My wife purchased a horse from a dealer and at the same time mentioned we need a horse box. They had one in the yard that looked tidy and I took it for a drive and then asked them (stupid to expect someone to be honest) if they would have a vehicle inspection done. I received a text on the Friday to say that the commercial dealer nearby had done the inspection and aside from the cab rust the vehicle would be good for 2 years. I parted with my cash and off we went. 3 weeks went by and I never received the invoice from said commercial inspector so i called them.

Cut a long story short the dealer never had the truck for an inspection and having just had another one done I have realised it needs 1.5k of work and the cab needs replacing.

Iv’e been bloody stupid and should never have trusted them. Is it a case of buyer beware or if I can prove deciet regarding the initial inspection could I do my own legal action to recover the £4500?

Send seller a letter before action outlining your side of events and see what they say?

tbh, if they were like that about the van what’s wrong with the horse?

Probably insufficient evidence but maybe worth chatting to the police?

surely if you have a text then it is some proof of them saying they done something that they hadn’t

I received a text on the Friday to say that the commercial dealer nearby had done the inspection

if I can prove deciet regarding the initial inspection

Assuming you’ve kept the text, I’d say you can prove it! (IANAL)

Yes. I have just gone through my texts and it reads

“Hi, just letting you know that truck is going in tomorrow to be looked over. I’ll call you when I know more”

I then texted back details for the invoice and he replies thanks I’ll pass it on.

tbh, if they were like that about the van what’s wrong with the horse?

That is my thought too 🙁

Normally I would say buyer beware but you have solid evidence of requesting that it be inspected by a professional before you purchased it and they confirmed it was booked in. Did they in any form confirm the results, you mentioned “good for 2 years” whatever that can actually mean (TBH I would have had alarm bells ringing at that comment alone).

I think you need to offer it back to them and ask for your money back and if they refuse start small claims proceedings.

I wanted to reopen this as it is still rumbling on. The question I have is who do I pursue legally here.

a) The individual who sold me the lorry on behalf of the owner (the one who said it had been inspected and it hadn’t).

b) The actual owner of the horse lorry (I have spoken to her and she has said forget it you are not getting your money back)

PS – I spoke with the garage that did the so called inspection and he said it was never booked in for a formal inspection (paid one) and he just put his head underneath and said chassis is ok, but cab will most likely not pass next plating. I sent them an email asking if he would put that in writing and they have not replied. I know that if push came to shove he would have no hesitation in saying that as he has his business reputation to consider.

Thanks

Can I interest you in every magic beans I have?

I always wondered what Caution Horses were – I’ve seen loads of lorries carrying them.

It seems you’ve got one.

The question I have is who do I pursue legally here.

Whoever you gave the money to, I would expect. That’s whom your legal contract of sale is with.

so someone looked at it albe it briefly and said it had a rusty cab – and this was communicated.

someone looked at it more in depth after the case and it low and behold has a rusty cab – albe it a bit more than suggested by the seller.

Good luck pursuing that.

so someone looked at it albe it briefly and said it had a rusty cab – and this was communicated.

someone looked at it more in depth after the case and it low and behold has a rusty cab – albe it a bit more than suggested by the seller.

Coupled with the fact that the seller isn’t who you dealt with.

The question I have is who do I pursue legally here.

a) The individual who sold me the lorry on behalf of the owner (the one who said it had been inspected and it hadn’t).

b) The actual owner of the horse lorry (I have spoken to her and she has said forget it you are not getting your money back)

It looks like a very messy argument of ‘he said’ ‘she said’, ‘what I meant was…’ etc etc

I’d be explaining this to citizens advice.. then trading standards.. then making a decision based on those outcomes.

so someone looked at it albe it briefly and said it had a rusty cab – and this was communicated.

someone looked at it more in depth after the case and it low and behold has a rusty cab – albe it a bit more than suggested by the seller.Not quite that simple.

I requested a full paid for commercial vehicle inspection prior to purchase. Was led to believe that inspection had been done as asked to provide details for invoice. Post purchase and I agree that I should have asked to see the inspection report comes to light that said inspection never actually happened and the local commercial dealer was asked to give his thoughts on the truck. What he communicated was not passed back to me.

