No, he has no right to hold your deposit... its a deposit not a down payment.

I think he's just playing dirty with you, since he hasn't perform his obligation and has not given you a specific answer as to when the ownership transfer may take place, you have the right to withdraw your deposit.

Maybe Section 30. of the Contracts Act 1950 will help.

CA1950 S30. :Agreements, the meaning of which is not certain, or capable of being made certain, are void.

Maybe CA1950 S47. will apply as well: Time for Performance of promise where no application is to be made and no time is specified. However, the "reasonable" time frame is a question of fact.

Just be firm, and get nasty if you have to. Tell them you will spread their dirty tricks to potential customers should they persist.

Otherwise, you may seek the consumer tribune, although it may take a long time to get your money back.

This post has been edited by JackX: Jun 17 2010, 11:47 PM