Urgent advice needed re horsebox problem please!!!!

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Luckylocalian

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I have a major diilema and don't know what to do!!!

I have just spent £15k (which I in no way had) on a new box custom built for my big horse. I ordered it in May and the first box they gave me (late!) was a conversion and was overweight. I had to send it back and agreed to pay more for a smaller chassis etc. I was told I would get it at the beginning of September. Come the beginning of October it still wasn’t ready. In the end I had to drive down on the morning of my show (having not been to any events all summer as waiting for my transport which I had paid for back in June!) at 6am to pick it up so I could go. However the following is wrong with it:
- It has been built too small, over one foot shorter than the dimensions requested and my horse doesn’t fit (as in he panics and sweats and it clearly is too small for him)
- The tack locker has been made too small to fit any saddles in, literally they will not fit!!!
- It has started rusting really badly on the inside around the door already (had it for less than 4 weeks)
- I ordered a cut through window to the cab and this has not been put in
- The rubber matting hasn’t been cut to fit properly and isn’t sealed down and moves/comes up when horse moves leaving him standing on metal floor!
- The spare wheel tyre is COMPLETELY bald. This has upset me beyond words as I explained to this guy 1000 times how important safety was after having a nasty trailer accident earlier in the year
- No tie rings at all on one side of the box
- No hooks inside (as ordered)
- No seats (which it was supposed to come with) – just white metal/plastic
- Not cleaned before picked up, ie the cab is FILTHY with a cm of dirt on everything and filthy seats etc etc (where it had obviously been stood in storage/workshop)

What would you do in these circumstances?
- Send it back and ask for full refund and buy from someone else?
- Send it back and ask for everything to be put right?
- Cry?
 
Well it does not even sound like it is your box? to be honest i would be sending it back and asking for a full refund, and MAKE A HUGE complaint against them to, you dont need to put up with that in fact no one does take it back i would get extremley sarcastic with them and ask if that is even your box, or if they may have it mixed up with someone elses or they are just absoloutley rubbish with paperwork!
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Goodluck with it all x
 
what a complete nightmare for you - i assume you have a contract on what they should have built???

first thing i would do is defo cry in private get you anger out of your system BEFORE you speak to them.

Write a list of fault and write letter, then either phone them or if you can't cope with speaking to them send then letter. BUT speak to your local council trading standard FIRST and see what they advise...........

if you like truck i would see if they will fix all problems, if can't cope with them anymore - it's clearly NOT fit for job so you should be entittle to a FULL REFUND..........

Good Luck - keep calm, and make sure you have everything in writting
 
3 then 1

and i'd demand a full, quick refund.... and then start threatening them with further action if the refund is not immediate (eg say you're going to hire a lorry and bill them for it...)

poor you, you must be heartbroken. but, everything happens for a reason. you'll get your money back on the day you see your dream box advertised...
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Crikey
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not sure what to suggest (((((hugs)))))

in hindsight it would have been better to pay on compeltion as it sounds like they are taking the pi55. and if it wasnt right when you picked it up you shdnt really have taken it but you prob thought 'what else cld i do?' they havent done what you asked for so they shd take the box back and return your £££'s but that might be easier said than done.

id phone trading standards and explain it to them and see if they have a good solution it might help you to have a bit of legal knowlegde behind you for something like this.

hope you get it sorted
 
Not as orderd. Not fit for purpose.

Find all your paperwork connected to the deal. Sort it out and have it in order.

Tell the company you want your money back.

If they refuse:

Ring the CAB, then ring a solicitor.
 
What a nightmare! Poor you!

Since the lorry has so many problems, it would be worth checking everything about it just to make sure. Things to look out for is the weight and whether it can legally carry your horse (a public weighbridge will give you a weight certificate which you can then use in future disputes), whether the floor and ramp are suitable for carrying the weight of a horse, whether the lorry has been re-inforced to withstand a horse kicking about, whether the lorry has been balanced for the weight of the ramp, etc. It would be best to take the lorry to one of the well known horsebox manufacturers who can write a report identifying all faults and how much it would cost to rectify them.

As others have said talk to Trading Standards or even better to a solicitor and keep all paperwork relating to the sale, e.g. original contract, print out any details about the company's specs from their website, receipt, etc.

Good luck!
 