So you requested a formal inspection but were happy to accept some bloke saying it “yeah it’s fine mate” and still hand over the cash.

Sounds like buyers regret to me. Mark it down to experience and move on.

Learn to weld set fire to the lot

How rusty is the cab ? Or rather how much will it cost to patch it.

The old Eurocargo ( 1996 ) horsebox my missus got a few years ago seems to average about £1000 a year in tlc and mot fees. And none of that is welding but cab is getting pretty rough so somthing for next year maybe

If I’d asked for a full commercial report.

I requested a full paid for commercial vehicle inspection prior to purchase.

And received

“Hi, just letting you know that truck is going in tomorrow to be looked over. I’ll call you when I know more”

I’d have been suspicious. I’m not trying to rub salt in the wounds, but I’d be wary of ploughing effort into this.

1/ who did you negotiate with?
2/ who did you pay
3/ did you know the horse dealer wasn’t the seller
4/ what paperwork did you see prior to the sale? (Formal paperwork rather than texts)

google a better answer for yourself but:-

1)sale by description the “inspection” results form part of the contract so they are in breach of contract.

2) factors, the intermediary is the sellers factor you have an action against the seller for the factors representations. The seller takes up their beef with the factor.

3) breach of contract is not a police matter it is civil law.

iaal but not this area, my knowledge of this area is old and should be cross checked.

Sounds like a case for.

Sounds unfortunate, but don’t beat yourself up too much. It is easy to trust people and get taken advantage of. The alternative is just no way to live your life.

google a better answer for yourself but:-

1)sale by description the “inspection” results form part of the contract so they are in breach of contract.

2) factors, the intermediary is the sellers factor you have an action against the seller for the factors representations. The seller takes up their beef with the factor.

3) breach of contract is not a police matter it is civil law.

iaal but not this area, my knowledge of this area is old and should be cross checked.

Most helpful. Thanks

Do you have legal cover on your home insurance? Might be worth giving them a call if you have.

I can’t be much help on the legal side but a £4.5k lorry is always going to be an absolute money pit. My other half had a Bedford before we got together – I’m so glad she got rid before I was tasked with keeping it on the road.

Best bet, get shot ASAP and pick up a cheap, reliable 4×4 (Nissan Terrano?) and a Ifor trailer – should be able to get both for not much more than the lorry. Either that or save up and get a 3.5t van based horsebox.

Can I interest you in every magic beans I have?

I’ll buy ’em, but only if you get someone else to check they’re really magic beans and verbally tell me that they said they were.

Has the horse turned out to be a better buy flanagaj?

Has the horse turned out to be a better buy flanagaj?

Bound to be a safer investment – at least if the horse breaks down you can eat it 🙂

Either that or save up and get a 3.5t van based horsebox.

like sub 3.5 ton campers these are inflated because of the demands due to young peoples licenses not letting them drive the bigger trucks – the lorry based one is probably a better buy than a 3.5T horse box.

not to mention taht many 3.5t horse boxes are found to be running over weight with little more than a horse on board.

Trailer and 4×4 is a good shout though at least then you have a vehicle with more than one use.

Yeah, hell of a premium on the 3.5t boxes!

I’d still say (purely on running costs/maintaining the things) I’d go for a 10 year old van over a 30+ year old lorry if you could find one capable of carrying the required weight.

Luckily my other half is now a pickup truck convert so haven’t had talk her out of another lorry for a while!

This thread needs more:

Has the horse turned out to be a better buy flanagaj?

could be a cut and shut?

you’d need a short horse:

buyer’s remhorse

Has the horse turned out to be a better buy flanagaj?

He’s great. Loves sausages though.

BigJohn – Member
I always wondered what Caution Horses were

It’s an album by the Cowboy Junkies.

We did used to have an Ifor and 4*4, but found the £250 / month in diesel just too expensive. We thought a lorry and a cheap run around car would be a more cost effective option than a 4*4.

Like you say the 3.5t trucks are expensive and the lorries seem to be complete dogs unless you spend £££££££ on a newer one.

Running a second vehicle is rarely the economical option I’m afraid