Seller witholding deposit for horse

[pieinthesky10]

I am looking for a horse to buy, I saw one, he was great, l rode him twice over two days, discussed with owner the price, we agreed a 10% deposit refundable if horse failed vetting. Not refundable if l changed my mind before vetting.
All agreed in writing, and the deposit sent.

he vet sadly failed the horse, it was on something l could not ignore or take a view on so within 24hours of the vet report being sent to me, l forwarded it to the seller and requested the deposit back.

He is refusing to send it back and trying to withold it, despite the vet at the time talking to him about the issue with the horse. We were both at the vetting.

I am planning on going to the small claims court to recoup the funds ( it was over £2.5K)

Any advice for the best way to recoup my money? I am gutted the horse failed and now have a Legal battle on my hands..(although l am determined to fight to the end)

I think this could be a nightmare because these days horses don’t “fail” the vet, so h less you’d agreed that if a certain condition showed up then you get your money back, I think you may really struggle. I’m not for a second saying it’s fair but I think in real terms it will be hard to recoup your costs

I'd firstly have a chat with the bank, and if that doesn't work or get you anywhere, maybe have a chat with a solicitor from citizen's advice, BHS or NFU.

Good luck x

Thank you both.

Vets don’t ‘pass’ or ‘fail’ horses any more however they do say that in their opinion this horse is suitable or not suitable for the intended purpose. When we were looking for my daughter’s competition horse I paid a deposit subject to vetting - the vet said the horse was not suitable for her to event and the seller had transferred the deposit back to me by the time I’d driven home. If you’re a gold BHS member it would be worth giving their legal helpline a call.

Yes Pleasedontdothat l am of the older generation when it used to be pass or fail and should have used the correct terminology.
The vetting certificate did say not fit for purpose, (dressage, allrounder, showjumping) So clearly not possible for me to proceed with the sale.

I am very upset the seller has refused to acknowledge the reports findings!

It is a lot of money to lose.

Unfortunately l am returning to riding after a long break so do not have the BHS membership mentioned.

Definitely small claims court or a specialist equine law firm
When i was looked I had one seller take a few days to send the money back but he never disputed the refund.
fingers crossed for you as that is a substantial amount to lose.