Sueing The Manufacturer Of My Saddle

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Mithras

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I posted on here a few months ago about how I had bought an incredibly expensive "bespoke" saddle that fitted neither me nor the horse. The manufacturer took it back, made me another one which was even worse and had assymetrical panels and then basically refused to respond, other than their rep telling me that they would "try to sell the original saddle for me and get the best price they could for me"!

Fortunately, I'm a qualified solicitor, although I no longer practice. So I have sued them in the small claims court. I have two expert reports, one of which is from the probably the best known saddler fitters in central Scotland, the other from this company's actual saddler, saying that the saddle doesn't fit and the tree is twisted (as well as not fitting, it falls way over to one side when you ride on it)!

The saddle cost well over £2000 and I've ridden in it 4 times, its that bad. So naturally I want my money back. This company have a really lucrative second hand market and yes they or I could probably sell this saddle for not much less than I've paid for it, but thats not the point!

I'm so utterly appalled at their service and their quality control! The company haven't even bothered to respond yet, or lodge defences, or contact me in any way, although the case is due to call on 24th August. I have a feeling they are just going to ignore it. Perhaps they consider that they are above the law!

I have not mentioned the make of saddle in question, not because I am afraid to - these are facts and legally they have no right of complaint against me discussing this civil claim on an open forum. But feel free to guess who they are!
 
My only thought on reading this was that I'm really not sure what you hope to achieve by posting this on the forum
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I wouldnt imagine that H&H would be too thrilled about it either
 
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Does it start with a D?

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i was wondering that too! my friend is thinking of buying one of their saddles....
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I will reveal all shortly. Interesting that you have both guessed a manufacturer beginning with a D!

Honestly, its so appalling. You buy an expensive, luxury product, its quite clear it isn't a satisfactory standard or fit. It should be quite simple in those circumstances, if the manufacturer can't or won't produce one which does the job, just refund the buyer! How difficult is it? Avoids arguements, bad publicity, etc (and believe me, there is going to be real bad publicity over this once it gets going in court).

I should also point out that the horse in question is very easy to fit and I now ride her in a second hand saddle bought for the princely sum of £550 which fits us both perfectly.
 
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My only thought on reading this was that I'm really not sure what you hope to achieve by posting this on the forum
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I wouldnt imagine that H&H would be too thrilled about it either

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I think it's quite interesting to hear about manufacturers who have a crap service and also would want to commiserate with HH for all the trouble she has had!

Good on you for taking them on!
 
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My only thought on reading this was that I'm really not sure what you hope to achieve by posting this on the forum
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I wouldnt imagine that H&H would be too thrilled about it either

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Publicity. All I have mentioned is facts which are backed up by evidence but if H & H have a problem with it then I am sure they will contact me and remove the post. However I posted a few months ago in a similar vein and there was no problem.

I also had in mind a similar problem someone had which they publicised on Facebook. They actually started a facebook group about it and they were eventually refunded by the same manufacturer, coincidentally.

Thirdly, I also think it makes an interesting discussion topic. In the horsy world, we buy things all the time, some of them work out, some don't. I think its interesting to read other people's experiences, good and bad, of products they hope will enhance their horse owning experiences.
 
i think as long as you make it clear that its just "your experience" and not defaming someone for no reason then i think its totally acceptable- if i had come on and asked has anyone used X saddle company for a saddle then i would want honest answers....
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Veracity (truth) is a full defence to any claim of defamation or libel. And the above narrated facts have certainly happened. The claim is in Haddington Sheriff Court as we speak, I checked today and they have still not responded. A simple offer to discuss matters with me to our mutual satisfaction would have resulted me in withdrawing the said claim.

I am not saying I would win any claim, although obviously I think I would otherwise I would not be sueing. However the point of getting it into court is that it is an open, neutral forum where a judge examines both sides's arguements and then you get a decision that you both must abide by.
 
Good on you I say, like any consumer product if it’s not up to scratch you should take action. £2000 is not a throw away sum of money.

Good on you and best of luck in court, I can’t see any issue with the details being stated on here, indeed other readers may come forward with similar problems and need advice!
 
I'm just about to get a 'D' saddle fitted to a new horse; just how common is this behavior from them? Am worried about it getting screwed up and nothing done about it...
 
If the company are who I think they are I have read quite a few negative comments. I decided not to use them for my difficult to fit Arab and purchased from a British company with a Royal Warrant.

As for defamatory comments? Consumers write to You and Yours and Watchdog and the information provided is useful. It helps companies to improve their service!
 
good luck!

i think, as consumers, we have the right to expect decent products and decent customer care. in the case of the well known 'expensive' makes, this is even more important, as part of the justification in spending that extra money is because you think you'll be getting a better product and better care...

i hope they settle before the stress of the small claims court xxx
 
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My only thought on reading this was that I'm really not sure what you hope to achieve by posting this on the forum
confused.gif
I wouldnt imagine that H&H would be too thrilled about it either

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Publicity. All I have mentioned is facts which are backed up by evidence but if H & H have a problem with it then I am sure they will contact me and remove the post. However I posted a few months ago in a similar vein and there was no problem.

I also had in mind a similar problem someone had which they publicised on Facebook. They actually started a facebook group about it and they were eventually refunded by the same manufacturer, coincidentally.

Thirdly, I also think it makes an interesting discussion topic. In the horsy world, we buy things all the time, some of them work out, some don't. I think its interesting to read other people's experiences, good and bad, of products they hope will enhance their horse owning experiences.

