Being sold a horse who is the wrong age? Advice needed!!!

[Jericho]

A friend of mine has just bought a horse privately who was advertised as 11 years old - she spent a long time with the horse and the owner who seemed really genuine, she looked at her passport which stated age unknown (which I thought odd anyway!), puts her trust in the seller and decides not to get her vetted, handed over the money and then gets her home yesterday. Going over the documents to get her insured this morning she finds out that on her microchip form she is dated as being 22 years old!!! Old owner now not returning calls. Poor girl is distraught feeling she has been totally conned ( i think she totally fell in love with the mare and she was perfect to ride, the owner was lovely, had had the mare for 4 years and they got on really well, and she kinda got pressurised into buying with 'other offers on the table with no vetting required' etc etc and I dont know what to say - she said she looked at his teeth when there but felt they looked about right for a 12yearold although there was a lot of plaque around the canines.

It doesnt look good but what can I advise? I have said in the first instance she needs vet to look at him to confirm age. She has the advert saying he was 11 years old so can she prosecute against the owner if he is 22 years?? What happens in such cases? I have no experience of legal system and neither does she and has gone from being over the moon with her lovely new horse to having to face the prospect of all this. Please help??

 

[Minnies_Mum]

I may be totally wrong, but isn't there some kind of trading standards law about false advertising? If she's got the advert and a vet confirms the horse is more likely to be 22 than 11, surely something can be done. Is she sure it's not a typo on the microchip form and it should say 12?

 

[Goya]

Did she pay by cheque? if so, cancel the cheque. The seller will quickly get in contact then!

 

[firm]

What is the age on the horse's passport? If it is a proper breed passport issued when the horse was born then the DOB on it should be be correct. The mircrochip form may have been filled in incorrectly.

 

[Jericho]

no age on passport (isnt that wierd? I though all passports should have an age on them??) and paid by cash. Seller has called back now and apparently sounded horrified. She says there is no way the mare is 22 years - she has a vaccination record (all on passport) and teeth rasped religiously every year and same vet to do it for 4 years and she says she is calling her vet tomorrow to double check with his records and give my firend permission to speak to him. My friend is a bit more reassured but I'm still dubious.......

 

[Damnation]

Well if your friend likes the mare and the mare is everything she wants bar the age, does it matter? Provided that the mare is in good health she could give many years of ridden enjoyment.

 

[Parkranger]

unless the previos owner had her as a foal I don't know how she can say that the mare is definately not 22!

Sounds like a horrible situation though....

 

[charmaine]

Have pm'd you

 

[Puppy]

I would wait and see what the former owners vet/dentist etc have to say and maybe get your own vet/dentist to give an opinion.

My 22 year old looks pretty darn good for it, but NO WAY could I convince anyone she is half her age

If the micro chipping was/is the only thing that leads her to believe the horse is significantly older then it could be a simple error with the micro chipping.

However, if it can be proved that the horse is significantly older than advertised then yes, I expect your friend can take legal action.

 

[minesadouble]

You can only rely on the age on a passport if it is a breed passport. As far as legal action goes the only way out the seller has is if they can convince the judge they believed the horse was the age they sold it as and as such sold it in good faith.

 

[Puppy]

I was under the impression that British contract law doesn't operate/take into account, the concept of "good faith"....

 

[minesadouble]

I simply meant that if it is the seller's honest belief that the the pony is 11 when he sells it and it later transpires it is 22 then you have no recourse. That is true for a private a seller at least.

 

[cariad]

It could still be an innocent misrepresentation; that is, a misrepresentation made even where there is a reasonable belief that what you are saying is true. In this case, the seller may have an honest belief that the horse is/was 11 and have reasonable grounds for believing that, but in actual fact the horse is 22. It is still a misrepresentation. Courts can order recission, that is, putting the parties back in the situation they were in before the contract if that is still possible, or can award damages instead of recission, but not both. So a court might, for instance, award damages which might be the difference between the horse's "value" (I know, I know, horses are worth what people will pay for them....) as a 22 year old as opposed to an 11 year old.

 

[FestiveFuzz]

[ QUOTE ]
Well if your friend likes the mare and the mare is everything she wants bar the age, does it matter? Provided that the mare is in good health she could give many years of ridden enjoyment.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the issues here would be that

a) perhaps the friend would not have paid as much had she known the horse was double the age stated

and

b) it can be incredibly difficult to insure older horses

Of course the horse may have many years left, but I think what would get me was the principle of the matter.