You paid a deposit — usually $1,000 to $5,000 — on a car. The agreed delivery date came and went. The dealer stopped returning your calls, or worse, the entire dealership has gone quiet. Your money is sitting in their account and you have no car.
This is more common than the industry admits. Some dealers run cash-flow strategies that depend on holding deposits longer than they should. A few cross the line into outright misappropriation. Either way, the legal path is clear.
The first step: Letter of Demand
If you haven’t already sent one, start there. A Letter of Demand ($79) puts the dealer on formal notice that the deposit must be returned within a specific deadline, citing the contract and the consumer guarantees in the Australian Consumer Law.
The Final Demand: when the first letter is ignored
When a Letter of Demand has gone unanswered, the next step is a Final Demand. It’s structurally similar but with sharper teeth:
- References the prior demand letter and the missed deadline
- Sets a final, shorter deadline (typically 7 days)
- Names the specific tribunal application that will follow
- Notes that the dealer’s licensing authority will be put on notice (Fair Trading in NSW, CAV in VIC, OFT in QLD, Consumer Protection in WA, etc.) if escalation is required
That last point matters. Australian motor dealers operate under state licensing schemes. A complaint to the licensing authority can trigger a license review. Most dealers prioritise resolving a Final Demand the moment they read it.
Why the dealer-licensing angle is powerful
Each state has a motor dealer licensing regime — the Motor Dealers and Repairers Act in NSW, the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act in QLD, similar legislation across the country. Misappropriation of deposits is grounds for license suspension or cancellation. A dealer with a clean license has a lot to lose. A Final Demand that names the licensing authority is taken very seriously.
What Claim Done’s Final Demand covers
- Reference to your prior Letter of Demand and the date it was sent
- The deposit amount, payment method, and date
- The contract terms breached (delivery date, refund policy)
- The licensing authority that will be notified if no payment
- The tribunal jurisdiction that will be filed in
- Final deadline — typically 7 days
Flat $79. Sent on your behalf to the dealer (and CC’d to the licensing authority if you instruct us to). Most cases resolve within the deadline.
If the dealer still doesn’t pay
Tribunal application — $79 flat — gets the matter into your state’s civil tribunal where the recovery is enforceable.