Horse sold and not collected.

[tonigin]

Can anyone give me some help please. My horse was viewed and sold mid September. Buyer put down deposit next day and said would be collected a week later. A week later didnt hear anything from buyer so messaged and call to no response. Next time we heard was 7th October when they messaged to say they were waiting for house sale to complete and would be in next few days. Despite further messages and phone calls unanswered (24 in all), and no response for her at all, next time of hearing was 15th November to say she would collect the next day. She didnt. Then again she would collect 23rd November she didnt.

After sending a message to say this Thursday that as it had been 10 weeks if she was not paid for and collected by today, the horse would be going on sales livery, she paid in full to bank account but again no communication and not answering messages or phone calls. What happens now. I have kept the horse for 10 weeks, livery and insurance again due on the 1st which together is another £200 for the month, I dont technically now own the pony she does but she will not communicate and was selling due to personal reasons and having to cut down for winter.

 

[HeyMich]

Do you have BHS legal cover? I'd call them for advice.

 

[honetpot]

I would tell her from the date of payment you are charging her full livery if she doesn’t collect in the week and as it’s now her pony she is liable for the insurance and any vets fees. Keep a record with receipts with all you spend. I bet they want you to keep it until after Christmas.
This is why I never take deposits.

 

[lilly1]

Ditto getting legal advice. It would be easier to refund if you can and sell the horse to someone else. Very odd scenario.

 

[twiggy2]

I would check for legal advice but I would be looking round charge for livery services and stable charges.
To be honest I would have messaged a week later to say that unless the horse was collected.in 24 hrs it would be resold.
I would be hoping that I could return the money minus above charges and resell the horse.

 

[ester]

I would say she has 48 hours to collect the horse or you will be returning the money minus livery costs and the sale is cancelled.

 

[Sasana Skye]

My first instinct is to say that I would cancel the sale anyway, they are obviously not reliable and I wouldn't trust them to look after the horse

 

[tonigin]

Thank you for your responses, it is the most bizarre situation, and is very upsetting and stressful. I am going to speak to solicitiors on Monday, as a third of what i sold the horse for has been taken up in livery fees and looking after her etc, and feel i have been more than fair

 

[doodle]

I would refund the money and message them saying you have done so and horse is no longer for sale. Then block number and move on.

 

[blitznbobs]

Or send text saying you are now charging full livery for their horse at 1500 per week ... should pick it up pretty quickly

 

[AmyMay]

I would say she has 48 hours to collect the horse or you will be returning the money minus livery costs and the sale is cancelled.

Yep, this is what I’d do.

 

[Patterdale]

This is bizarre!

I would do what Ester said.

 

[HashRouge]

I would say she has 48 hours to collect the horse or you will be returning the money minus livery costs and the sale is cancelled.

Absolutely this - what a bizarre scenario!

 

[JillA]

Can I ask how much deposit (i.e was it an amount most people could stand losing)?l

 

[be positive]

This is bizarre!

I would do what Ester said.

So would I, although probably a good few weeks ago. The horse now belongs to her which is putting you in a tricky position if anything did go wrong, they are now technically the owner so your insurance may not pay out if anything happened.

 

[JillA]

The horse now belongs to her which is putting you in a tricky position if anything did go wrong, they are now technically the owner so your insurance may not pay out if anything happened.

No, the horse does not belong to the buyer until all the payments have been made in full. You will find the same with all goods sold with staged payments/hire purchase agreements - unless it is done through a finance company, in which case I would think the company owns it until the debt is paid in full

 

[be positive]

No, the horse does not belong to the buyer until all the payments have been made in full. You will find the same with all goods sold with staged payments/hire purchase agreements

In the OP it says the payment was made in full by transfer on Thursday.

 

[JillA]

In the OP it says the payment was made in full by transfer on Thursday.

Oh sorry, missed that. In which case I would tell them you will give them a deadline to collect and after that treat it as abandoned. You can threaten to charge livery but getting the money might be a different matter

 

[Squeak]

My first instinct is to say that I would cancel the sale anyway, they are obviously not reliable and I wouldn't trust them to look after the horse

Agree with this. I would be trying to get out of the sale so that the pony can be found a better/ different home.

 

[tonigin]

My last text message to the lady on Monday was "as it has been 10 weeks and she hasnt been paid for if she is not paid for and collected by Saturday 30th November she is going to be taken and placed on sales livery". To which she then sent the remaining money through to bank but no message or phone call saying she has done that or when she intends to collect. So messaged again Thursday asking for a collection date and still nothing.

 

[scats]

How bizarre! It seems strange to pay for a horse in full if they aren’t interested. I would be tempted to send a message saying that you will give them a week to get in touch to arrange collection, or at least explain what’s going on, or you will refund the money (minus deposit, due to being messed about) and put horse back on the market.

 

[AmyMay]

My last text message to the lady on Monday was "as it has been 10 weeks and she hasnt been paid for if she is not paid for and collected by Saturday 30th November she is going to be taken and placed on sales livery". To which she then sent the remaining money through to bank but no message or phone call saying she has done that or when she intends to collect. So messaged again Thursday asking for a collection date and still nothing.

refund the money today and tell her the sale is void.

 

[JillA]

refund the money today and tell her the sale is void.

Not that easy - she has a contract and you need to take steps to end it. One of which would be communication which you can produce if necessary and it isn't easy with text message to prove it has been received. Recorded delivery letter or email with a read receipt is the safest, giving an ultimatum which if she ignores it proves she has terminated the contract by default. I'm not a lawyer but before you call the whole sale off you do need legal advice, CAB or BHS

 

[AmyMay]

Rubbish. The contract has been voided. Text messages have clearly been received.

Who in their right mind wouldn’t be returning the money today.

 

[JillA]

Rubbish. The contract has been voided. Text messages have clearly been received.

Good luck with evidencing that if it gets to court then................................

 

[conniegirl]

Its very easy to evidence! The lady clearly read the txt as she paid for the horse in fill

 

[windand rain]

With puppies I have always kept the pup until ready on a deposit if the pup is returned then the first new owner has to wait for the pup to be resold and only was given the resale price minus the deposit.
Not sure legally whether you can do the same with a horse
Value of pups falls as they age passed 10 weeks in most cases

 

[AmyMay]

Good luck with evidencing that if it gets to court then................................

If it went to court (which is highly doubtful) there is clear evidence of text messages being responded to.

Regardless, id this were me, the money would be returned today and the horse readvertised. I’d happily take my chances in court.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I would text them informing them that although they purchased the horse on ? date in September & eventually paid for it on ? date you have been paying for the livery of the horse that no longer belongs to you but belongs to them for the last 10 weeks. I would bill them for livery from the day they purchased the horse, not the day they paid, until the present. Charge a reasonable amount, not the £1500 a week as said by one member. Then if they want to cause any issue with you you can always void the sale, as they have repeatedly failed to collect the horse & then deduct the livery costs from the money they paid & refund them any left over. Even if they eventually turn up for the horse they will need to bring more money with them to make up the purchase price as livery will have been deducted. They cannot expect you to look after the horse for 10 weeks for free.

 

[AmyMay]

Why at this stage would you do that TZ?