Horrible experience and fight to get my deposit back. Richmond Branch

In July, 2025 our company attempted to purchase a vehicle through We Buy Cars, Richmond branch.

The vehicle was exactly what we needed, a luxury personnel carrier, with more than 8 seat, a Toyota Quantum VX Premium.

We went to test drive the vehicle and everything was in order, except for the last row seats, that was not fixed, but this is where the good ended.

When I wanted to reserve the vehicle online, I could not. This was because I wanted to reserve it in the company name, and not my personal name. Their system could not differentiate between me engaging with them as the proxy vs as an individual. The result, I could not reserve the vehicle. This took more than three days to resolve, and in the interest of the transaction, the car was reserved internally, without a deposit, pending the cleaning up of the back-end system.

Then, the finance application would not go through, as it was a Toyota Quantum, and seen as a taxi. We did not purchase it as a taxi, and anyone who knows the vehicle will know it is not suitable for a taxi, it is a luxury MPV/Bus…

Then, I received a call, and rushed into paying a deposit, as there was another interested party, which I did, within minutes of the request.

The next morning, I receive the news that the vehicle had been sold to another buyer, as the reservation had expired, because I did not pay a deposit (Paying a deposit and reserving the vehicle was impossible, as you can only reserve a vehicle that die not have the “reserved” tag on it, which this one had, due to their internal actions)

I was advised to leave the deposit in WBC’s account; in case the other transaction did not go through. Which I did.

We continued to browse their website, almost daily, for a month, hoping a similar vehicle could pop up. But alas.

When I started enquiring about the deposit refund, I was told that I needed to provide proof of banking, despite bank account statements being shared as part of the application pack for accounts as recent as June 2025.

When I queried this with the salesman, I was told that they needed bank confirmation letter, failing which, payment would not be made. (bank statement shared, not accepted, despite being younger than three months old).

When I called their call centre to lodge a complaint, I was told that I had to phone a different department -Needless to say, I refused, as I expect a complaints line to resolve a complaint. According to them, there was no credit due, reflecting in my profile… Seems like the initial problem was not resolved.

This was the fourth vehicle that I wanted to purchase through We Buy Cars, and regrettably so, probably the last one. The entire transaction left a foul taste in my mouth. Sales people have become order takers with no regard for you, your money or the transaction – There is an entitled attitude and your are left to beg for service. Asked to defend yourself, your request, and your wants for the transaction.