Horsebox with rotten flooring covered up

[hellhasnofury]

Hello,

 

I am in need of help please.

 

Story goes, I bought a 3.5 horsebox from a guy who converts small used wagons into horseboxes approximately 12months ago paid £10,500 punds in cash.

 

About 2 weeks ago. on loading my horse onto the wagon to go to a horse show., as i was about to shut up the ramp, my horses hoof went through the floor. luckly as she is not a panicky horse she pull it back through the floor.

 

after unloading the horse on close inspection of the floor, i found that the base floor of the wagon was rotten and crumbling there was a block of wood 6inches by 2 inches which has appeared to be hammered in to the outer side of the rotten wood. This block of wood I found on the ground under the hole the horses foot had made I am of the belief that this wood had been hammered in to keep the rotten floor together.

 

There was a quarter ply wood sheets over this area that the horse would stand on. This wood is far to thin to support the weight of a horse. Anybody who knows anything about horsebos floors know that these must be of a minimum of threequarte ply wood sheets.

 

I have been driving around with my horse in a potential death trap and have I been driving find the thought of the consequences to the welfare of my horse extremely upsetting.

 

I telephoned the guy who converted the horsebox and informed him of the incident. He innforms me that the van was sold to me as seen. I told me that I disagreed that I could not have seen the rotten floor as it was covered with rubber matting. He told me that he has bought the wagon with the floor already down and that it was nothing to do with him. I asked him to repair the floor, ie replace it with the proper standard flooring, or I would have the floor replaced and send him the bill He stated that he would think about it and get back to me.

 

He has not got back to me, even though I have tested him to make arrangedmentfor him to view the damaged floor.

 

I have now lost entry fees for shows as I had pre-booked the classes and also had to pay somebody else to transpost my horses.

 

What can I do please? any advice please as to what I can do?

 

Thank you

[heliosuk]

Buy a dog instead!

[sailor sam]

I'll try and be a bit more sympathetic than the previous poster.

 

Does the guy you bought the box from convert these as a business and/or is he a trader? If yes, you should have an avenue to persue.

[popeyethesailortam]

Buy a dog instead!

 

PMSL!

 

In all fairness OP, If its nearly a year since you bought it then repairs are down to you. I'm not a horsey person but would of thought that the inherrent dampness involved in horse pee and poo combined with the associated washing would of meant the rubber flooring should of been taken up periodically to dry out the wood. In which case you would of noticed this problem in the first month if it was being properly maintained.

[hellhasnofury]

PMSL!

 

In all fairness OP, If its nearly a year since you bought it then repairs are down to you. I'm not a horsey person but would of thought that the inherrent dampness involved in horse pee and poo combined with the associated washing would of meant the rubber flooring should of been taken up periodically to dry out the wood. In which case you would of noticed this problem in the first month if it was being properly maintained.

 

Happy to keep some posters amused. Had I been driving on the motorway the horse's hoof would have been dragged along the road with faltal consequences to the horse. I would have been unaware until the horse started thrashing about..

 

The floor was sealed down with rubber matting, which was glued down to the wood and was cleaned out after every outing. When the incident happened I ripped up the rubber matting and the first layer of wood sheet was not rotten, didn't have a mark on it, it was just too thin to support the weight of a half ton horse, it was the floor under that that was rotten and dry rot at that My arguement is that to convert a lorry into a horse box, the guy who sold it should have ensured that it was safe to transport horses. To cover up an original floor which was rotten and unsafe, with thin wood which was also unsafe and then glue down rubber matting on the top nd sell it to someone who buys it in good faith that it is sold fit for purpose I consider it was not safe, but it took me a year to find this out..

[hellhasnofury]

I'll try and be a bit more sympathetic than the previous poster.

 

Does the guy you bought the box from convert these as a business and/or is he a trader? If yes, you should have an avenue to persue.

 

Hello sailor sam,

 

Thanks for you post. The guy does this as a business, but I do not think he is registered, He has made quite a few of these conerted horseboxes.Think I will ring trading standards and see if they can advise

[oddjobbob]

It all sepndes on how long ago you bought it really.

 

I can't see much happening if it was more than 6 mnoths ago, however if only fairly recently then you will have case.

 

Dreadful really that a rogue seller would put an innocent animal's life at risk.

 

But if it's been 6 mnoths + he'll just say it was ok when it left him, don't know where yuo've parked it, spilled anythng on it etc., could be hard to pursue.

 

Good luck anyway

[sailor sam]

Hello sailor sam,

 

Thanks for you post. The guy does this as a business, but I do not think he is registered, He has made quite a few of these conerted horseboxes.Think I will ring trading standards and see if they can advise

 

To get to trdaing standards you will have to through CAB, this link may help; http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/your_world/consumer_affairs/cars_buying_a_secondhand_car_e.htm#you_bought_the_vehicle_from_a_dealer

 

as it's been more than 6 months ago, the onus is not on the seller to prove that the 'defect' was not present at the point of sale, it does not necessarily mean that that you do not have a case to pursue though. But you would have to show that the floor had been bodged when you bought it which sounds like it was to me.

[heliosuk]

Isn't a horse box classed as a commercial vehicle?

[scaniaman]

Strange story this one methinks. Firstly, the type of original flooring used may well depend on what lorry was originally used for. Proper haulage vehicles use a timber called "Keroin" or similar word. This lasts for years in the wet. Other vehicles, say on delivery work may well have flooring of exterior grade ply wood or grp or a compound. If it's dry rot i'm not sure that it may have been obvious to truck converter. The reason the rubber was glued down was to form a seal to prevent the horses wash from penetrating the wood underneath causing it to rot prematurely. It would take a fair weight in terms of pounds per square inch to penetrate the rubber and the thin plywood even if the original flooring had a small part missing. the defective area would have to be considerable for this to occur.