Legal advice required please - missing horse/funds

Weezy

Weezy

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I have a horse who was passed onto an overseas dealer to sell via a UK agent. This was over a year ago, since then no money, no horse. In fact I have no idea of the whereabouts of said horse. I would really like to hear from anyone who has initiated legal proceedings against an overseas citizen, it is within the EU if that helps.

Cheers :)
 
Bloody Hell!
Which horse was this Weezy?
Sorry I can't be of any help but hope you get it sorted out.
 
I don't want to say any more on here IHW, for legal reasons, but will happily talk to you about it on the phone :)

It WILL be sorted, I have a raging, ranting husband, who I have been placating for the last 12 months and I cannot take anymore. If I don't get this sorted ASAP then I am going to have to sell Ted and my trailer to replace the money this horse has cost me :(
 
Weezy said:
I don't want to say any more on here IHW, for legal reasons, but will happily talk to you about it on the phone :)

It WILL be sorted, I have a raging, ranting husband, who I have been placating for the last 12 months and I cannot take anymore. If I don't get this sorted ASAP then I am going to have to sell Ted and my trailer to replace the money this horse has cost me :(
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You can't sell Ted! Its looking like you have finally found the horse you have been wanting/needing for a while.
Kick some @rse big time and get it sorted. Hope the dealer (and poss the UK agent) get what is coming from them.
Can CAB point you in the right direction for overseas legal action?
 
I don't know about CAB, I am going to contact Darbys on Monday, it is REALLY complicated tho, I have been naive and stupid I think. Legal may not be the way to do it if you catch my drift....
 
I would stick with Darby's, the CAB are not really specialists in stuff like this. Just be very careful Weezy, I have got money back both ways and it is very very stressful either way, although the non-legal route is much more gratifying ;-)
Hope you get sorted xx
 
Believe me Elaine, it is stressful enough already...I am getting the brunt of my OH's anger and am totally and utterly fed up of being shouted at to get it sorted :( He is very black and white and doesn't understand the ins and outs of the horse world, he wants to use his family's very, very highly successful barristers, whereas I think Darbys will be better placed....argh, seriously very stressed, very upset, very, very shafted :(
 
I am sorry to hear of your problems the best start will be dealing with the British agent in the British courts.European courts although in theory just as easy to deal with, the problems come with enforcing any judgement.I know this wont help you and as hard as it sounds you can soon start wasting more money trying to recover what cant be recovered.This is just something that needs considering.I really feel for you in this situation and I dont wish to sound negative.Just goes to show there are a high number of rogues involved with horses
So good luck hopefully Darbys will be of help to you.
 
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Not negative, don't worry, I am very aware of the ins and outs of the law and that it is sometimes more expensive to persue these cases, but my OH is adamant, believe me, ATM I am holding him back by his collar :( At this time I have no reason to believe that the British agent is at all culpable, I have requested the full details of the overseas agent and presume, if the British agent is truly also being shafted, that they will be immediately forthcoming. At this time all the OH wants is justice, and he will go to the end of the earth to ensure it happens, talk about fired up.
 
Blimey, sorry to hear that! Can you say which country? If it's France, I might be able to be of more use..
 
I don't have anything constructive to say, just wanted to wish you good luck! Hope you can track the horse down at least - how can they just send it anywhere without telling the owner? :( Do you still have the passport? x
 
To be quite honest and blunt if the British agent is the person you dealt with he has not looked after your interest (that is why you use an agent)so he is the one to go for and it should not matter that you think he has been shafted.He should have made sure you were protected so has been negligent in that respect.It would then make him responsible for recovering the money from the purchaser(or foreign agent).A reputable agent would also have insurance to cover these problems.
 
It is more complicated than that I am afraid - I have never even met the horse, let alone seen her passport.....as I said, complicated and very, very intricate!
 
popsdosh said:
To be quite honest and blunt if the British agent is the person you dealt with he has not looked after your interest (that is why you use an agent)so he is the one to go for and it should not matter that you think he has been shafted.He should have made sure you were protected so has been negligent in that respect.It would then make him responsible for recovering the money from the purchaser(or foreign agent).A reputable agent would also have insurance to cover these problems.
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Without knowing the full in's and outs this would probably be my take on things too. Otherwise why would you use the middle man if it wasn't to provide you with a bit of security?
 
First, how did you pay by bacs or cheque i hope as proof ?Have you anything in writing ?How reputable is the agent /or not ?Have you tried trading standards, they might be able to help ?
 
Hard to know what I can write on here thinlizzy, sorry, just being careful! I think the agent is reputable, others have a different view, but I really hope he comes through.
 
Your contract is with the agent not their 'agent'. Presumably your contract was for YOUR AGENT to sell the horse and give you the funds. If they haven't done that it is a simple breach of contract on their part and you should be taking action against them. They may not be responsible for their agent having shafted you both but frankly that really isn't your problem. Suggest you get in touch with lawyers on Monday or else you will never get a penny back regardless of the good intentions of your agent.*

Not sure about the complications around this sale but if you have household insurance you might want to check if it covers you for legal expenses? You might be pleasantly surprised at what it does cover.

*this assumes that your contract was a straight forward one not involving you in any form of relationship with the third party?

Hope this gets sorted. Terrible if you have to sell your own horse.
 
Your contract is definitely with the agent. I have been here before - I now have a great equine solicitor who will give you plenty of free advice over the phone. If you want their number let me know.
Also if you want any help in trying to track the horse down in Holland I have a couple of really good contacts who would be more than willing to help.

Good luck in getting it sorted - hopefully the horse or the money will turn up soon.
 
Sorry that I haven't anything constructive to add, just wanted to say what a horrible situation and hope that you will be able to sort it in your favour soon.
 
As above, if you contract is with the agent then that's the only person you need to be concerned with. If they have not fulfilled the promise of the contract, it's their problem, regardless of the reasons.

Now, this is all presupposing you have a contract . . .

If not, do you have any witnesses to any conversations? Any other proof - texts or similar? And get your financial records to hand. Also, if you haven't already, make a timeline writing down EVERYTHING you can remember about what has happened, what's been said etc. from the very first conversation about the venture. It sounds like you will have to go the legal route so best to have all your ducks in a row.

Sounds ****. Sorry. :(
 
It's difficiult to give any advice without knowing details, although I can understand why you cannot say much at present.

Firstly you need to ascertain where the theft took place as that will be the country which will have jurisdiction. Some offences, although committed in another country can be tried in this country....unfortunately theft & its derivitives is not one that can. Your agent may be your best port of call as your contract mayl be with him & not with the foreign agent so you may have recourse with them. Whatever arrangement your agent has with the Holland agent is really of no concern to you. It's similar to buying something at Currys, your may have bought a Hotpoint from them but when it goes wrong they are the ones that put the matter right, not Hotpoint. Currys may have recourse with Hotpoint in the end but you would always deal with Currys.

Much of this is assumed as full details are not available but you may have to bite the bullet & let your OH & his legal family members pursue this for you. Good Luck
 
If you are a member of the Country Landowners Assoc they have a free legal department who are really helpful in cases like this.
Not related but we had someone sue our engineering business when a drier a contractor supplied exceeded the permitted decibels for Polish regulations. They sued us and won sixty thousand pounds compensation, so it works even if it's outside the UK.
I think your case would be against the UK agent not the overseas one if they arranged the transfer.
 
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