Paid deposit now seller is ignoring?

[QUOTE=CHT;8155423]
So you bought the horse from an agent, but the agent is the one who signed that you paid? That is very confusing to me. Unless it is more or less a receipt of money received?

At what point did you say you don’t want the horse? Is the horse sold to someone else? If he is still available, and YOU backed out of the sale, then it may be a grey area as to if you are due a refund.

But yes, sounds scammy/scummy.[/QUOTE]

Agent is selling on behalf of the owner. Would a receipt differ much from a sellers contract?

Today when agent asked over phone is the first time I said I do not want the horse.

[QUOTE=m&m;8155425]
Not judging - promise! - just asking - why don’t you want the horse? General distrust of the people involved?[/QUOTE]

Definitely don’t have an ounce of trust in them. Again this is all because of wanting vet records and asking general questions. I think they are definitely hiding something medically or this wouldn’t have been an issue.

Why are they now asking if you want the horse! Is it because the person they showed it to this weekend didn’t want it?

If you back out, I don’t knkow what happens to your deposit. Likely you won’t get it.

I can’ t beleive they now asked you if you wanted the horse!

I would be interested in what you said that gave the agent the impression you could not afford the horse.

While I do think what the agent is doing is scummy and I am not a lawyer (and I haven’t ever played one on TV), it appears from the note that you put money down and agreed to buy the horse with no contingencies on vetting, soundness, timing etc. From the way I read the note, if I were the agent/seller, I would expect that the next I heard from you would be with payment of the balance and the shipping arrangements.

I think it might be helpful that you did not sign anything, however, I wonder if your turning over the cash would be viewed as implied agreement?

The agent may have started showing the horse to others when he thought you were starting to waffle on the deal.

Did the contract have your name or the horse’s name (what he’s advertised as and/or what’s on the papers that would come after payment was received) anywhere on it? Id be concerned that the agent doing this to others as well… You don’t sell something that is under deposit, but with the owner out of state who probably just wants $x for the sale of the horse, i wouldn’t be surprised if these cash deposits with contracts that don’t specify a buyer or horse went to his pocket :-/

I’m starting to think that there’s a little more to this than we were given. Just a bit more info. I too wonder if the agent thought when she asked bout the vet and stuff if she was suddenly wanting to do a PPE and wanting contingencies on the deal.

To me, were I the agent, I would have thought that the OP gave the down payment, was going home to arrange transport and pay the balance. I would not be expecting “well now I need to know moreo about the horse”.

I also wonder why the agent was suspicious of not being able to pay the balance.

[QUOTE=caper;8153349]
Yes she stated the deposit was made in cash. I think in future I would leave a cheque as a deposit to hold the horse. Then the balance paid in whatever form they request. Say cashier’s cheque or bank draft.

I think I would fire off an e-mail stating that paying down a deposit with a contract is binding and the horse can’t be shown to others. YOU.WANT.THE.HORSE!

Also try calling him from a number that he doesn’t recognize maybe he will pick up. I didn’t that with someone who was avoiding me and it was a serious fraud she was attempting to commit. The authorities only had her home number but I had her cell. After I tried once I called again and she answered thinking it was one of her kids. :wink: Needless, to say the authorities were able to serve her papers prior to her closing her big deal. Her one requirement was to go into the deal debt free. Yet she didn’t pay for the outstanding amount on the item I purchased which was in the $20K range.
Try googling other forms of contact for this seller or agent.[/QUOTE]

What about someone contacting the seller/agent about the horse/new ad also, to see what they say?

I say this because I wonder if the ‘we have another interested party’ [that being the OP]… is making the horse appear more attractive at a higher price/without any PPE/Vet record string to other parties who are just seeing the Saturday ad? Or maybe OPs interest is the fire being lit under another party who already looked at the horse but was hemming?

On the other hand was the new ad [on Saturday] and the OPs conversation with Agent the sellers way of forcing OP to forget all that other stuff [PPE/records] and hurry to beat others to the purchase? Ie, she’s hemming/hawing… make OP think someone else wants the horse [ie light a fire] and hopefully she’ll just hurry up and pay up and forget the other nonsense?

Just a thought.

And Agree, this is heinous…

So, OP, what changed your mind about wanting this horse? In the begining you said no matter what, you wanted the horse. You wanted to schedule to pick up the horse, now you don’t want the horse. Can you say what made you change your mind?

See, when you said

It is shady that they are avoiding the history on the horse, but it is what it is, I like him. But the fact that I can’t even schedule to pay off and pick up this gelding is worrying me. For all I know they could have sold him to someone else and are keeping the large deposit.

It made me think you wanted the horse, even though they weren’t responding answering your further questions. From the agent’s point of view, now, I think I would have been surprised and suspicious that you now wanted to know more about a horse, and you weren’t giving me the balance of the money and just going to pick up your horse. It sounds from the above, even though they avoid you, it is what it is, and you like the horse. It seemed your concern on this thread was - why can’t I go get my horse?

Now it seems the agent might have been right, you have backed out of the horse.

I am not sure what he expected from you, except I am sure he expected you to pay the balance and go pick up your horse. Can you say why you didn’t?

Is there a COTH member close to the location of the horse who can go there an see what’s up? I’d do it if it were close to me . . .

Foxglove

[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;8155637]
So, OP, what changed your mind about wanting this horse? In the begining you said no matter what, you wanted the horse. You wanted to schedule to pick up the horse, now you don’t want the horse. Can you say what made you change your mind?

See, when you said

It is shady that they are avoiding the history on the horse, but it is what it is, I like him. But the fact that I can’t even schedule to pay off and pick up this gelding is worrying me. For all I know they could have sold him to someone else and are keeping the large deposit.

