Prepayment or prepayment is a term used in legal documents and denotes an advance payment, any part or all of the amount of payments under a concluded sales contract. An advance payment is applied when the agreement contains the obligation of the buyer to fully or partially pay for the goods before the seller transfers it by the time specified in the prescribed conditions or in article 314 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
It is provided for a wide range of services and goods, is introduced as a guarantee on the execution of an agreement between the buyer and seller. Many people wonder if the prepayment is returned or not. We will understand this article.
Cases are different
Sometimes situations arise when you need to refuse a perfect deal and return an advance payment. There can be many reasons for this development of events. So, for example, after making a deposit to buy a car, the buyer urgently needed money. Or prepayment was made for repairs, but it turned out that it was of inadequate quality.
How can I return the prepayment? When is this impossible to do? To find out the answers to these questions, you need to familiarize yourself with the relevant standards that are spelled out in the Civil Code and the Law on Consumer Protection. So, is prepayment refundable or not?
Types of prepayment and its specifics
The civil code of the Russian Federation regulates the rules of the law of relations related to the conditions of prepayment. Here the main rules are established, ensuring the correct order of this procedure.
Since sales contracts include various forms of payment with various conditions of legal relations, it is possible to divide the prepayment into the following types:
- Full: the client pays the entire cost of the contract;
- partial (advance): incomplete payment for the goods in the established amount or percentage of the amount;
- revolving - the constant conclusion of a transaction with prepayment over a long time.
Is a prepayment for services refunded? About it further.
Differences between advance and deposit
Many people confuse the advance and the deposit, thinking that it is one and the same. However, in reality, these concepts have significant differences. Often, a contract establishes any of these types of prepayments, citizens do not know what the difference is between them, although it is very important when returning funds.
A deposit is a strict type of prepayment, regulated at the legislative level. It performs the following functions:
- acts as evidence of an agreement;
- serves as a guarantor of fulfillment of obligations undertaken by the parties.
Legislatively established procedure governing the return of the deposit. If the client refuses any service for which a deposit has already been made, then it will not be returned. However, in the event that the provider is responsible for the failure to perform the service, he must pay the deposit in double amount. Is prepayment returned or not? A lawyer will help you figure this out.
Advance payment is a simple prepayment, most often used for the preliminary expenses of the supplier. He returns in the usual way: if the service was not provided, the client has the right to demand his advance payment back. It is not regulated by law. Payment must be in writing, at least in the form of a receipt. If the deposit is specified, it is recommended to conclude an additional agreement.
How to return an advance payment for a product?
If the product is purchased with a mandatory prepayment, you need to draw up a sales contract in writing, which will indicate the full name of the product, agreed delivery times, fixed the amount of prepayment or a percentage of the total cost and calculation procedure. Does the prepayment for the product come back?
By making a prepayment, the buyer can return it in the following cases:
- in case of non-compliance with the required quality of the goods;
- in case of violation of the delivery time;
- upon delivery of the wrong product that was ordered.
If the buyer has not received the goods at the specified time due to the fault of the seller, then he has every right to demand the advance payment made earlier, unless an additional agreement has been concluded on the establishment of new terms or their postponement. At the same time, you can require that the seller pay a penalty amounting to 0.5% of the total amount of prepayment for each delayed day.
Is a prepayment for services refunded if they are canceled? About it below.
We make a claim
If there is a refusal to reimburse the full amount of the prepayment, it is necessary to make a claim or application to the seller in writing, which will describe such criteria as: the name of the product, the amount of the prepayment, delivery time, delay time and the requirement for the seller to pay a penalty from that day, to which the goods must be transferred under the contract. The claim must be made in duplicate, and one of them is given to the seller or his legal representative for signature. You must also specify the date of receipt.
If the goods were not purchased in finished form, but ordered from its manufacturer, the buyer has the right to demand 3% of the total prepayment for each delayed day.
If the seller fails to pay the penalty within ten days after the buyer's request, the latter may require interest to be paid for using his funds. If, after the statutory period has passed, the prepayment amount has not been returned to the buyer, then he needs to go to court with this claim in order to judicially investigate the conflict.
In order to correctly draw up a claim or statement of claim, it is recommended to contact specialists who protect consumer rights. It is also worth noting that the buyer's requirements cannot be satisfied if the seller succeeds in proving that the obligations were violated due to insurmountable circumstances or the fault of the first. So, the prepayment is not returned, how to write a claim, we explained.
How to return a prepayment for a service?
Most often, an agreement is concluded for the provision of any services, which stipulates the conditions under which an advance payment can be returned. If such are present, then the buyer has the right to terminate the contract and demand the return of his funds. Prepayment is not refundable in the following cases:
- with proper performance of the obligations specified in the contract;
- when performing the service on time;
- with good quality of the service provided.
If the terms for the provision of the service are violated, the buyer has the right to demand that the contractor pay a penalty of 3% of the amount paid by him for each delayed day. If the client does not want to break the agreement, then he can set a new deadline for the contractor. In what cases is prepayment refunded?
Termination of an agreement
In the event of termination of the contract, the buyer must write a statement and come with him directly to the supplier. If the organization with which the transaction was concluded is serious and respects its principles, then most likely it will not spoil the opinion of itself and will meet the buyer. The money will be fully returned even when the supplier did not suffer losses from the client’s refusal.
If any expenses were incurred, the amount will be returned with the exception of expenses. Most often, such subtleties are established in the contract.In the event that the supplier does not want to give money voluntarily, the buyer needs to draw up a claim according to the standard scheme. If it was sent to the address, then money for non-provided service must be returned within ten days.
If this requirement has been ignored, the buyer can count on the payment of a penalty. It must be remembered that the claim is filed in two copies, one of which remains with the buyer (with the seal on it and the signature of the organization that provides the services).
If you haven’t responded to the claim?
If the seller did not respond to the claim within ten days or a refusal was received, the buyer has the right to file a lawsuit with the court. The latter should include the calculation of damage. This amount may include:
- the entire amount of the advance payment;
- the amount of the penalty in case of violation of the terms;
- percentage for using other people's funds;
- compensation for damage caused by violation of the terms;
- amount for non-pecuniary damage.
If the court decides that the buyer is right, then, in addition to the payments listed above, he is fined 50% of the total amount of damage, including moral, as well as payment of costs associated with participation in the court.
Deposit or prepayment - what is not refundable? This is a common question.
Help professionals with a refund
It is often quite difficult to get a refund on your own. That is why it is best to seek qualified help from lawyers who will not only help to recover from the negligent seller the entire pre-paid amount, but also other costs incurred by the buyer due to violations of the service provider or goods.
Is prepayment refundable or not? We answered this question.