Misold Grazing Land please help :(

[emanant]

Hi, im hoping someone can help. I will breakdown my situation as simply as possible and hopefully i've posted in the right area.

 

5 Weeks ago i was given the opportunity to own my first horse. Although i can ride well we did lots of research surrounding the care and maintenance as we've never owned our own. We are looking for suitable grazing close to home and thought we'd dropped on lucky when i saw an ad posted on facebook:

 

1-2 half acre paddocks for rent £15 each pw & 1 acre paddock £30pw

 

I immediately contacted the advertiser, they seemed genuine down to each people and she sent me the information which showed the rates above and some other terms.

 

After a lengthy discussion we agreed to take a 1 acre paddock for £30pw. We were told that if we were to get another horse in the future they wouldn't allow 2 on 1/2 acre and we thought it would be better to have a larger plot anyway.

 

When we initially went down to view it wasn't taped out and the guy explained that it would be measured. We paid the 4 weeks in advance to be followed then by a weekly payment of £30 so we would always be 4 weeks in advance. Our horse arrived a week later. 2 Weeks later the grass is gone and we're buying hay. No problem we expected the costs.

 

However on watching location location a couple of nights ago we saw what and acre actually looks like and looked at google. where we found an acre comprises of around 4047 sqm. Off we went with our tape measure to find we have 900 sqm. Nowhere near enough for her to be on.

 

We thought maybe the guy renting the land had been diddled too as we are just sup letting and he had rented off the land owner. I messaged to explain the problem to which the response was " Paul says they are not acre paddocks. He says when you came down he said a £15 paddock or a £30 paddock". Seems like they are backtracking. Paul did say this, with us assuming, as per their ad, that the £30 paddock would be an acre and sufficient for our horse.

 

Do we have any rights here. It goes without saying she will now need to be moved. There is nowhere near enough land but we have paid in total £300 to them and received less than a 1/4 of the land we thought we were getting. obviously we are partly at fault for not realising. We genuinely just thought that we had an acre having never seen one before and we took it and paid our rent in good faith.

 

Thanks so much in advance for any advice.

 

Emma

[rebel11]

Hi emma

 

Yes you do have rights, have you got the ad? Can you get hold of the ad(screenshot)?

[emanant]

yes i have screenshots of the ad and also she inboxed me information showing the plot sizes and prices. I have text messages showing that we have paid £30 a week but she hasn't yet sent me a tenancy agreement as promised. Obviously our horse is on the land though and i have numerous messages showing that we are obviously renting from them

[emanant]

at no point did they say the paddock is £30 per week but it's less than a 1/4 of an acre now. We wouldn't of took it. We were just clueless as to what an acre was and trusted that that's what we had

[unclebulgaria67]

Yes does depend on the add. A paddock can be of variable size.

 

Someone I know found it was cheaper to put her horse into a stable where there was an arrangement for other riders to use the horse. They then took care of the daily care of the horse and met the feed costs It can be really expensive to own a horse, as you are probably aware and people do the stable/share arrangement to try to make it affordable. If they ever need vets, if you don't have full insurance, the costs can be huge.

[emanant]

the ad clearly states the area and prices will post asap. £30 per week is over the odds for where i live but the location was straight next to my kids school and it's quiet and kid friendly which was what we wanted. I just feel conned and the only one suffering is my horse as she doesn't have enough land and needs to be moved. Im just not happy to have paid out £300 for the acre when i have barely 1/4 of that x

[rebel11]

Hi Emma

 

The reason that a tenancy agreement hasn't been sent is because they know they are in the wrong, pulling a fast one.

 

I think you need some free advice from a solicitor.

 

'If a business seller makes a false statement to persuade you to buy goods, they may have committed a criminal offence. You may want to report the trader to Trading Standards who have power to investigate this type of offence. For example, a trader selling burglar alarms may falsely tell you that you need an alarm because there is a higher than average rate of burglaries in your area.

 

 

If you think you've bought something because of a false statement made by a business or private seller, you may have the right to end the contract and get a refund. The law that gives you this right is the Misrepresentation Act 1967 (the Misrepresentation Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 in Northern Ireland).'

 

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/consumer_w/consumer_protection_for_the_consumer_e/consumer_unfair_trading_e/consumer_overview_of_unfair_trading_practices_e/misleading_actions_unfair_commercial_practices.htm

 

Ad says 1 acre, they measure out 1/4 acre, then they state £30 for paddock.

[emanant]

great advice thankyou. Will this still be effective even though we were daft enough to not realise what an acre was

[renegadeimp]

Convert that image to PDF and reupload.

[rebel11]

But remove all personal details, including ref numbers.

 

Dx100 – Instructions on uploading pdfs

 

Scan the requiredletters/agreements/sheets

as a picture file

remove all personal info including barcodes etc. using paint

but leave all figures and dates.

Go to one of the many free online pdf converter websites

convert the image to pdf format.

or if you have PDF as an installed printer drive use that

open a new message box here

hit go advanced below the message box

hit manage attachments below that box

hit the add files button on the top right

hit select files, navigate to your file on your pc

hit upload files

NB: you can set where it goes in the post by hitting insert inline.

