Owner wont provide an address for viewing

[mustardsmum]

I am supposed to be viewing a horse this afternoon but the owner wont give me the postcode or address of the yard, just keeps telling me to contact them when I am 40 mins hour away?! Am I being odd in that I am refusing to go unless I know where I am going?? It is in an area I don't know at all, a good couple of hours away and I am going on my own so putting in postcodes on route won't really be practical. Why on earth would you not let someone know where the yard is?

 

[Sparkeyboy]

Sounds very weird, I wouldn't waste your time going to view if they won't provide an address

 

[The Bouncing Bog Trotter]

Don't go on your own and, if you have an iPhone, ensure someone is tracking your location. Once you get the address, ensure you forward it on to your tracking friend. Have you done a reverse image search to see if the advert photos have been used elsewhere? I did that once for a friend and we found the same photo had been used to advertise a horse of a totally different description and the horse probably never existed.

Some people are very concerned about security and privacy. When I was selling my trailer I was asked by the Yard Manager to hold all viewings offsite. I had to take the trailer home to be viewed. The Yard Owner's view was that they didn't want all and sundry wandering around the yard, seeing what we had and what our security measures were.

 

[ruth83]

I wouldn't go.

You won't be able to tell anyone where you will be if there is a problem.
It gives the seller 40 minutes notice to stop lunging the horse and allow them to get its breathing back down and groom it off
Or to make sure it is in from the field if it is bad to catch.
Or move it to a different stable if it has chewed the door or kicked the walls to pieces
Or dope it.
Or move to a completely different location if they don't want you to be able to come back to them after the sale.

 

[MuddyMonster]

Personally, I'd message them saying that although you appreciate they might be concerned about their safety/privacy, you are concerned about yours and would like an address and postcode so your OH knows where you are going and to ensure you are safe.

You're surely going to find out the address once you've been so what difference does it make?

If they can't or won't, I'd cancel the viewing personally

 

[dogatemysalad]

I have been to view in areas that are pretty obscure and so agreed to receive instructions from when I reached a certain landmark. However on one occasion my mobile phone network didn't work either after driving for 2 hours, which was tricky.
Other possible reasons might be that the owner lives in an area where they feel vulnerable and wants to ensure their location isn't given out to anyone on the Internet.
If you're travelling alone though, you do need to verify the identity and a real address before setting out and maybe Google the property to ensure it does exist.

 

[rabatsa]

Don't go. We once went like this and the horse was shown to us in a car park on a housing estate. They were not happy when we told them we would not buy no matter how good the horse seemed.

 

[mustardsmum]

Rabatsa, this is my main concern - I have a friend who had a similar experience buying a car, ended up in a very dodgy area and I think that's why I have started to feel a bit uncomfortable. Location is near a very big city and I am begining to think I too am going to end up in car park. I think I am going to extracate myself from the viewing..........

 

[Fluffypiglet]

Rabatsa, this is my main concern - I have a friend who had a similar experience buying a car, ended up in a very dodgy area and I think that's why I have started to feel a bit uncomfortable. Location is near a very big city and I am begining to think I too am going to end up in car park. I think I am going to extracate myself from the viewing..........

I think it would be sensible not to attend. It does sound extremely odd behaviour.

 

[Silver Clouds]

I don't think it sounds like a great situation to put yourself in really. As others have said, if they are concerned about their own security then you will find out the address anyway when you get there, and could put it all over the internet after the viewing. I once viewed (and bought) a horse in a very hard to find place, and the sellers arranged to meet me in a pub car park a mile away so that I could follow them to the yard, BUT they had given me the actual yard address as well before I set off.

At best they are a bit paranoid about privacy and have failed to see the flaw in their plan, but at worse it is an attempt to cover up something to your detriment (such as lunging/catching/moving the horse before you get there). If they really won't give you the address even when you stress concerns about your own safety then I would avoid.