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But for obvious reasons you dont actually name the manufacturer - so what does this thread achieve other than allow people to speculate that it could be X supplier or it could be Y supplier
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I was interested to see whether people would guess and consistently name one maunfacturer. And in all but one case they did. It is indeed Devoucoux. Surely you don't believe that such things should be kept hushed up? As I say, if H & H feel there is an issue, they can adequately resolve it by removing the thread. There are several similar threads anyway. And as for me, well I guess Devoucoux could try to interdict me but I would simply defend it on the grounds of veracity and it would not succeed. And considering they haven't been so far organised enough to respond to the Sheriff Court when they have been sued, I think the chances of that are fairly small. Perhaps you are confusing this with a criminal case, which should not be discussed prior to court? But this is a civil case, which is open to the public. The papers are lodged with the court and open to public inspection.

To be fair, I think saddle making is a minefield, it must be terribly difficult to get right. However surely a large well known manufacturer must have a policy that enables them to deal satisfactorally with such situations as mine? Or do they just ignore it and hope it will go away? Because its not going to go away. I think I'd rather buy a second hand saddle now though if and when I get my money back from Devouxcoux, I might get an Ideal Patriot.

Do you know what the rep said to me when I was told they would "try their best to sell my saddle for me"? It was pointed out to me that I would have had to have paid about another £650 for the same saddle had I been buying it this year, because their prices have gone up. As if I was in some way lucky that they have had my money for over a year now and I still have no saddle from them that I can actually ride in!
 
Feel free to pm me with your experiences if you want some sympathy!

My saddle is so beautiful it could be a work of art. The leather is so soft and supple and the seat so comfortable. Unfortunately the panels in my saddle are not so good and it doesn't fit either. I am really disappointed that Devoucoux have made no effort whatseover to resolve these problems and that I have had to resort to sueing them.
 
When I had a good saddler out, we were discussing back problems with using close contact saddles all the time. This saddler said that they had not seen back pain in well fitted cc saddles except 'D' saddles. Most horses fitted with those saddles seemed to get pain in their wither region and just back from there. Not great for expensive saddles.
 
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I was interested to see whether people would guess and consistently name one maunfacturer. And in all but one case they did. It is indeed Devoucoux. Surely you don't believe that such things should be kept hushed up? As I say, if H & H feel there is an issue, they can adequately resolve it by removing the thread. There are several similar threads anyway. And as for me, well I guess Devoucoux could try to interdict me but I would simply defend it on the grounds of veracity and it would not succeed. And considering they haven't been so far organised enough to respond to the Sheriff Court when they have been sued, I think the chances of that are fairly small. Perhaps you are confusing this with a criminal case, which should not be discussed prior to court? But this is a civil case, which is open to the public. The papers are lodged with the court and open to public inspection.

To be fair, I think saddle making is a minefield, it must be terribly difficult to get right. However surely a large well known manufacturer must have a policy that enables them to deal satisfactorally with such situations as mine? Or do they just ignore it and hope it will go away? Because its not going to go away. I think I'd rather buy a second hand saddle now though if and when I get my money back from Devouxcoux, I might get an Ideal Patriot.

Do you know what the rep said to me when I was told they would "try their best to sell my saddle for me"? It was pointed out to me that I would have had to have paid about another £650 for the same saddle had I been buying it this year, because their prices have gone up. As if I was in some way lucky that they have had my money for over a year now and I still have no saddle from them that I can actually ride in!

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LMAO you really are incredibly patronising HH - no, I was not confusing this with a criminal case, I may not be a qualified solicitor but neither am I stupid
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It just seemed rather silly and unnecessary to let people play guessing games about who it might be - personally I dont like Devacoux saddles anyway, so wouldnt be thinking of buying one
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Each to their own however
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it doesn't suprise me to find out i was right in my guess! i tried a D saddle years ago and loved it and my saddle fitter friend nearly slapped me silly when i vaguely suggested one- she said they are really difficult to get to fit because of the panels. i ended up with albions and love them
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Good luck with your claim HH - I really hope you get every penny back. I think I am going to try and stick to 2nd hand saddles, there are so many available.
 
Their customer service is rubbish....a friend loves the bridles and ordered one from the stand at the BD winter nationals in April 08...never heard another word from them. If they are willing to lose sales over poor customer service I cant see them jumping through hoops for disatisfied customers.

Good luck with your fight HH....keep us updated.
 
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i think as long as you make it clear that its just "your experience" and not defaming someone for no reason then i think its totally acceptable- if i had come on and asked has anyone used X saddle company for a saddle then i would want honest answers....
smile.gif


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You'd be surprised. I ordered a specific donkey rug for my rescue donkey, and posted that it did not fit. I explained that I thought it was probably due to her odd shape and that not every rug can fit every animal. They tried to sue me.
 
Interesting to hear this. My friend is really interested in one of their saddles and spent ages at the stand at Hickstead last weekend. Personally, I was not too impressed by the reps there. Every time we asked them a question, like about prices, they would discuss it in French between them then answer us in English. Not too professional.
 
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LMAO you really are incredibly patronising HH - no, I was not confusing this with a criminal case, I may not be a qualified solicitor but neither am I stupid
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It just seemed rather silly and unnecessary to let people play guessing games about who it might be - personally I dont like Devacoux saddles anyway, so wouldnt be thinking of buying one
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Each to their own however
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Gosh, I'm really sorry, its certainly not my intention to come across as patronising and I'm quite shocked if I do. I just thought it would be an interesting angle to take, thats all, I didn't mean any offence by it.

hoofsculpture - get a life.
 
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i think as long as you make it clear that its just "your experience" and not defaming someone for no reason then i think its totally acceptable- if i had come on and asked has anyone used X saddle company for a saddle then i would want honest answers....
smile.gif


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You'd be surprised. I ordered a specific donkey rug for my rescue donkey, and posted that it did not fit. I explained that I thought it was probably due to her odd shape and that not every rug can fit every animal. They tried to sue me.

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you are joking!
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but you do say that they 'tried' Donklet...how come they didn't?
 
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