Then hit reply button

[rebel11]

I don't think it does, surely they should know what an acre is as they measured it out.

 

great advice thankyou. Will this still be effective even though we were daft enough to not realise what an acre was

[emanant]

Im not sure if this has worked but one is the origional ad showing

 

approx 1 acre of land for rent £30 pw

 

the other is the info she sent to me showing they had 2 x 1/2 acre paddocks at £15 per week each.

 

had cropped any info x

[Gemma.]

Oh dear, the ad says approximately, but 1/4 isnt anywhere near the acre.

Personally I would be wary of doing much whilst my horse was still there, but that's just me. Are any of the other plots rented? Perhaps you could join a few others in your complaint?

[unclebulgaria67]

Oh dear, the ad says approximately, but 1/4 isnt anywhere near the acre.

Personally I would be wary of doing much whilst my horse was still there, but that's just me. Are any of the other plots rented? Perhaps you could join a few others in your complaint?

 

Sensible advice to get the horse moved somewhere else first and then to see what you can do. I think you have a good case to take this to court if you wanted to, as the land was not as advertised. It was not anywhere near being approximately 1 acre and the landowners should really be aware that it was not large enough for a horse to graze on. The RSPCA may have some information about the minimum requirement for a horse, which may help you.

 

But you would have to think about whether it is worth going beyond writing letters, as if you won in court, they might not pay you the court claim plus your costs. If I were you, I would ask for say 50% of the money to be refunded, as the paddock was not anywhere near the acre advertised. You have had some use of the land, so you would not get the full amount back.

[Gemma.]

Try the BHS http://www.bhs.org.uk/~/media/BHS/Files/PDF%20Documents/Guide%20for%20the%20Keeping%20of%20Horses.ashx

Usually it is one acre per horse depending on the state of the grazing and of course it needs to be rested and grazed.

Btw if you are a member of the BHS then they have a very helpful legal department and access to their legal helplines is part of their gold membership.

[rebel11]

Just info:- https://www.barnsley.gov.uk/services/environment-and-planning/parks-and-open-spaces/land-available-for-animal-grazing

[emanant]

Thanks for all your help and advice. Heres a bit of an update.

 

We have tried to discuss this situation with Paul however they told us we had till this friday to remove our horse or they would move her.

 

We have paid 4 weeks in front. Unfortunately we don't have proof of this. They are now saying this was a bond for the field. I only have the information she sent saying that rent had to be paid in advance. However she cannot prove it was a bond either. Obviously our horse was going to eat the grass so im not sure what the bond would be for anyway.

 

We told them we would be speaking to trading standards and it's all turned very sour. Paul made a phonecall saying to move the horse or else. Kept calm told him the land was nowhere near big enough for her but we would be moving her asap anyway as the land she's on isnt sufficient he threw some threats and we phoned the police.

 

They now say if she isn't moved in 5 days they will move her. Can they move her? We are viewing some land tomorrow but it isn't quite ready yet. Its not as simple as putting her in my back garden. I know we may have to try and fight for our money back as a civil matter but i don't want them moving my horse if we haven't found her somewhere in the next 5 days

[unclebulgaria67]

I don't think I would trust them with your horse. Makes you think whether these people actually own the land or whether they might not really care for animals.

 

If you speak to local vets or stables they might know of somewhere you can take the horse, while you attempt to find a permanent home.

[rebel11]

Maybe these guys can help, until you sort out another grazing plot :-

 

http://albertshorsesanctuary.org.uk/your-help/adopt-a-horse.html

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Seeing this thread last evening it prompted me to check various stables and paddocks in our area, our own included ,

 

 

all the adverts for grazing stated approximate sizes only.

[king12345]

Does a horse really need an acre of land?!?

I'm quite shocked as a small farm close by me has 6 horses in about an acre and they seem to have plenty of space imo.

Where did you find the info about one horse needing an acre?

[rebel11]

Brigs

 

There is a huge difference between being giving approx 1 acre and 1/4 of an acre.

 

 

Seeing this thread last evening it prompted me to check various stables and paddocks in our area, our own included ,

 

 

all the adverts for grazing stated approximate sizes only.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Does a horse really need an acre of land?!?

I'm quite shocked as a small farm close by me has 6 horses in about an acre and they seem to have plenty of space imo.

Where did you find the info about one horse needing an acre?

Ideally 1 to 1.5 acres is need, a large horse will quickly eat down to bare earth very quicly

The BHS welfare dept gives excellent advice.

[rebel11]

Post 6 from Gemma:-

 

'Try the BHS http://www.bhs.org.uk/~/media/BHS/Fi...%20Horses.ashx

Usually it is one acre per horse depending on the state of the grazing and of course it needs to be rested and grazed.

Btw if you are a member of the BHS then they have a very helpful legal department and access to their legal helplines is part of their gold membership.'

 

 

Does a horse really need an acre of land?!?

I'm quite shocked as a small farm close by me has 6 horses in about an acre and they seem to have plenty of space imo.

Where did you find the info about one horse needing an acre?

[JoeyJoeC]

I'm selling approximately a full car. Might not come with doors, wheels, an engine or seats though. Any offers?