Northstar Ford Calgary

Braden Chase responded

It is clear to me on the face of these allegations that the author of this response has not reviewed ALL of the material evidence pertaining to this matter. Nor do I believe they have studied contract law formally as I have. So, let me give you a brief lesson on the law of contract in Canada, which supersedes your dealership's "policy". First, I would like to clarify a few facts so readers have a more accurate depiction of what really transpired. FACTS 1. My inquiry was submitted earlier than 12:13pm (MST) as I was already on the phone with Ahmed at that time. 2. Ahmed phoned me at exactly 12:13pm in response to my online inquiry. I can and will easily prove this from my phone call and text logs. 3. Ahmed called to inform me that the Mach E GT I inquired about was still available. I responded by telling him that I want to buy it and I already have financing approval in place with a lender. Ahmed then asked me about my loan rate and suggested I submit an financing application to your finance department as he believed your finance department could get me a better rate. 4. During this same call, I made it clear that I'm open to submitting a finance application to your dealership to see if they can beat my current rate. However, I made it clear to Ahmed that I was going to by the Mach E GT regardless of the rate your dealership may get me. 5. At 12:20pm I received via email from Ahmed the monthly payment calculation with $5,000.00 down for terms of 60, 72, and 85 months. 6. At 12:33pm I replied to his email saying, "Thank you for this information. Should I put a deposit on the Mach E to hold it? I do have an approval to finance an EV for up to $800/month already in place with TD bank." 7. At 12:37pm Ahmed replied via email, "Yes if you like to do that. I only have to tell you that the deposit is not refundable if you change your mind. But if you don’t get approved it will be refunded of course. If that works for you I can send you the paperwork to sign and email it back to me so we can secure the vehicle. And I can get finance to get a hold of you after that." 8. At 12:39pm I replied via email, "How much is the deposit?" 9. I received a response from Ahmed less than a minute later at 12:39pm saying, "Sorry I didn't read the other part of the email. That's awesome so you are already have an approval so yes we can hold the vehicle with a deposit." 10. At 12:40pm Ahmed says via email, "$1000 we can refunded when you pick the vehicle up or it can be a part of the down payment." 11. At 12:45pm I emailed Ahmed pictures of the front and back of my credit card to process the deposit. 12. At 12:56pm I sent Ahmed an email with my 2021 and 2022 T4As along with other personal financial information to be submitted to the financing department. 13. At 1:00pm I sent this text to Ahmed, "Please don't forget to factor for extended warranty." 14. At 1:01pm I followed up with another text, "Let's try to get this deal done today." 15. At 1:02pm Ahmed replied via text, "I'll send you the information on the warranty via email from finance as they have all the packages and the prices. I'm just gonna leave the deal as it is without a warranty and then they can take care of it with you." 16. At 1:05pm I received the purchase contract and deposit agreement from Ahmed via email. A minute later I received this text from him, "Email sent. Please fill it and sign it then email it back to me. Thank you" 17. At 1:07pm I sent Ahmed a text saying, "Copy. Make sure the Mach doesn't get sold in the meantime please. Take the deposit to hold it please. I'm working on filling out the forms." 18. At 1:29pm Ahmed replies back via text, "Okay sounds good." 19. At 1:46pm I submitted the executed purchase agreement and the deposit form via email. I'm going to stop there for brevity as I am limited in the number of characters I respond with. However, I can say there is a lot more for me to add, including evidence Ahmed phoned me shortly after our first call to inform me another gentlemen showed up in the store and was talking to another salesman about buying the Mache E AFTER I already committed to buying it. Contract Law A legally binding contract may be made orally, in writing, or by a combination of the two. A verbal contract may stand up in court if the proper contractual elements are present and the Court finds that it is a valid contract. In order to have a valid legal contract (written or verbal) the following contractual elements must be present: - An offer; - Acceptance of the offer; - Consideration (an exchange of something of value by both parties); and - An intention to enter into legal relations. At 12:13pm, I first spoke to Ahmed over the phone and told him I wanted to buy the Mach E GT after learning it was still available. During this same call I already made him aware that I have financing in place to purchase this Mach E GT. I reminded him that I already had financing in place via email at 12:37pm as noted above. At 12:45pm I submitted my credit card details to Ahmed to take my $1,000.00 deposit. Approximately 20 minutes later at 1:05pm, I received the purchase agreement via email from Ahmed. At 1:07pm, I reiterated my intention to purchase the Mach E and asked Ahmed, once again, to process the deposit on my credit card. Shortly afterwards I spoke with Ahmed over the phone and expressed to him that I was having difficulty printing out the forms at home, so I asked Ahmed if I can execute the documents electronically. He said this was completely acceptable. At 1:46pm I returned the signed documents to Ahmed. After receiving the documents and confirming my credit card details for a fourth time at 1:48pm, Ahmed told me over the phone that the Mach E was mine and not to worry. Recall, I already had financing in place prior to my initial inquiry. As such, financing wasn't an issue for me. What's also important to note is the fact that the purchase agreement and deposit form afforded me two options: 1) I could elect to continue with the purchase even if your finance department failed to get me a better rate than I was already approved for; or 2) I could elect to cancel the deal and have my deposit returned in full. AMVIC's Take on Vehicle Purchase Contracts The quote below is taken directly from AMVIC's Consumer Bulletin posted on its website on July 25, 2023: "Once you sign the contract, the vehicle is yours and you have contractually agreed to buy the vehicle. It is important that you stop shopping after you sign a purchase contract. The only way you can cancel the contract is if the seller has a policy that says you may." The Court of King's Bench and Alberta's Court of Appeal have jurisdiction over AMVIC. Meaning, it's decisions are binding on the motor vehicle regulatory body. Courts have long held through common law (separate from statute law) that a contract may be enforceable at the time it was entered into be it orally, in writing, or via a combination of the two. What's clear from my evidence is the following: 1. An offer was made; 2. The offer was accepted; 3. Consideration (inducement given to enter a contract that is sufficient to render a promise) was clear and unambiguous as evidenced in writing; 4. The intentions of both parties to enter into the contract were affirmed orally, via text, via email, and in writing as evidenced by the written contract executed by Ahmed and myself. Ahmed being a licensed seller under AMVIC. SUMMARY I have strict proof that I agreed to purchase the Mach E GT nearly a full hour before the other buyer committed to purchasing the vehicle at 1:21pm (according to you). Further, I already had financing in place prior to my inquiry, and my purchase agreement afforded me the option of purchasing the vehicle with the financing I already in place, or with the financing your department could offer, as noted by the terms in the deposit form. What is also noteworthy is the fact that your dealership sold the same vehicle twice to two different customers on the same day and within an hour of each other. This according to your own admission as stated in your response. Consequently, your dealership is liable for damages since it breached the terms of my contract to purchase the Mach E GT. Recall what AMVIC says about signed contracts. If customers cannot get out of a signed contract, neither can dealers. Closing In my mind, you owe me the equivalent 2021 Mach E GT Performance Edition AWD in "Shadow Black" with ALL of the same options and mileage of 20,000km for the same price. Alternatively, if I have to source the equivalent from another dealership, then your dealership is liable for the difference in cost (if any) to replace it. I am fully prepared to take this matter to AMVIC and Court of King's Bench to pursue damages via the statutory and/or common law remedies available to me. Govern yourselves accordingly. Braden

Braden Chase responded

See my reply to the dealer's response to my review.