Please help....How long do i have return a horse once bought?

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tina2482

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Please could comeone help me.

i bought a pony around 6 months ago from a dealer. Long story short, the horse bucks, and is not suitable for my daughter, so i returned him to the dealer, who gave me less than half my money back, sayin she would give me the rest once she had sold him on.

She has now sold him on, as the new owner has contacted me (regarding the bucking). The new owner is having trouble as well, and the delaer is refusing to take him back now.

The new owner is going to keep the pony as she has fallen in love with him, and she is france, so would be a costly excercise anyway.

How do i go about getting my money back? Am i still entitled to my money back? Is there any law which says i can have a full refund for a certain period of time?

Any help would be greatly apprectaied.

Tina
 
I'm not sure where the law actually sits with this but I do know that unless you have it in writing that she will give a full refund, you don't really have a hope of getting it back unless she wants to give it to you. Sorry to hear about the difficulties! Have you found another pony now? :)
 
I would think you are on thin ice unfortunately. Its amazing that the dealer took the pony back after 6 months. They could easily say that the pony had started this with you. Most horses are sold as seen.. Did you have a written agreement that you could send it back in a certain timescale? Did they give you written agreement to give you the money back? Most dealers would perhaps give you some of the money back after so much time, but not all.

Sorry to rain on your parade. Speak to trading standards perhaps - see if thereare any rules...
 
Hi

You dont need to have had anything in writing (a dealer is subject to the sale of goods act) but actually getting your money back is easier said than done! I would write to them saying they have breached the implied terms of the sale under the Sale of Goods Act and you were within your rights to return the pony, adding if the money isnt returned within 14 days you will have no choice but to seek legal advice with a view to taking the matter to court. Send it recorded delivery.

Then depending on how much the pony was worth and whether you get a response, it may be worth going to see a solicitor.
 
If she told you that once the pony was sold you'd get the rest of the money back then pursue her definitely. It will be easier though if you've got something in writing, otherwise it's going to come down to verbal contracts which are harder to prove. Don't back off though, why should someone effectively steal your money like that?
 
Yes you can get the money. No there is no time by which you are entitled to it. Here's why:

You and the dealer entered into an agreement. She would buy the pony from you and she would pay part of the purchase price on collection of the pony and the remainder once she had sold the pony. The pony has now been sold so she is obliged to give you the remainder of the money.

What you need to do is this.

1. Write her a letter, entitled "Letter before Action". Say in the letter:

Dear X,

This is a letter before action. On xx/xx/xxxx you offered to pay me £xy for [brief description of pony]. £x was to be paid to me immediately and £y was to be paid to me when you sold the pony. I understand that you sold the pony on xx/xx/xxxx. You are now therefore bound to pay me £y.

Please send a cheque to/make a bank transfer to [details] within 14 days of the date of this letter. If you do not do this with 14 days, I will make a claim against you in the small claims court.

2. If no money is forthcoming, go to small claims.
 
thankyou all so much for your help.

I didnt pay a huge sum no, not compared to the figures that some buy horses for. I piad £2000. So im still £1500 down, which at this moment in time, i cant afford be down.

I think i will send her the letter, like some of you suggested.

The only orginal paperwork i have is the bill of sale.

Thanks again for all your help, and ill let you know how i get on.

Tina
 
I wouldn't take it as far as going to court, althought you could threaten them with this. Unless you have absloutly concreat evidence, so something in writing then the court will most likely just throw it out saying theres not enought evidence for your claim and taking it to court will cost you money if you lose aswell. I hope you sort it out anyway. Good luck
 
lialls said:
I wouldn't take it as far as going to court, althought you could threaten them with this. Unless you have absloutly concreat evidence, so something in writing then the court will most likely just throw it out saying theres not enought evidence for your claim and taking it to court will cost you money if you lose aswell.
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And dodgy dealers THRIVE on people believing this!!

For claims under £5,000, the 'Small Claims' procedure is the road to follow - costs are relatively small. About £100 to make your claim - and it can be done online.

You don't need concrete proof - although obviously the more 'evidence' you have, the better. But at the end of the day, success relies on a SENIOR judge (who hears the case - in a private room) believing one person's story more than the other side's version of events.

I have been involved in 3 Small Claims actions - one as a witness and 2 inwhich I defended a claim. They were all very different cases (two involved horses) but in each case they were very efficiently and fairly dealt with - and - IMO - came up with the 'right' result. In none of these cases were any of the parties represented by lawyers - so costs were minimal.

