horse law advice..anyone

misstattoo

misstattoo

New Member
Jul 1, 2008
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Perthshire
Just wondering if anyone has gone through the nightmare process of trying to get a dealer to refund/take back an unsuitable horse?

I purchased a gelding that was meant to be suitable for nervous/novice rider,that was calm and sensible and confidence giving hack.but that wasn't the case..the dealer told me if he didn't work out she would take him back. However she has gone back on her word.I have since found out that she was selling horses with fake passports.(my boy is ok) And that she has little knowledge about the riding side of horses,Basically she just takes the money.She saw me coming and made a fool out of me.
I have tried to sort things out without going down the legal route,she said her business was not about taking horses back. I was adviced to contact a lawyer and trading stantards.
Trading standards have been down,i had to give statements and printed off all emails she had sent and they suggested taking her to court and so i got a lawyer he has sent her letters but she has ignored them,twice.

I just wondered if there is light at the end of the tunnel,my dream of hacking over the fields with my best mate(horse) has become a bit of a miserable experience, I have a horse i can't ride and he has an owner that's too chicken to ride him.
 
Oh I am so sorry for you, I cant help, nearly was in the same position as yourself with a pony that wasn't a novice ride but we ended up moving yards and he is like a different pony, but he still needs bringing on. I hope everything goes well for you and you have your dream:)
 
cant you sue for false advertsing ?

im not sure about these things either . sorry :eek:

if my brother was down, hed be able to give you advise (hes a lawyer type person )

goodluck
 
She has sold you a 'product' that doesn't do what it says on the tin - i.e. is not fit for the purpose for which you bought it. Therefore you are entitled to claim your money back in full or an exchange for something more suitable.

I would definately get legal advice - why not look on the BHS website - I'm sure there is something on there. If you have horse insurance, you normally get a legal helpline which gives advice for free.

A dealer who sells unsuitable horses to people should not stay in business - name and shame - they could end up killing someone.
 
Unfortunatly it's really hard unless you have witnesses who were there at every point because you can say that they told you it'd be fine for XYZ and they can turn around and go 'no I didn't!'

Get in touch with the BHS, they're pretty good on these things.
 
Thanks people for advice, lawyer has sent final letter demanding the matter to be resolved within 7 days or we take her to court. so hopefully she'll not want the hassle of going to court and refund our money and take back the gelding.
 
Hi - I am going through a similar experience. I'm a novice rider and bought my horse from someone claiming to be a private seller earlier this year. The horse was supposed to be suitable for a novice rider with no vices. I have not been able to ride him since buying him because - just after buying him - he was diagnosed with a permanent incurable condition which means that he can never be ridden again and has to be retired. I also have never seen the passport which appears to have gone missing somewhere since the seller sent it off on my behalf. The seller refused to provide a refund. We are currently taking legal action against this individual on the grounds that the poor horse was not fit for purpose (the disease is not something which could have materialised overnight), we believe that the seller is a trader and the lack of a passport. Trading Standards have informed me that it is a criminal offence for a trader to disguise their true trading status. Falsifying passports is also a criminal offence. Trading Standards will investigate your complaint and may also have received similar complaints from other people who have bought horses from this person so they may already be aware of any problems although they can only share information with you that is already in the public domain.

Do you have anything in writing from the dealer that stated the horse could be returned if deemed unsuitable? It may also help if you know of anyone else who has had a bad experience buying from this trader and who would be willing to provide statements.

Don't give up. These cheating sellers rely on buyers giving up and going away.

Trading Standards told me that even if our court action fails, if their investigation case succeeds, they can provide us with a statement and we can go for compensation - two attempts at getting our money back. You may be able to do the same as your case has the two elements (like ours) - the fact that your horse is not fit for purpose which is the civil case which you have to pursue and the false passports which is the criminal aspect which Trading Standards will be interested in (Having said that, I'm not sure from your post whether you said your passport was ok).

Like you, my dream of happy hacking across the coutryside has been shattered but everyone keeps telling me that it will happen one day. My horse is happy in his field with his friends but I can't ride him. Here's hoping that we'll both find our perfect horse very soon! Best of luck with your case.
 
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You are doing the right thing. Involve TS and get her rattled. Hopefully she won't want to go to court.

In the meantime think about having a totally independent professional (qualified instructor or similar) to assess your riding, and then the horse it's way of going and suitablility for you. If they can put this in writing that's very helpful. If you do need to go to court this can be very helpful.

This sort of thing makes me so mad!:mad:

I hope the solicitors letter is enough to convince her.

Good luck.
 
Unfortunately Trading Standards only investigate if you paid below a certain value for the horse. I only paid £4k (only! Hah!) but this is over the threshold for TS so was totally on own and hence going down the court route. Only other option was to accept losing the money.....and why should I? I think these dealers know when they are dealing with softees who aren't going to bring the horse back and threaten to knock their block off unless money is returned.

Is a horrible stressful situation to be in and I really struggle to keep motivated and keep riding.....I wonder if dealer is as stressed as me by the whole thing!!
 
Kay2 said:
Unfortunately Trading Standards only investigate if you paid below a certain value for the horse. I only paid £4k (only! Hah!) but this is over the threshold for TS so was totally on own and hence going down the court route. Only other option was to accept losing the money.....and why should I? I think these dealers know when they are dealing with softees who aren't going to bring the horse back and threaten to knock their block off unless money is returned.

Is a horrible stressful situation to be in and I really struggle to keep motivated and keep riding.....I wonder if dealer is as stressed as me by the whole thing!!
Click to expand...

Trading Standards do get involved over £4k,There is something called a 'summary cause' for a claim between £3k up to £5k which can be raised with sheriff courts, I know because this is what i have to do if the bint doesnt give in.
 
Ahh really? My local TS was a totally unhelpful lady who said TS only dealt with smaller amounts than I paid....she was thoroughly useless. Might give her a call back quoting that. Felt really let down by her attitude. Ta muchas.
 
Well the dealer who i'm having problems with has not replied to any lawyers letters, so looks like we're going to court. I have an appointment to see my lawyer and his court partner. He's adviced going with a 'summary cause'.

So now i'm well peeved,I'm looking after a horse over winter that i'm not able to ride,the worst thing is i'm really attached to him, he's great in his own comfort zone.
I thought the dealer would back down but obviously not, so with that said, incase anyone is looking to buy, i would get all agreements in writing especially the one that says ''if the horse doesnt work out i'll take him back''!!!!!

Obviously thats my experience with them but i have to warn others that this hassle may happen again to someone else.
 
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Hiya, really sorry to hear that....it is an expensive and stressful route to take.

I would be kinda careful about what you post at the moment in terms of warnings until after you get a decision in court. I wanted to do exactly what you have just done months ago but my lawyer and an equine court specialist on the expert witness list said I could be done for slander.

I was soooo tempted to warn people against dealing with my dealer and I also wanted to get info from anyone who had dealt with them previously but was advised I couldn't do that directly either.

What I was told I could do is....if I win the court case I can legally come onto forums like this and quote the facts from the actual court hearing and advise people of the outcome of the court case and the dealer would have no power to stop me so long as I didn't say anything outwith the facts as found in court!

I really want to warn people bout my dealer cos I trusted them simply because they take lessons for several riding clubs and I'm sure other people like me would therefore assume they are a reputable dealer.....but at the mo my hands are tied!

Keep me posted and if you need the no. for the expert witness PM me....a quick 10min consultation over the phone is free.....and that is prob all you would need to give you an idea of how you stand.
 
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