Unpaid field rent

[dusty123]

Hi, was just wondering if anyone can give me any advice on what i can do legally.
A "friend" fell ill 2 years ago and was unable to look after her horse. She asked me if I had any room in my field as she didn't feel he was being looked after properly. I went to see him and he was seriously underweight. Told her what he was like and she asked me to look after him. I picked him up and brought him home and she agreed to pay £20.00 per week. The payments were very erratic and I have had to continually phone to try to get her to pay. I have paid for his feet to be done and all hay and hard feed over the last 18months. She now owes me over 6 months field rent. I have left numerous messages, spoken to her husband but still no money has been forthcoming. It now turns out that he also has no passport. Any ideas on where I go from here? Thanx

 

[FionaM12]

Personally the first thing I would do is go to see her, sit down and talk it through before taking any other action. If she avoided me, I'd be persistant and only seek further (legal) advice if it proved impossible to see her or it couldn't be resolved face to face.

 

[dusty123]

Have tried but she has recently moved. Have asked for address from both her and the husband , also posted message on the daughters facebook. Asked her to come over to see the horse as he has been with me 18months and she has never once been to see him. Shame because he is a real sweetheart.

 

[Miss L Toe]

In my opinion the horse has been abandoned, so it is up to you to send a bill including [undisclosed] "Debt Recovery Costs] for which she is liable.
Make it clear that the horse is now on livery with you and she is liable for all costs including vet and feed bills, plus " additional Debt Recovery Costs.
Offer to write off the debt in exchange for the horse [if you are happy with this], otherwise you can sell it and take as much as you need out of the sale.
I think you can cross her off your Christmas card list.
Use the last known address and Recorded Delivery if she wishes to slip out of the net it is not for you to chase her up.
There is nothing to stop you posting your intention on Facebook, her fault if she wants to be viewed on a public forum.

 

[luckyoldme]

Just a thought but if she s not responding to any contact could you tell a little white lie and say that you have someone asking if he is for sale? At least this might open up a conversation.
Any legal involvement will be exspensive to say the least! I experienced this in the past but the only way anything was done was by threatening to remove the horses and leaving them in the owners garden. The horses were removed but it was a pretty sad outcome because all it meant was they went off to not be taken care of somewhere else.

 

[luckilotti]

i've been in this situation!
basically, try and get the passport sorted, you need to write to her and ask her to confirm in writing if there is already a passport around for said horse, ask her to do it in writing. Also mention that as its on your land, it needs a passport! say that you will have no option to obtain one on her behalf at her expense (pain but you're prob going to have to pay - find the cheapest basic passport you can, and ideally with one of the organisations that now let you do the sketch yourself as long as the mircochip is confirmed etc).
send a formal bill (including the cost of the passport) by recorded delivery, stating payment arrangments are to be make/started within 7/14 days otherwise you will have no option but to take ownership of said animal and sell to recoup costs incurred over the 2 years etc.
As the horses keeper - you can be named on the passport for some organisations! i cant recall who we got the mares passport with but my name appeared under a keeper section, and it was returned to me. As you are caring for him you should hold his passport anyway.

some of the above may be a bit out of date as it was a few years ago that we had a very similar situation. In the end we got 'some' of the money but more importantly - we legally could rehome the mare and she now has a fantastic life.

if you are a BHS member or have a legal helpline with your insurance etc i'd give them a call and check current advice etc.

Good luck with it all.