I would suggest the OP IMMEDIATELY files a claim online against the dealer - but also reports the matter to her local Trading Standards Office. Not all T/S offices are particularly well acquainted with horse 'issues' - but some are taking an interest in the activities of horse dealers. If the OP's T/S office is NOT helpful I can provide the name of my local T/S officer to refer them to - she is currently involved in two cases against dealers and has put together some hepful information on the subject for Trading Standards Officers!
 
I would suggest that whatever letters you do send are sent by recorded delivery, and that you have a think back and make a note of every conversation you have had and estimated dates of those phone conversations/meetings. It is such a shame that these jokers give the other dealers a bad name. hope it works out ok
 
Thats really interesting to know, so thankyou so much for that information on Trading standards.

Just another thing if you can help?

I contacted the lady last night by email, to say i now wanted the rest of the money for the pony, and she has said that, as she kept him for 2 months while i paid for him, and sorted out stabling, she wants paying for that, so thinks we are now equal in payment, so wont be giving me any money back....

Is this right? can she do this? she never mentioned this beforehand when i purchased him, that she wanted money for him staying at her yard, (field, as he was not stabled).

All im asking for is the balance, so my intial payment, less the part payment, and less the stabling if necessary. Am i being unfair?

Thanks again for all your help, it is greatly appreciated.

Tina
 
tina2482 said:
Thats really interesting to know, so thankyou so much for that information on Trading standards.

Just another thing if you can help?

I contacted the lady last night by email, to say i now wanted the rest of the money for the pony, and she has said that, as she kept him for 2 months while i paid for him, and sorted out stabling, she wants paying for that, so thinks we are now equal in payment, so wont be giving me any money back....

Is this right? can she do this? she never mentioned this beforehand when i purchased him, that she wanted money for him staying at her yard, (field, as he was not stabled).

All im asking for is the balance, so my intial payment, less the part payment, and less the stabling if necessary. Am i being unfair?

Thanks again for all your help, it is greatly appreciated.

Tina
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Wow! Thats about £160 a week. No, she cant do that but its proving these things. Was this before you bought him or before she sold him? I guess she could charge you for sales livery but i would email her back (for evidence purpose) and get her to clarify that this was for grass livery (I'm not sure she'll admit to this now). Then if it did come to court you can get some quotes for grass livery around your area as proof that grass livery is not £160 a week. If you do go down the CCJ route sounds like she is going to make a counter claim so the more evidence you get together now the better.
 
tina2482 said:
Thats really interesting to know, so thankyou so much for that information on Trading standards.

Just another thing if you can help?

I contacted the lady last night by email, to say i now wanted the rest of the money for the pony, and she has said that, as she kept him for 2 months while i paid for him, and sorted out stabling, she wants paying for that, so thinks we are now equal in payment, so wont be giving me any money back....

Is this right? can she do this? she never mentioned this beforehand when i purchased him, that she wanted money for him staying at her yard, (field, as he was not stabled).

All im asking for is the balance, so my intial payment, less the part payment, and less the stabling if necessary. Am i being unfair?

Thanks again for all your help, it is greatly appreciated.

Tina
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No, she can not do this. Not unless you agreed it in advance. The two of you entered into a contract (a contract does not have to be written, it can be verbal and it's still binding) whereby she would give you an amount of money on the pony being sold. End of story. Do stand your ground on this and do not let her subtract any stabling costs from the amount that she owes you.

Also, do write her a letter before action before you go to the small claims court. The court will want to see that you have done this. Put as its header "letter before action". That is quite important. Then go to small claims.
 
Thats brilliant, i contact her again then and stand my ground, now i know where i am with regards to my rights.

thanks again everyone for all your help.

ill keep you posted with any developments

Tina
 
A pony who was bought from a dealer (another person at my yard) returned a pony after finding he only jumped out of fright and was really a baby, she only got i think just over half the money back..i wouldn't hold hope of getting the money back without written evidence of the agreement.. personally i wouldn't trust dealers :/ sorry if i am putting a downer on the situation! but good luck and i hope that you do get your money!
 
BeckyX said:
A pony who was bought from a dealer (another person at my yard) returned a pony after finding he only jumped out of fright and was really a baby, she only got i think just over half the money back..i wouldn't hold hope of getting the money back without written evidence of the agreement.. personally i wouldn't trust dealers :/ sorry if i am putting a downer on the situation! but good luck and i hope that you do get your money!
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Well the outcome will depend on the facts. It's not as simple as saying that certain rules apply to a dealer - each case is different. The reason I am so confident about this one is that OP and the dealer agreed that dealer would give OP a certain amount of money and she hasn't. If you were still trying to get the dealer to agree to refund, then yes, you would need to prove misrepresentation in order to rescind the contract. But that's not the case here.
 
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