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UK law: buying and selling horses (for dealers & buyers)

In such an unregulated industry, protecting yourself legally when both buying and selling horses can be difficult.

With so much confusion around what the law actually states, we caught up with Jacqui Fulton from Equine Law to answer your questions.

Author: Jacqui Fulton – Equine Law
Date published: 30/06/2020

Please note all details are correct on the date published

Click to jump to questions:

How can I ensure I am legally covered when I buy a horse from a dealer?

When buying a horse from a dealer you are covered by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) assuming that you are purchasing in a private capacity (as a consumer). The CRA creates implied terms of fitness for purpose and satisfactory quality. These are automatic legal rights that you obtain when buying a horse from a dealer but you should also make a checklist of the questions that you ask of the dealer and the answers that you are given, ask the dealer to sign this checklist and you should also have a purchase/sale agreement which needs to be agreed prior to purchase by yourself and the dealer.

What is the legal definition of a horse dealer?

The legal definition under the CRA is whether or not the horse has been sold in accordance with the seller’s craft, trade or profession. If the horse has been sold in accordance with a person’s craft, trade or profession then it has been sold in the course of their business and the CRA will usually apply.

A dealer (or somebody who sells in the course of a business) sells with some regularity (so not just a one off sale).  The sale does not have to be at a profit but it does need to be in the course of the seller’s craft, trade or profession (i.e. an instructor who sells one horse purchased from a client that they teach (to produce and sell on) would arguably be classed as in the course of that person’s craft, trade or profession and so in accordance with the CRA.

“A dealer (or somebody who sells in the course of a business) sells with some regularity (so not just a one off sale).“

What Regulation or laws protect me as a consumer when I buy from a horse dealer?

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is the main Act which is relied upon by consumers when purchasing a horse from a dealer. This is by no means the only legal protection since there is also protection under the Unfair Contract Terms Act, the Misrepresentation Act, there is protection under the law of contract and passport irregularities are dealt with by the Passport Regulations.

What are the distant selling rules when a horse is purchased unseen?

The Consumer Contract Regulations (replacement for the Distance Selling Regulations) came into force in 2014 and apply to unseen purchases. This Regulation applies to all purchases made at a distance, for example online or over the phone. This Regulation gives the purchaser 14 working days from the day after receiving the horse, a right to cancel the order and return the horse to the seller. Cancellation can be for any reason, perhaps you have just changed your mind. The seller’s terms and conditions or returns policy should say who pays the cost of returning the horse. If they do not say, then the seller has to cover the cost.

“…14 working days from the day after receiving the horse a right to cancel the order and return the horse to the seller.”

When does a dealer have to accept a return?

A horse dealer has to accept a return in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If the horse proves not to be fit for purpose or of satisfactory quality and if the defect pre-existed purchase, then the dealer potentially has to accept the return of the horse. Each horse purchase will be different however and so legal advice should be sought upon the direct circumstances of the purchase of that particular horse in order to know whether or not the dealer has a duty to accept the return of the horse.

If I have won a court case against a dealer, how can I ensure I actually get the money?

Before embarking on the issue of court proceedings it is always advisable to check the potential Defendant (in this case the dealer) to see that they have the financial ability to pay any Judgment sum that is awarded against them. This can be done by instructing investigative agents. You can also check to see whether a person has outstanding County Court Judgments against their name as this is also a factor to take into consideration before issuing court proceedings. If you obtain Judgment against a dealer, in order to retrieve the money from them, the Court Bailiffs or a firm of private Bailiffs can be instructed and it is the job of the Bailiffs to recover the money owed to you by the dealer. The Bailiffs have various powers to seize assets owned by the dealer which can be auctioned to pay off the debt if required. The Bailiffs cannot however seize assets such as work vehicles because such vehicles are required to allow the dealer to conduct their trade.

If the Bailiffs are unable to seize assets in order to satisfy the Judgment sum, there are other options available which can be dealt with by the court such as an Attachment of Earnings Order.

When taking legal action against a horse dealer what’s the process? How do I get started? How do I know I have a case?

Before issuing court proceedings there is a Pre-Action Protocol that needs to be followed and this involves the sending of a letter before action, which the horse dealer must have time to respond to before court proceedings are issued. The form and content of the letter before action is very specific and it is important that the letter before action is properly drafted and includes all of the relevant items in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules. If the matter cannot be resolved without the need for court proceedings and if Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) has been attempted (or refused by one party) then court proceedings can be started online through the Small Claims Online or County Court Business Service. Before embarking on court proceedings it is imperative that you take legal advice in order to understand the potential difficulties with your case and whether or not you have reasonable prospects of success. You will only know whether or not you have a case by explaining the particular circumstances of that case to a Solicitor who can give you independent legal advice.

I noticed a significant gap in the ability of persons to take legal advice in this sort of a situation because sellers and purchasers were unable to take independent legal advice without instructing a Solicitor. The Equine Lawline allows sellers and buyers to take advice at a cost efficient rate given that the cost is paid via the telephone call itself. Details of the Lawline are below.

What’s the legal situation if a dealer plays the role of Sales Agent on behalf of somebody else?

