the tractor was built  but the bad news was they were still waiting for a circuit board, relays and a throttle cable  before it would be completed and shipped to the store from the factory. and that there was no time frame for delivery.     Now on October 5, 2021  I decided during this time, that I should not purchase the tractor due to some family issues that had taken place and the fact that I never even got to test drive any Ventrac diesel tractors to compare it to a gas tractor that I did drive.   I called Andy on October 5, 2021 and told Andy that I no longer wanted the tractor.  At this point, I knew the tractor had still not been delivered to the dealer. I asked for my deposit back from Andy and that is when he told me he could not give me back my deposit of $1000 due to the fact that I asked for the 3 point hitch to be installed from the factory  on the "already ordered incoming unit".  I didn't want to get into a confrontation with Andy because I didn't know where I stood with anything because it was never documented or told that the deposit was "NOT REFUNDABLE" regardless of what equipment was coming on it.  It was just to "hold" the tractor for me and not be sold to another customer.  Andy told me he would refund me back my $286.20 which he did but I again asked that Andy do the right thing and return all of my refund which he did not. 

   

  I just want to state that no where on any piece of paper that I received from Somerset Outdoor Equipment did it state that I gave a NON REFUNDABLE deposit, I did not receive a "binding signed bill of sale" and I did not receive my tractor at the time that I as told I would get it.  Why do I have to give up my deposit and be held to a quote only agreement  when they are not holding up their end of the agreement?  They did not deliver, and  I should receive my deposit  back.  The only thing that it states is that it is "estimated mid to late August.  I gave them until October 5th, 2021 before I cancelled. And it still was not available and there was no idea on when it was coming.  I feel I gave Somerset Outdoor Equipment more than enough time to give me a tractor.  

   

  Please refund me my deposit. 

   

   

  Thank you

   

  ******* ****

  
  
  
  
  

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