What a nightmare! Is this a small 3.5T or a larger lorry? Just seems you've paid a fair bit of money and haven't got anything like what you asked for!

I would do what others have said - take it back!!! I would be absolutely furious to be honest. The company certainly don't seem to have kept their end of the bargain here at all.
 
This sounds so similar to my friend's problems, we tried to keep a lid on them by visiting the builder every week but in the end the lorry HAD to be picked up even though the work wasn't all finished - it had been with the builder for 2 months. The dimensions on hers are at least correct though.

As yours is so wrong I'd get all the paperwork together and contact Trading Standards to ask them the correct way to reject the box and get your money back.

And I would in no way buy another one from the same place!
 
Thank you all so much. I am so upset by this whole thing. To be honest after my accident just travelling again has been a huge deal and I went out of my way to get what I thought was the safest and best that I could get and spent money that I didn't have and I have found this SO stressful
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I have tried to be understanding but it appears that the nicer you are to people the more they take advantage of you.

Can anyone recommend anywhere that I could buy a decent sixe 3.5tonner for £15,000?
 
My mum was done when having a conversion built. In the end she took the lorry unfinished. Thankfully she wasn't in for as much money as you at the time but was completely ripped off. Only saving grace was the lorry was reliable and the horse area well made.
We did some further investigation and found out he repeatedly set up, went bust and burnt his clients. By all accounts we were lucky to get a lorry at all. He had a number in build and i'm sure no-one else got their lorry. He wouldn't answer his phone, and was never on site in the end.
You must push to get your money back, and go out and buy a decent 2nd hand lorry - for that money you'll get something really nice.
As per other posts, get onto Trading Standards. After our experience my mum vowed never to have a lorry built again - thankfully we found a ready to go Coachbuilt lorry a few years later, but learnt a very hard lesson in the meantime.
You have my sympathies and wish you the best of luck
 
Gosh i am sorry that you have had such a terrible time. It is the bad and un-reputable builders who tarnish all of us coachbuilders with the same brush.

If you do manage to get your money back then steer towards a VBRA approved coachbuilder. You will have all your rights as a consumer covered.

Did you sign a contract of agreed work? Do make sure the contract states coachbuilt and has all the sizes you discussed and full spec agreed and signed by both parties.

Initially you should only have paid a deposit and dont be rail roaded into paying the full amount until completion and approval. The norm is 50% deposit and the balance on collection of the vehicle.

If your horse cannot travel safely in the vehicle and stress free then the vehicle is not suitable for purpose. As mentioned before take advice from CAB and a good solicitor, but firstly give the builder an opportunity to put right the faults and also to put onto the lorry non-completed items which he agreed to supply, if he is not willing to do that then take further action.

Good luck hun x

If you want to PM me re: 3.5 tonne please feel free - i can point you in the right direction of any decent lorries that would suit your needs and budget x
 
[ QUOTE ]
Thank you all so much. I am so upset by this whole thing. To be honest after my accident just travelling again has been a huge deal and I went out of my way to get what I thought was the safest and best that I could get and spent money that I didn't have and I have found this SO stressful
frown.gif
I have tried to be understanding but it appears that the nicer you are to people the more they take advantage of you.

Can anyone recommend anywhere that I could buy a decent sixe 3.5tonner for £15,000?

[/ QUOTE ]

yes yes me where i bought mine it is gorgeous !!
 
Oh sorry to hear that, sadly its all to common a story
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sadly ive found so many of these horsebox builders are crap and make cowboy builders seem saintly, they start up on the back of a farm or a rough industial estate and leave a trail of shoddy work and broken promises... get your money back if you can its better to pay a little more for a nice one than you wanted too it will save you money in the long run.. good luck and I would defo pm pathelschoice
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Thank you all so much for your advice and support. I really don't know what I would have done without you. You gave me the strength to ask for a refund and it looks like he is going to agree!! Thanks so much! I will let you know how I get on!!
 
In short, do what Mrs Mozart suggested, but here is some other tips. Whilst its fresh in your mind note down a chain of events right from the start. You need to take the higher moral ground and take control of this situation. The horsbeox industry is notorious for being "dodgy" in certain cases, and this is one of them. Try e-mailing somebody like www.horseboxworld.com and see if they will help you.
 
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