Breach of Contract re Sale of Horse
Question:
I purchased a horse on 04/10/14 her advert stated 8 years old however she still has not given me his passport and vet scanned his microchip he’s actually 11 almost 12! I have a contract in place with the purchase and that too States he’s 8. She made a lot of excuses about passport and when I came to collect she said that she had forgotten because her son had been in hospital. She agreed to post it but it hasn’t arrived and microchip details state he hasn’t been registered since 2013 which eliminates her story that she bought him 3 months ago. She is refusing to have him back and give me a refund for breach of contract as I stated in my post that I don’t want a horse over the age of 10. I have a vets statement and messages to prove everything in my favour. The vet also stated that he is a condition score of 1/2 and that he is likely to have or either develop stomach ulcers. And she did recommend the rspca. Although I didn’t have him vetted, this is not so much my problem other than the fact I cannot afford to keep him as he would need hundreds of pounds of medication. I would not of bought him if he was 11 and didn’t have a passport. She’s breached the contract so what can I do? She’s now ignoring me and I believe I’m in my right to have a full refund. Under the sales of wrong goods act. Any advice would be great. I have drafted a letter stating that she has 7 days to refund me otherwise I will be taking her to small claims.
Answer from Alison Goodwin:
If the advertisement states that the horse was 8 years old and during the pre-contract discussions you made further enquiries about the horse’s age and were provided with additional assurances that the horse was indeed aged 8 then you would have a potential claim against the seller for breach of contract and or misrepresentation. Such a claim could entitle you to reject the horse and seek a full refund plus additional damages (for expenses spent since purchase of the horse) but this claim would depend upon a number of issues such as how important the age of the horse was to you in this purchase and whether you made this clear to the seller in the pre-contract discussions, whether the seller deliberately misled you about the horse’s age or it was a mistaken belief and what the passport states is the horse’s age. If you did decide to pursue the claim through the small claims court then please feel free to call to discuss whether you require any assistance however in the mean time I attach a really helpful guide to small claims which you may find useful: Small+Claims+Guide
Alison Goodwin
Senior Associate Solicitor
Litigation
For and on behalf of Harrison Clark Rickerbys Limited
Tel: 01432 349 675 | Mob: 07966 613 829
Fax: 01432 349 660 | agoodwin@hcrlaw.com
