Best place for legal advice?

Snowysadude

Snowysadude

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Hey im devistated at the moment, found out some shocking and awful news about my boy from old owners who sent back to the person i bought him from so they also knew and blatantly lied. To top it all off he passed a vetting with Xrays (supposedly) even though there is no way he could. If i can get all the old vet papers off the old owner where is the best place to seek legal advice RE the dealer and the vets? Thanks
 
Hi Daisy!

If you are a BHS member then they have a free legal helpline. If not then check your insurance, lots of policies include legal cover and a legal helpline. Even if you don't have this on your horse insurance your home insurance might do (or your parents).

I know you are a student and that might open up a few additional avenues too. Check with your uni whether the law students run a "law clinic" I worked at one when I was a student and at the time there were only two in the country but I have a feeling Nottingham were looking at setting one up. They advised and represented students and staff of the uni on all legal matters and the service was great.

If all of the above are no good, then there are some specialist equine solicitors out there, actons are the ones that spring to mind but a bit of googling would throw others up. Most firms will do a first half hour free consultation and then advise you about whether they can take the case on a no win no fee basis or whether funding needs to be arranged some other way.

If you bought from a dealer also look for firms that list consumer law as a specialism.

If I can help further feel free to PM me, it is outside my area of specialism but I'm happy to help where I can.

Kat
 
Forgot to mention, you should speak to trading standards too.

They may not be able to help much but if there are other concerns about either the dealer or the vet then they may take action. They can also offer support and advice if you can't get help from a solicitor. Sometimes a letter or two from trading standards can help get a refund without having to go to court.
 
Did you actually get him vetted? Or just go with what the people said as it sounds like you didnt actually get a vetting done by your vet if this is the case then really dont think you will be able to take legal action if you havent done a vetting yourself.
 
Abigail,

The OP says that the horse passed a vetting with x-rays. But anyway not having the animal vetted does not stop you for taking action if a dealer has misrepresented the horse. The difficulty would be proving it without a vetting, although that wouldn't be impossible.
 
abigail621 said:
Did you actually get him vetted? Or just go with what the people said as it sounds like you didnt actually get a vetting done by your vet if this is the case then really dont think you will be able to take legal action if you havent done a vetting yourself.
Click to expand...

Yes, I did have the vetting done, just couldnt be there in person but paid for it to be done! Forgot to say i stupidly used his vet (as he is a very famous man i thought he wouldnt rip me off) as my vet wouldnt travel that far. So upset!

Thank you everyone, will get onto it in the morning after my exam :) Thanks Katt too very helpful!
 
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Good luck - be prepared for a hard battle though. My best friend had a horse pass a vetting but it turns out it has a grade 5 heart murmur. Turns out the vet didn't see the horse ridden. And this is a horse bought to compete at intermediate eventing. She got offered the difference between the cost of the horse and meat money. She persued for the cost of vets bills too - the horse had been seen by a cardiologist at considerable expense and had been in horspital due to the heart condition. They basically told her to get stuffed.

She the option but to take the offer and surrender the horse to the insurance company (for the horse to be sold for meat) or cut her losses. She chose to find the horse a retirement home and cut her losses. It all depends how much you have to lose compared to what the horse has to lose.

So basically IME the RCVS stick up for their own - this vet who charged for a 5 stage, but actually did a 2 and still managed to miss an audiable heart murmur had no disciplinary action brought against him. She was told she could take him to the small claims court but that would have costed £££
 
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