dodgy saddler what can be done??

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tams

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hi i am wondering if anyone has had any luck taking action against dodgy saddlesr who rip you off? i have had a well known saddler (south west area) who fitted a saddle to my mare in january 8 weeks later it didnt fit went back reflocked and 8 weeks later it didnt fit at all! he blames the pony saying she is a odd shape at the origianl time of fitting i did say if she needs a made to measure then that is what she should have but he said she didnt need it, he also said she had plenty of room to get bigger in the saddle but not smaller which i though was strange, i have contacted the saddler and said i am still not happy (no reply) and also contated consumer direct and the society of master saddlers is there anyting else that can be done without going to small claims court to get the saddle cost refunded as i belive the saddle never fitted correctly i have had 3 other saddlers out who agree with me that it doesnt fit at all, i now have a saddle that doesnt fit and a mare who has been out of work for 6 weeks due to no saddle (currently having one made) any help much appreciated
 
Could you pm me the name of the saddler please? I've just had one in south west to fit my boy and now I'm all worried! Thanks
 
I'd report it to trading standards, and to the master saddlers organisation. I would write a formal letter of complain requesting a refund and see what response you get.

You could, if the saddler won't offer you a refund, take the matter to court but you would need to prove that the advice was negligent, and/or that the saddle was not fit for purpose. That could be expensive and difficult especially in relation to something that is fairly subjective like saddle fit.

Think about how you can prove that the saddle never fitted your horse. How will you deal with it when the saddler says "the saddle fitted at the time but the horse has grown/put on weight/lost weight/muscled up/lost muscle/changed shape". That is what you will have to deal with at Court.
 
hi thanks for reply consumer direct have just emailed me back and said i may be able to claim through my credit card company and also write a formal letter of complaint to him, when the saddle was fitted he said there was plenty of room for her to get bigger but not smaller luckily i had taken my friend with me who whitnessed everything, hopefully i will have more luck with society of master saddlers im not sure if im allowed to name and shame said saddler, am i?
 
could you pm me who it was. i had a problem with a saddle fitter to and it was badly fitted i was lucky to get a refund and got another saddle fitter out
 
Worst saddle I ever had was one that was custom made at great expense by a Master saddler. To cut a long story short, no way it ever fitted - or ever would.

Complained to the SMS to be told cheerily by the chap I spoke to 'Oh yes I know X quite well, he's a good bloke...'!

Was disgusted to discover that the 'master saddler' qualification was - at that time - only related to the making of the saddlery, not the fitting. Has that changed, would anyone know?

Never got any joy as the saddler would not offer refund and the SMS were clearly not going to take any action. Also the costs of going to court and difficulties of proving a case - cut my losses as best I could and sold the blimmin thing.

Sorry to say, that might be the best option for you. But best of luck if you feel inclined to pursue it.
 
i think thats what will happen here i will end up selling the saddle for alot less than what i paid for it! but i do think all of us horsey people should club together and create our own list of good and bad saddlers so none of us get caught out in the future, im having a saddle made now by a lovely saddler who i have only heard good things about fingers crossed it will be the answer to my problems, but im still very annoyed that bad saddlers can get away with ripping people off!
 
hi
MASTER SADDLERS are individuals who are trained, skilled and qualified in their own right to make and repair saddlery and harness but do not necessarily have retail premises.
Master Saddlers will hold level 3 City & Guilds saddlery qualifications,
or will have completed a formal 4 year apprenticeship and have
been in the trade for a minimum of 7 years

REGISTERED QUALIFIED SADDLE FITTERS will be either a Society member in their own right
or employed by a member. They will have been fitting saddles for a minimum
of 3 years and hold the Society of Master Saddlers
Qualified Saddle Fitters Certificate.

so you can get someone who is a master saddler but not a society of master saddler qualified saddle fitter.

they can also only fit to the horse as presented to them on the day, if you were happy when it was 1st fitted, then there is every chance the horse has changed shape (it doesnt take a lot) in order for it to stop fitting ? ifd the person was a qualified society saddle fitter they will have keept the templates from the original fit, and if new templates were to be taken now would they match if they do you would probably have a bit more of a case .
 
I have had a saddle I bought off a Master Saddler and SMS fitter which did not fit my horse at all, and in fact injured her.

I found that the MS Association and the SMS Lead 'closed rank' when I tried to make a complaint against him.... the whole thing was pointless.

Also, there are also plenty of people who will say that the saddler I used is brilliant, and probably an equal amount that will say he's rubbish.

