Would you ask for a refund under these circumstances?

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Expo

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I need to start by saying that I most certainly will not be asking any such thing, but am interested in hearing opinions following a conversation I had recently with another livery.

My horse was sadly PTS recently. He was kept at full livery on a nice yard, and I paid the livery fees monthly in advance. We lost him just a week after paying a full month’s fees. Another livery was talking about my late horse, and having a bit of a grumble generally about how much horses cost to keep, and seriously suggested that I should ask for a refund of fees for the 3 weeks or so of food, bedding, care etc that I would not now be using, given the horse is now no longer with us. I was more than a bit taken aback, to be honest. It never crossed my mind to ask, it has not been offered by the YO nor would I expect it to be. The sum involved would be around 3/4 of a month, so about £400. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this.
 
So sorry for your loss.

I’m not on a livery yard but I must admit I’d be a bit vexed about having payed for 3 weeks worth of stuff you can’t use. But I wouldn’t be asking for a refund, no.
 
It would probably be fair to ask for a refund items of such as food and bedding that can be used for other horses, but the basic livery and probably groom's wage can't be recouped, and if someone is financially tight then I can see why they would, although I wouldn't personally do it for a relatively small proportion of the bill.
 
Sorry for your loss. If you’re planning on getting another horse and keeping the stable on, I’d ask for some sort ‘retainer’ fee at a reduced cost going forward until you’ve got a horse. This, I think, is quite common practice as no feed/bedding/staffing costs etc. If you’re giving the stable up just make sure you’ve given proper notice and cancel the next payment due. I wouldn’t be asking for a refund - but I know people that would, and there’s no harm in asking the question I suppose 🤷‍♀️
 
I’d do it if I was desperate for the money to cover the vet bill but I’d consider it extremely cheeky and would exhaust every other avenue first.

Agree with floofball in that the retainer fee might be reduced or not payable for a month while you look for another horse (if you decide to).

So sorry for your loss :( x
 
Expo said:
I need to start by saying that I most certainly will not be asking any such thing, but am interested in hearing opinions following a conversation I had recently with another livery.

My horse was sadly PTS recently. He was kept at full livery on a nice yard, and I paid the livery fees monthly in advance. We lost him just a week after paying a full month’s fees. Another livery was talking about my late horse, and having a bit of a grumble generally about how much horses cost to keep, and seriously suggested that I should ask for a refund of fees for the 3 weeks or so of food, bedding, care etc that I would not now be using, given the horse is now no longer with us. I was more than a bit taken aback, to be honest. It never crossed my mind to ask, it has not been offered by the YO nor would I expect it to be. The sum involved would be around 3/4 of a month, so about £400. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this.
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Sorry for your loss :( I also agree with floofball, I wouldn't ask for a refund for this month, but would possibly ask about a holding fee if that would be something you would consider
 
I don't think I'd ask - I'm not even sure I'd think about it.

Maybe as a gesture of good will the YO could gift you the cost of the hay, bedding and feed (not the stable) as 'support' towards the vet bill. I probably would in their shoes as it's a cost that they won't have to wear and seems a little wrong to profit from your loss. But I depends on what kind of relationship you have with you YO. And in your shoes it would certainly not be suggested by myself.

Sorry for your loss OP.

Do you plan to keep the stable?
 
I think you'd be entitled to anything back past whatever notice you'd be expected to give if you were leaving. This is probably a month anyway.

If you're leaving and the notice period is less than you've paid for I'd give notice now and expect a refund of the remainder.

Similarly if they put a horse in your stable before your paid period runs out is expect a refund.

I wouldn't be asking for special treatment though. They have a business to run.

My yard is very nice, we pay weekly in arrears and he stops charging rent immediately whilst you decide whether you want to keep the stable.
 
Thank you for replies and the condolences. I do have another horse, so am down to one now, with no plans to get another one, so the stable is vacant, and yes - we do have a waiting list at the yard. The YO has had a tactful chat with me told me she has another livery lined up for the vacant stable which I'm fine with, as it's next door to my other horse and I hate seeing the empty space.
 
I agree with the general opinion. No I wouldn't and haven't asked for a refund in those circumstances. I felt bad that I wasn't actually giving the four weeks' notice required, but YO's have never quibbled it.
 
FlorrieBrown said:
Thank you for replies and the condolences. I do have another horse, so am down to one now, with no plans to get another one, so the stable is vacant, and yes - we do have a waiting list at the yard. The YO has had a tactful chat with me told me she has another livery lined up for the vacant stable which I'm fine with, as it's next door to my other horse and I hate seeing the empty space.
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In that case, I think the YO should definitely refund you the cost of the stable once it is filled. Otherwise they are charging twice for the same stable. If the stable is filled for example with 2 week remaining of your paid livery, then those 2 weeks should be refunded to you in full or deducted off the cost of your other horse.
I would not lower myself to ask but I do think it should be offered by the YO. Times are pretty tough right now and whilst it may seem to be penny pinching or stingy to some, that could be a lot of money to some people, especially with a vet bill to cover.
 
If I were the YO and managed to fill the stable I'd offer you back the weeks you'd paid for in advance.

As the owner I wouldn't ask for a refund, and I'd just think of it as my month's notice. Asking for the cost of hay and feed back would just seem a bit petty to me.
 
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If the livery yard filled the box say, two weeks before your notice period would have run out, then I would be asking for those two weeks funds back - in theory, it depends on my relationship with the YO, how I felt mentally about it, I may just walk away too.

I wouldn't ask for a refund under any other circumstances.
 
Sorry you have lost your horse, when I lost mine I wouldn’t have even thought about any sort of refund but I was on DIY so no bedding ,hay or feed involved. My YO very kindly held my horse for the last couple of minutes as I didn’t want my last memory to be of her falling, YO also cleared up everything then came and gave me a hug and 8 years later we are still friends although I now don’t have a horse
 
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