AIBU to demand this money back??

[DixieTreats]

I have a horse. Part of the livery contract states that the yard are responsible for bringing her in in the evenings. She is impossible to catch and there have been multiple issues over this leading to a VERY fractious relationship between myself and yard manager. She is a difficult woman and we do not get on.
By mutual consent we have agreed that the yard will no longer be responsible for bringing my horse in. The trouble is that I've paid upfront for this service and she is now refusing to refund me, saying that the only thing she can do is deduct money off my next bill. I have politely requested a direct refund and she has refused repeatedly.
Contract law states that she is not entitled to do this and that I am entitled to a refund. I haven't pushed it that far yet because things are strained enough and it will cause problems - but why should I just suck it up?? She's not entitled to refuse me, I want my money back and a lot of me feels indignant that she's doing this.
So AIBU to quote the law and demand my money back???!

How long until your next bill is due?

Do you want to keep the horse there next year, in spite of the difficulties? It sounds like you have the right to demand the refund (not that I'm an expert), but she'd presumably also have the right not to continue with the arrangement once the contract ends (or whatever termination clause it includes), so you might find yourself without anywhere to keep the horse. Proving you're right may be worse for you overall than sucking it up.

letter threatening small claims court can sometimes get things moving.

You wouldn't be unreasonable to do that no, same as she isn't being unreasonable not wanting to have to catch a horse that's impossible to catch. If things are that strained then why not move to a different yard? It would hopefully save you a lot of stress and upset in the long run. Hope that things work out for you :)

If you push it and she says "take your horse somewhere else" - do you have a back-up plan in place?

Not sure I'd bother if the next bill is due within a month. But can see it may be a point of principle for you. Are you otherwise happy with the livery, other than the woman's attitude? If so I'd perhaps just pay less next time to balance it up as it can be hard finding a good livery.

How long is it until your next bill? That would seem a far simpler alternative for everyone than messing around with refunds.

Seriously letter to small claims?

Running a livery yard is something I would never want to do again in my life. Horsey women are notorious difficult (I am oneself). If you started threatening me with small claims I would say 'ok here's your money - and your notice'.

Stop being difficult and wait till you're refunded - if that was me I would be apologising profusely for me horse being a pita. I was mortified when my pita pony was pulling the staff over being bought in and went up to do something about him - including providing something stronger to being him in with and giving permission to put a chifney on him.

If you're horse is belting around not being caught it could be winding all the others up and they've probably spent a lot of time trying to catch her - have you paid them for that? My yard charges £1 for every 10 minutes they spend with my horse.

Of you can't get on with the manager then move.

So AIBU to quote the law and demand my money back???!

As a non-horsey person I think you sound very unreasonable.

You admit that your horse is impossible to catch, so I presume she has spent some considerable time on a fruitless task. I think offering a deduction for next time is very reasonable. I don't think she owes you anything. Did you know your horse was difficult before you place it there?

I think you should consider moving and be very upfront with the next livery.

I think yabu. She can't catch it if it's impossible to catch.

She can't have planned for the financial implications of losing the money that she would have if the horse wasn't impossible to catch.

Having myself spent enough time in the pissing rain trying to catch in someone else's pita horse, I think YABU.
You paid for a service that they were happy to provide, but failed to do so through no fault of their own. I don't even think they should be giving a refund at all, and as I'm sure it's part of a monthly bill you will get your money back soon.

YABU , I've used many livery yards over the years and the most in advance I've ever paid is monthly so you are presumably not going to be waiting long to get the money back . It's hardly her fault that your horse is a nuisance and TBH if you don't like the yard / manager then find somewhere else . I certainly wouldn't go down the legal route ,IME a lot of horsey people are very strange and she's just as likely to have your horse all packed up and tied to the front gate .

Nanny, I don't think she's claiming a refund for day's past, but she's paid upfront for X weeks going forward for a service that they can't provide. I think it's very unreasonable to keep the money.

If you want to move your horse then fight
If you want your horse to stay, don't.

Up to you if you want to fracture relations further although yanbu.

The refund itself is not in question because it's money I've paid in advance - the issue is how it's refunded. The manager actually instigated the refund process herself.
Yes, I am already looking to move her and have plans in place.
And of course I apologised for her being such a nightmare! Several times!
I would never do small claims for this type of thing; it's purely that I feel I'm being bullied (over lots of things) and I am not the only one. Others are also looking to leave.
I'm very miserable being at that yard, but price, location and facilities make it the best option. Plus I have lovely friends there

please can you tell us when your next bill is due ( ie when you get your refund)

Oh, sorry. 15th Dec

Except if she has said she will refund it as a deduction off the next bill then there will be no refund unless you keep your horse there long enough to use this "refund"

Sounds like you should just get her moved and then see how things stand and ask for a proper refund and if not follow it up with proper written refund request and then small claims if it isn't forthcoming

Just wait 3 weeks for the refund yabu

If she refunds it off your next bill, is she also deducting the cost of catching the horse off the bill? So say the whole bill is (for example) £50, including £5 horse-catching fee. Would you be charged £45 to account for the refund or £40 to account for the refund and NOT charging you for catching her in December??

If she takes off both refund and fee, I'd consider staying then moving afterwards

3 weeks .... Pah !

Just wait and move yards when it's more convenient for yoi

How long did the upfront costs cover and when did you agree she'd stop trying to get the horse in?

Because to be totally fair you need to make the refund only for the days she will not be bringing in the horse.

Percentage wise, is it really worth this?

And also, if your horse has been difficult and they have spent a higher proportion of their time on your horse you're probably lucky they aren't billing you for extra time.

No they go through the motions but it's written into the contract that if they can't catch a horse then responsibility then reverts to the owner. So basically, if they have a difficult horse they don't bother and call the owner. In no way have they been chasing my horse for ages.
As it happens, I capitulated and emailed accepting their offer. I guess I just don't want unnecessary problems. Still looking at moving though!