I think, that like many things in life, saddle fitting is subjective as I am yet to hear of one saddle fitter that EVERYONE has been pleased with.
 
he is supposed to be a qualified fitted etc and no i wasnt happy when it was first fitted as i was riding downhill, he said it fitted her although if it fitted why was it downhill and lifted off her back, the points of the saddle dug into her withers, i am not a saddle fitted but have had to learn as much as i can to ensure i dont get conned again and the saddle the so called wonderful fitter fitted does not nor ever has fitted hope thats cleared that up
 
It's so difficult because we put so much trust in them, especially when they come with a glowing reputation. I know who you are talking about tams and use him myself but before I came on here I only heard good about him, having read a few dissatisfied posts on here over time it really opened my eyes.

As you know ( through PMs ) I had a few doubts about the saddle for one of mine after it was checked but having gone elsewhere & had a terrible experience it left me between a rock & a hard place.

I hope you get yours sorted out & are happy with your new saddler.
 
its such a shame that we have to learn expensive lessons like this i feel sorry for the poor horses my pony had the saddle digging in her withers with this saddlers saddle the whole time and she is so genuine she put up with it for ages before she couldnt take it anymore, our horses are our pride and joy and to think we caused them pain and discomfort by trusting a well know person who had a good reputaion make me really annoyed, it does seem to be a recent thing with this saddler his past reputaion is outstanding but recently it has gone down hill and i have been told he is living on his reputation, surely if he doesnt want to do it anymore he should just quit rather than doing half a job! will let you know how the new saddle goes but new saddler is 100% confident his saddle will be the answer and i was very pleased with a previous saddle from him change of direction forced change of saddle design though
 
I would also like a PM of the saddler to avoid, please.

I too had a saddle fitted by a well respected saddler who is often recommended on here, the saddle marked my horse's back but he would not have it that the saddle he fitted was doing it and refused to refund or replace. I had to go elsewhere and lost money on the saddle he sold me.
 
I don't know the rules & regs on here but would it be a problem to name him? It seems there are now a lot of people worrying and people who have had bad experiences. It's probable that it isn't the same saddler everyone is having problems with and then there will be a mass sigh of relief!!

I know people post on her asking if anyone has used X/Y/Z and posters have subsequently said they have experienced problems with the person or conversely had good experiences. It would be no different to that if this person was named, and as she has already been in contact with him it & dealt with her issues in the correct way he already knows her concerns.
 
I brought a dressage saddle last year from a well known saddler and never got on with it. The lady fitting it said when I said I wasn't sure that it was because I rode with my legs too far back and that wasn't used to it. You put your faith in them so I perservered with but eventually stopped riding in it. I got my saddler (checks them but doesn't sell them) to do my routine check and he looked at it and said it was not only too big for the horse and me. It was an 18 inch when I am 5'2 and 8 1 1/2 stone. I should have realised but trusted her to fit the correct size.

I rang them and complaine they did exchange it for another new saddle. The same woman came out (wearing 5 inch heels :D) but stilllady didn't fit it properly and it has had to be checked and made wider by my saddler. She was very rude, didn't want to send any time, complained that rode in it too long - 25 mins and spent half the time on the phone arranging her dinner. She wanted £50.00 for visit but since had just parted with £1500 for a saddle that didn't fit said no. I would never recommend her or the firm again.

These saddlers are Kent base with agents around the South East/Eastern Countries
 
Sam100 said:
I brought a dressage saddle last year from a well known saddler and never got on with it. The lady fitting it said when I said I wasn't sure that it was because I rode with my legs too far back and that wasn't used to it. You put your faith in them so I perservered with but eventually stopped riding in it. I got my saddler (checks them but doesn't sell them) to do my routine check and he looked at it and said it was not only too big for the horse and me. It was an 18 inch when I am 5'2 and 8 1 1/2 stone. I should have realised but trusted her to fit the correct size.

I rang them and complaine they did exchange it for another new saddle. The same woman came out (wearing 5 inch heels :D) but stilllady didn't fit it properly and it has had to be checked and made wider by my saddler. She was very rude, didn't want to send any time, complained that rode in it too long - 25 mins and spent half the time on the phone arranging her dinner. She wanted £50.00 for visit but since had just parted with £1500 for a saddle that didn't fit said no. I would never recommend her or the firm again.

These saddlers are Kent base with agents around the South East/Eastern Countries
Click to expand...

5" heels? most definately not Ellie then!! but then she has been doing my saddles for years and is ALWAYS brilliant!
 
rhino said:
If you look at OP's previous posts you will find out who she is talking about - I had a sneaky suspicion who it would be and was right!
Click to expand...

Thanks Rhino :) seems theres always good and bad experiences for all saddlers, so who to use seems even more of an impossible decision and whether you can trust them :(
 
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