When a dealer is selling on behalf of another person, that needs to be made very clear to the purchaser before purchase. If the dealer does not make that clear then there is an argument in law that the dealer is an undisclosed agent. This creates difficulties in terms of how the contract is created and so it is important that the dealer makes it very clear to the purchaser before purchase, that he is acting as a Sales Agent on behalf of another person. The person for whom the dealer is acting, is responsible for all representations made by the dealer and so it is advisable that a purchaser not only speaks to the dealer about the horse, but also to the person on whose behalf the dealer is acting. This is to clarify the details that have been given to the purchaser by the dealer.

What can I do if the horse dealer has used another alias or person to hide their identity during the sales process?

Ultimately you need to find the true name of the horse dealer/seller in order to commence court proceedings against that person. The only way of finding the true name may be by instructing an investigative agent. If the true name cannot be found and if the address, last known address or place of business of the horse dealer cannot be found, then it is very unlikely that court proceedings can be issued since it is imperative to have the name and address of the person in order to commence court proceedings.

If I have paid a deposit for a horse and there is nothing wrong with it but I no longer want it, can I ask for the deposit back?

If it has been clearly identified as a deposit that has been made subject to a Pre-Purchase Examination, and the horse fails that examination, then the deposit must be paid back to the purchaser.

If however the dealer has made it clear that the deposit is non-refundable with the exception of the horse failing a Pre-Purchase Examination, then the dealer is entitled to keep the deposit since your deposit will be non-refundable with the exception of the horse failing the PPE.

I often receive calls from buyers and sellers asking the question as to whether the deposit must be refunded and this is usually a situation where there has been no formal agreement as to whether or not the despite is non-refundable. Quite often a deposit is paid without any agreement as to whether it is paid subject to a Pre-Purchase Examination and/or subject to any other conditions. So if the purchaser changes their mind perhaps for personal reasons, there is often then a dispute about whether or not the deposit should be paid back to the purchaser. There is no clear answer in this situation because there was no agreement as to whether or not the deposit was non-refundable and it is therefore important that there is an agreement in writing between the purchaser and seller before the deposit is made, in terms of the circumstances in which he deposit is refundable.

I bought a horse that was not as described and the dealer is not answering me. My 30 days to return is almost up, what shall I do?

This is a common situation and the important point is that the letter of rejection is sent to the dealer within that 30 day period. If the dealer is not answering, it should be sent by all possible methods of reaching the dealer, so by Recorded Delivery post, by email and possibly by Messenger or other form of message (if no address is known). I often come across situations where the purchaser does not know the dealer’s address, email address and/or anything other than the dealer’s telephone number and in this situation the purchaser is going to have to do their best to get the letter of rejection to the dealer perhaps by Messenger message/WhatsApp message and within that message the full address details and email address details of the dealer should be requested. The letter should also explain the reason for the correspondence being sent by the mode it has been sent because the dealer’s address/email address is not known.

What’s the deal with passports? Can I get Trading Standards to act when a passport has been altered or is fake?

Trading Standards are the organisation who deal with horse passports and it should be reported to them if there is a passport irregularity. If a passport has been altered or is fake, the first task will be to prove that it has been altered by contacting the passport issuing authority and asking them to confirm that the passport has been altered or is not a true passport. Once this has been confirmed by the PIO, this evidence should be sent to Trading Standards in order that they can look at the matter directly with the dealer in question.

One point to note is that the Trading Standards Office to be contacted is the Trading Standards Office local to the dealer (not the local Trading Standards Office to the purchaser).

Can a dealer keep me quiet and stop me from sharing details of a purchase from them with an agreement/contract?

It is possible for the seller to prevent you from sharing details of a purchase in the event that a proper confidentiality clause or non-disclosure agreement has been entered into.

“… when a proper confidentiality clause or non-disclosure agreement has been entered into.”

What can I do if I am being threatened by a horse dealer I have spoken about?

Any threats should be reported to the Police and evidence of the threats (if in writing for example) should be kept. There are strict rules about what you can and cannot publish in the public domain and it is certainly advisable if you are going to speak about a case, that you only present the facts and not any opinions.

Getting further help- Equine Law UK

Jacqui Fulton is a Solicitor Advocate having specialised in Equestrian Law since 2003. She has ridden up to and Inter I level dressage, owned and bred her own horses and represented all levels of riders from Olympic riders down to grass roots level riders. Jacqui represents all parties in purchase and sale disputes, and specialises in defence cases in personal injury and accident claims. She prepares agreements for sale, purchase, the loan and lease of horses and and also represents riders and organisations in connection with rider disciplinary and banned substance disciplinary cases. Jacqui works alongside governing bodies in connection with investigations.

For more information or legal advice please contact Jacqui Fulton:

Website: www.equinelawuk.co.uk
Email: jf@equinelawuk.co.uk
Telephone: 0121 308 3132

Equine Lawline

0903 991 0002

Legal advice from Solicitor Advocate, Jacqui Fulton. This is ideal where you need advice but do not want to instruct a Solicitor, for instance in small claims cases and cases where parties are self-represented.
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