Buyer not collecting horse?!

[Antw23uk]

You need to reverse the funds immediately and message her to say you have done so. Leave the message open to say if she is still keen, to contact you to reorganise but for now the money is back in her account and the horse is back on the market.

You are asking for trouble keeping hold of this money! REFUND HER IN FULL.

 

[Jellymoon]

You need to reverse the funds immediately and message her to say you have done so. Leave the message open to say if she is still keen, to contact you to reorganise but for now the money is back in her account and the horse is back on the market.

You are asking for trouble keeping hold of this money! REFUND HER IN FULL.

This completely. You cannot hang on to the money, could land you in a load of trouble. And I would refund in full, I wouldn’t take money off for livery, if she’s ill or died, that would be mean. Just end the deal, and start again.

 

[Parrotperson]

if you're a BHS gold member ring their legal line. it may be useful to know the legal side of things before proceeding.

 

[Renvers]

Did you have other interested in the horse, if refunded could you sell it easily to another buyer?

After all whilst she may have paid you for it you are still incurring costs for keeping it for her and if she has paid but not taken delivery are you liable for any vets fees if anything happens?

Agree about ringing BHS line or getting some legal advice from a specialist in this area.

 

[southerncomfort]

I wonder if the purchaser is struggling to find a yard.

She might be thinking that OP is happy as she has the money and it hasn't occurred to her that she owns the horse now and OP is paying services for a horse she doesn't own.

Personally I'd refund the money, as others have said, it's a very dodgy situation.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

The remedy is in your hands. The buyer has purchased your horse has paid & has not come to collect it. Send a registered letter (keeping a copy of every letter) telling them. tell them that on ? date they paid £? for the animal & the animal is theirs from that date. Give them a date to collect the animal by & also inform them that from the time the horse was purchased the animal is theirs & they will need to pay £? to cover livery costs since the date of purchase. Livery bills can be quite expensive specially when you are on a yard & you are not the owner of the yard. You should also mention any feed & hay you have fed the animal plus wormers, vet bills in face any cost you have incurred. Hopefully the letter may jar them to accept their responsibility & collect the horse. If this doesn't work then seek legal advice. Good Luck.

 

[ycbm]

I don't think the horse is sold until it passes a vet. This is just a100% deposit to hold while the vet was arranged. The agreement seems to have been return of the money if it failed the vet, so the horse is probably not yet sold.
.

 

[jay2bee]

Sorry, vetting is the wrong word really, the vet was coming out to do strangles testing and vaccinations prior to moving yards. She was happy to buy without vetting as I showed her my vetting I had done (only a 2* but was an OTTB) about 6 months ago, and trotted horse up and lunged at viewing. She was knowledgeable and also had an experienced friend with her, perfect buyer really.

I am concerned she is ill, yes, I'm currently trying to do some investigative work on facebook to track her down.

 

[ycbm]

Well I think she owns him then. What a pickle that leaves you in.
.

 

[jay2bee]

I am going to send a message and leave a voicemail tonight, to say if I don't hear by Sunday I will be refunding the money on Monday and re-advertising.

 

[jay2bee]

This is just a disaster. I'm so stressed I'm getting caught up in some kind of scam or legal trouble here. I'm going to have to call an equine solicitor I think and probably be charged a fortune.

 

[TPO]

This is just a disaster. I'm so stressed I'm getting caught up in some kind of scam or legal trouble here. I'm going to have to call an equine solicitor I think and probably be charged a fortune.

Join bhs gold (£7 per month and you can cancel anything I *think*). They have a free legal advice helpline for gold members

 

[GrassChop]

This is just a disaster. I'm so stressed I'm getting caught up in some kind of scam or legal trouble here. I'm going to have to call an equine solicitor I think and probably be charged a fortune.

Wouldn't it be easier to refund and start again?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

This is just a disaster. I'm so stressed I'm getting caught up in some kind of scam or legal trouble here. I'm going to have to call an equine solicitor I think and probably be charged a fortune.

Look at this logically! You have done nothing wrong, youadvertised a horse, accepted payment for it and agreed to keep the horse until the purchaser could arrange for her vet to come to your yard. Then you got a message that purchaser had Covid but haven't heard from her since. Is there anything in there that you have done that could possibly be considered illegal? No ,of course not.It can hardly be money laundering the purchaser has got nothing for her money so far. I can definitely reccommend BHS legal helpline and in your position I would ring them.

 

[Ossy2]

Is there any receipt or contract of sale for the horse? Is any of the arrangements been written down, if not maybe something to think about putting in place in the future. I also would think she could be pretty ill based on what she was like at the the viewing.

Legally, depending if documentation you have, you maybe able to keep money and issue an abandonment notice to reclaim the horse as yours. Morally and reputationally it is probably better to Give a deadline and just refund in full. I also wouldn’t be worried I’d done anything illegal either.

 

[Hanno Verian]

I dont think you can refund the money and readvertise, she has paid you the horse is her property, the issue is that she hasnt removed the horse from your property, which is a different matter.
I would be trying everything to contact her and telling her that you will be charging her £XX per day and that if you co dont hear from her by X days you will issue a notice of abandonment. Try googling her name, her email address or phone number or use one of the 192 people finder sites, you can legitimately bill her for your time and any costs, out of interest how much was the purchase price hundreds or thousands??