 

[MuddyMonster]

Rabatsa, this is my main concern - I have a friend who had a similar experience buying a car, ended up in a very dodgy area and I think that's why I have started to feel a bit uncomfortable. Location is near a very big city and I am begining to think I too am going to end up in car park. I think I am going to extracate myself from the viewing..........

I think that's sensible

Even if the address was very rural, I'd expect them to say something like 'We're X house/yard on X lane. But we're rural and hard to find for non locals so it's easier to call us when you get to the lane by the oak tree and we can guide you in from there as the postcode might land you in the middle of Mr Farmers 10,000 acre pig farm' or the equivalent.

 

[Ceifer]

I have had a similar situation. I went to view a horse in Kent and the vendor gave the nearest town. Gave me the full address on our way there. I took my partner with me. It was fine. The reasoning for the cloak and dagger directions was because they were concerned about security which is a bit stupid because once I’d been there I knew the location and if I had been a thief I’d have just gone back.
At the time we were already going to Kent to visit family so it wasn’t too far out of our way but if we’d been travelling a distance I wouldn’t have gone.

 

[saddlesore]

That just sounds super dodgy.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I've had this when viewing a puppy. Vendor wouldn't give address to place in woolly wild Wales, said they'd meet me at a Morrison's and I'd need to follow them.

I thought this was very fishy, I thought they might be a front for a puppy farm. I said I wouldn't go without being given an address first, and they wouldn't give it to me.

I walked away.

 

[mustardsmum]

ruth83 all those points had also occured to me. I have asked for the horse to be out as I have turned up to viewings when we were pony hunting for the kids years ago, only to find a very quiet and clearly very lunged pony......

 

[Roxylola]

Even without a postcode with the what3words app/website they could still give a location.

 

[Amun]

I had a similar situation, seller refused to give his address and just kept saying that I should call when I'm close (2 hours ride for me). I refused and never regretted. When someone is fishy or rude from the start, I'm just grateful for the warning. What about potential refund or problems if seller is treating you like this before he even received the money?

 

[cobgoblin]

I wouldn't go under those circumstances.. It makes you wonder if they're even selling their own horse, or just one they found in a field.

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

It is also possible that if they give you more information before you leave you will have time to google them or look on FB dodgy dealers to check them out. I definitely wouldn't go to be honest, sounds very unprofessional and suspect.

 

[mustardsmum]

Thanks everyone - I think you have all reflected my thoughts so have decided not to go and have messaged seller to say politely I wont be going.

 

[Merry neddy man]

Put the ad on here

 

[Ceifer]

Put the ad on here

Why?

 

[Surbie]

Thanks everyone - I think you have all reflected my thoughts so have decided not to go and have messaged seller to say politely I wont be going.

Good plan. A friend of mine had similar, went to see the very quiet 5yo, got a name for a deposit transfer, googled and found out he was very, very dodgy. Not worth the risk & she walked away.

 

[Kaylum]

You have done your research on the horse and seller?

There are some undesirables that will box up the horse and show you in a supermarket carpark or industrial estate.

I take it they just gave you a town to aim for? If so do some asking about on the facebook groups.

If they have nothing to hide you will soon find out.

 

[scruffyponies]

Everybody's reasons for being suspicious are totally valid, but IME this behaviour is almost always paranoia on the part of the seller, only wanting to give their address out at the last minute to a genuine buyer. Happens fairly often on marketplace, ebay etc.

 

[Winters100]

I would not go in these circumstances. I get that the seller might be worried about security, but I would assume that you have already had quite a lot of contact if you are 2 hours away. Did they give you a reason for this?

 

[MummyEms]

Have you spoken on the phone ? Did they sound decent ?
I would still be interested in the horse myself. Whatever the humans are like it's not the horses fault.

 

[Merry neddy man]

Why?

So we could comment if we thought the advert was genuine or a con.

 

[fetlock]

No way would I go.

 

[Ceifer]

So we could comment if we thought the advert was genuine or a con.

Isn’t it a bit unfair on the seller to have their advert dissected on a public forum? The OP has given enough information for people to give her advice.
It might also then have the seller wading in if they see the post.