Bl**dy farmers! *Rant* my trailer is damaged! (long)

[Gingernags]

I'm fuming and gutted all in one!

I borrowed a lot of money earlier in the year to finally buy a trailer and a car capable of towing it - the trailer is shared between me and my sister, and after 20 years of horse ownership we are finally mobile. It was brand new in April and despite being a novice to trailer owning/towing and reversing - it has, as our new pride and joy, been looked after and I have not put so much as a scratch on it.

However... it has been kept this summer in a barn at the farm where we keep our horses. In winter, the farm owner, we'll call him Fred lets the farmer down the road or we'll call him Bill, keep his cows in it. We've been checking when we need to move the trailer and the answer was - from Bill via Fred - "nothing will happen in a hurry".

Fred insisted to Bill that we need a weeks notice for the weekend the cows are coming in so WE can move OUR trailer as it is hitch locked and Fred does not have the keys.

So Saturday, we went Christmas shopping at the Metro Centre for the whole day - a good hour away. Then I get a text message from Fred saying can we possibly move the trailer on Sunday as Bill wants to bring the cows in. I replied saying, fine, we'll be down in the morning. Thought nothing more of it.

Did the shopping, got home, went straight to the farm. Now as you drive the last bit of lane the barn is straight in front and it has a door with a large gap above and a small one below - and you can clearly see the trailer through the top gap... only it wasn't there! I was not best pleased...

Anyway, we started to muck out when Fred appeared, very apologetic, apparently what happened was Bill decided to take it into his own hands to move OUR trailer

Mrs Fred saw them start to move it and ran to tell her hubby, and he got into the big barn where they were moving it to - its "winter quarters" and shouted at them STOP!!!! But too late. They pushed it under a beam that was a bit low and have smashed the sky light/air vent.

Bill has said he'll pay for it. Fred and Mrs Fred are really upset but can't afford to fall out with Bill as they share a farm lane and maintenance and he does them favours. I can't blame Fred and Mrs Fred - its not their fault, they told him not to move it and to give us notice, and we keep the trailer there for nothing, and they are gutted. Poor Mrs F was waiting for us to appear for hours, dreading telling us!

In the scheme of things, its just the skylight I'm sure its repairable but I have no holiday time to take it to be repaired by the supplier, they don't work saturdays, NO WAY am I letting Bill get it repaired or take it so I'll have to see if they'll come out and fix it and send the bill to Farmer Bill.

BUT IT WAS OUR LOVELY NEW TRAILER AND HE'S BROKEN IT!!!!!

Not a happy bunnykins... I'm not really having an unreasonable rant am I? I know no-one has died but our property has been damaged by someone doing things he was expressly told NOT to do!

 

[Rambo]

Really sympathise with you. It's not like you hadn't given plenty of notice and it wouldn't have hurt the farmer to wait a day would it

I'm sure the damage is minimal though and you could probably fit the replacement part yourself fairly easily if you wanted to.

How bl**dy irritating though....

 

[Sooty]

Blooming marvellous! Did they manoeuvre the trailer with any sort of lock or clamp in place that might have damaged it? I thought that was the way this post was heading! If you get the part maybe Fred would fit it for you, he might even pay for it. Getting the part might be the tricky bit!

 

[Gingernags]

Rang the supplier. The roof vent is supplied as one whole unit so we need a new one... They are ordering it in, but next shipment not due in til just before Christmas. Can't be fitted at the farm, the trailer has to go in, they only work weekdays, not open between Christmas and New Year so I'm going to have to take time off work that I don't have, to get my trailer repaired due to some MORON.

We only had the ball and hitch lock in, so it was easy to push and pull about, just couldn't be hitched up. I'll be putting a wheel clamp on it in the future and hope a large bill will teach the farmer down the road a lesson!

Now VERY unhappy. Weeks til it can be done and my time and diesel....GRRRRRR!

 

[Tempi]

OMG i would have been so furious (and upset) poor you, make sure he defaintely pays for it.........what an idoit

 

[Sooty]

It is infuriating. Maybe you could find somewhere else to keep it? I suppose the only good thing is that they don't actually charge you to store the trailer, that would add insult to injury! Ironic though that you left it there to keep it safe. Still, at least it can be repaired, that is good news. Maybe the farmer would tow it to the dealers for you so you don't have to have time off.

 

[Law]

I'd be fuming too

Not fair at all. Grr

 

[Bosworth]

Can the trailer repair people not come out and get it? Then they can add that to the bill for the farmer. No way should you be out of pocket on this.

 

[Gingernags]

Now thats an idea.... will ask when she rings back to confirm the part has been ordered!

Ta for that! Didn't think of it! I just do not intend to let him (the farmer of destruction) take it as he's been careless enough already, hate to think what would happen if he took it there and back!

 

[guisbrogal]

WHY have people no patience whatsoever nowadays

All for the sake of a day.

I would be surprised if the repair company wouldn't pick it up and return it to you once mended....might be worth asking them. If not then I would be sending Farmer Bill nice fat bill for my loss of earnings and fuel too

All he had to do was wait

ETS Ooops sorry just read the last two messages and realised i have repeated a suggestion. Shows it was a good idea though and I don't have many of those

 

[TheBlackMoth]

Oh that's terrible. I know just what you mean. It was new and special and now someone has spoiled it for you. And I know it can be fixed - but it's not the same is it. I am so sorry. I hope he has learnt his lesson!

 

[S_N]

That's the kind of thing that would make me cry! Infact if anything like that happened to my trailer - not even brand spanking new, but it is MINE and it's PRECIOUS - I think I'd die. I would just cry - quite simple! But then I am feeling shite atm, maybe on another day I'd knock someones block off...........