Sorry only just seen the post above!!!

 

[Hanno Verian]

Get proper legal advice otherwise you could end up in a world of pain and trouble

 

[Hepsibah]

I would consider the horse to be abandoned. It has been paid for in full so no longer belongs to you but you have been left with a duty of care to the animal. Tell the new owner they do not have your permission to keep the horse there then go through the procedure outlined here. You will not need to refund the new owner.

 

[WelshD]

Try messaging on WhatsApp - at least there you can see if and when you message was read. It will give you an idea of whether they are ignoring you or genuinely can’t get to their phone

 

[jay2bee]

I received a text message saying it was the lady's friend. She is unwell and needs me to keep the horse a few weeks and then will get in touch. I've asked if she is in hospital, no just can't 'cope' with contact with anyone right now? So what that means I don't know? I've asked the friend to call me at her earliest opportunity, but today!, as I need to talk about this and get something a bit firmer. Am I being unreasonable here, or unsympathetic?!

 

[TPO]

I received a text message saying it was the lady's friend. She is unwell and needs me to keep the horse a few weeks and then will get in touch. I've asked if she is in hospital, no just can't 'cope' with contact with anyone right now? So what that means I don't know? I've asked the friend to call me at her earliest opportunity, but today!, as I need to talk about this and get something a bit firmer. Am I being unreasonable here, or unsympathetic?!

So you've just to keep, feed and care for a horse that someone else owns? As has been said what happens if the horse has an accident or occurs a vet bill whilst in "your care".

Personally, and no idea of legalities, I'd be phoning the friend until they answered and saying collect the horse now or money is being refunded and he's going back on the market.

You're out of pocket either way as you have to keep him for the foreseeable.

Honestly I don't think I'd want a horse going to someone who behaved in this way. What happens when she next "can't cope", is the horse just abandoned at the yard?

 

[ihatework]

I received a text message saying it was the lady's friend. She is unwell and needs me to keep the horse a few weeks and then will get in touch. I've asked if she is in hospital, no just can't 'cope' with contact with anyone right now? So what that means I don't know? I've asked the friend to call me at her earliest opportunity, but today!, as I need to talk about this and get something a bit firmer. Am I being unreasonable here, or unsympathetic?!

Difficult!
I’d give the benefit of the doubt for now (whilst remaining quietly suspicious).
You do need to speak to the ‘friend’ and try and get a gut feel for what is really going on.
If it’s sounding genuine then I’d probably offer to make arrangements to drop their horse off at the full livery yard of their choice.
Otherwise I’d float the idea of selling the horse on their behalf and retaining any expenses refunding the difference.
See how that goes down, if not we’ll speak to BHS and consider just cancelling the sale.

 

[JackFrost]

Agree this is very vague. I was once in a position of being badly injured, but not kept in hospital, and at that time absolutely could not cope with anything beyond basic functioning, - when you are really ill you cannot, so may well be genuine.
I would ask the friend for more info.
If I was in your shoes??? - i would try to be sympathetic, but set a clear arrangement such as 'I will keep horse here till end of the month for you to complete on the sale and remove horse. If I have not heard from you or we have no acceptable arrangement by then, I will deem the sale as aborted and refund on 1 Nov'. Put it in text or writing.
Life can and does go wrong sometimes, I would not be too suspicious. You have the money.

 

[ycbm]

What an unholy mess!

Personally, and no idea of legalities, I'd be phoning the friend until they answered and saying collect the horse now or money is being refunded and he's going back on the market.

Completely agree with this and use a phone with a number that won't be recognised if you don't get an answer.
.

 

[WelshD]

If they don't get in touch today I think I would send another message saying 'if I know more about your circumstances and intentions I am prepared to come to some sort of arrangement but without that I can only assume that you aren't in a position to have the horse and will continue advertising him/her for now, if they sell before you are able to collect I will refund your money but I cannot have a horse on free livery indefinitely'

 

[Mari]

If she has paid in full for the horse you could charge her Livery for the time she has left the horse. If you’re a member of BHS ask them for advice.

 

[Hanno Verian]

Please, please get proper legal advice.... Do not just pick the advice that is most convenient for you from the varying menu people have offered. You need to be certain that what you do is legal otherwise you could arguably find yourself charged with theft if you sell a horse that is someone else's property. You cant just nulify a sale because you feel like it and like it or not you offered the horse for sale, the purchaser paid the full price therefore the horse belongs to them.

Yes they should have moved the horse by now, but unless that was specified in the contract of sale, it is a sperate matter.

 

[I'm Dun]

What an unholy mess!



Completely agree with this and use a phone with a number that won't be recognised if you don't get an answer.
.

Thats just a waste of time. If I was avoiding someone there is no way in hell I would answer a number I dont know. I fact, I'm not avoiding anyone and wouldnt answer a number I dont know.

 

[nutjob]

I would ask the 'friend' to give you the persons address. You will need it if you want to send any kind of formal / legal letter. It will also tell you a lot if it cannot be supplied. They seem to be asking you to look after their horse without offering any payment for this or signing any contract so you at least have a right to know who they are.

 

[jay2bee]

Waiting for the phone call from the friend. Planning to just listen to the situation and say I will think about it then get back to them.