It made me think you wanted the horse, even though they weren’t responding answering your further questions. From the agent’s point of view, now, I think I would have been surprised and suspicious that you now wanted to know more about a horse, and you weren’t giving me the balance of the money and just going to pick up your horse. It sounds from the above, even though they avoid you, it is what it is, and you like the horse. It seemed your concern on this thread was - why can’t I go get my horse?

Now it seems the agent might have been right, you have backed out of the horse.

I am not sure what he expected from you, except I am sure he expected you to pay the balance and go pick up your horse. Can you say why you didn’t?[/QUOTE]

I see what you’re saying… but it seems to me that a lil red flag went up for the OP, then the agent didn’t respond in the same timely manner as pre-deposit, so the flag got bigger and waved a bit more strongly…
It’s like a snowball… that doesnt’t need more than a push and a little snow to roll through to get pretty big.

Any experienced seller should also recognize that buyers can start to waver, and/or experience buyers remorse.
Why an agent would give the buyer more reason to go down the remorse path [by not returning calls] is beyond me…

[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;8155603]
I’m starting to think that there’s a little more to this than we were given. Just a bit more info. I too wonder if the agent thought when she asked bout the vet and stuff if she was suddenly wanting to do a PPE and wanting contingencies on the deal.

To me, were I the agent, I would have thought that the OP gave the down payment, was going home to arrange transport and pay the balance. I would not be expecting “well now I need to know moreo about the horse”.

I also wonder why the agent was suspicious of not being able to pay the balance.[/QUOTE]

I am confused by this observation on the agents side. How as a buyer do you schedule a PPE if it is possible that someone else will buy the horse. If the price of the horse is large enough to warrant a deposit won’t most people want a PPE.
Unless you are saying that the OP was adament that she didn’t want a PPE and wavered. But still anyone selling a horse should be expecting a PPE. I lean with the buyer on this one.

[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;8155637]
So, OP, what changed your mind about wanting this horse? In the begining you said no matter what, you wanted the horse. You wanted to schedule to pick up the horse, now you don’t want the horse. Can you say what made you change your mind?

See, when you said

It is shady that they are avoiding the history on the horse, but it is what it is, I like him. But the fact that I can’t even schedule to pay off and pick up this gelding is worrying me. For all I know they could have sold him to someone else and are keeping the large deposit.

It made me think you wanted the horse, even though they weren’t responding answering your further questions. From the agent’s point of view, now, I think I would have been surprised and suspicious that you now wanted to know more about a horse, and you weren’t giving me the balance of the money and just going to pick up your horse. It sounds from the above, even though they avoid you, it is what it is, and you like the horse. It seemed your concern on this thread was - why can’t I go get my horse?

Now it seems the agent might have been right, you have backed out of the horse.

I am not sure what he expected from you, except I am sure he expected you to pay the balance and go pick up your horse. Can you say why you didn’t?[/QUOTE]

Without knowing exactly what OP said in her next day follow-up all, it is really hard to say whether the seller is being shady or if she said something that really spooked him and made him think that she was backing out.

OP did not give us date specifics on exactly how many days lagged between her going to see the horse and leaving the deposit, and when she finally heard back from the seller. It was outlined as a few days. Was it three or 15? That would also make a difference. If OP left a message the day after asking questions that spooked the seller and then did not call again for 10 days, that could be interpreted by the seller as her backing out.

I don’t think that it is unusual/unreasonable to ask some background info on your new horse. Continuity of care regarding vet care, and filling in some holes regarding the show record is not unreasonable if that is all she asked for.

So long as the document that OP described outlined particulars of the horse that she looked, and did not specify that the deposit was non-refundable if contract terms were not fulfilled by x date, it certainly appears to me that OP is owed either he horse or Her initial deposit back.

[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;8155603]
I’m starting to think that there’s a little more to this than we were given. [/QUOTE]

Ditto. None of this makes sense, starting with the OP handing over a wad of cash without any kind of signed contract that specifies the rights and responsibilities of both parties. Who does that?

It all sounds fishy to me.

I don’t see the buyer’s name (referenced) or a description of the horse in the original contract - strange?

The horse is 12 hours away; arranging transport could take a few days, maybe she’s hiring a shipper so as not to miss time from work, etc. and in the meantime had some housekeeping requests about vet records - shots and teeth, not xrays…this does not seem unreasonable nor like she’s having second thoughts.

They relisted the horse for sale yet she was still trying to make arrangements for potentially costly shipping and getting radio silence from the agent - that’s not OK.

I’m surprised if it’s a significant amount of $ that there was no provision for a PPE. Maybe that in conjunction with asking for vet records before taking possession spooked the agent?

OP, If the agent told you to consider it a lesson learned and is keeping your cash, it may be time for him/her to learn the lessons of the Internet - go public. Certainly continue to pursue the legal angle but even if you don’t get your $ back maybe you can prevent the same thing happening to someone else.

I’m not a lawyer. I am just hopping mad for you OP.

No, she did not schedule a PPE, and did’t want one, according to the original post. Gave them a deposit, came home to arrange transportaion and pay the balance. There was no mention of contingencies in the receipt they signed. I presume she didn’t want one. Agent probably did too. She even said here, shey’s trying to pay the balance off on the horse and go get it.

when she asked the agent about prev vets and history, he probably thought she was BSin him and now wanted to PPE, ask for history, put alot of other factors in there which would make her possibly say no. Far as the agent was concerned, she had said yes.

Agent probably said, money talks, BS walks, and figured she was trying to get him to hold a horse for her with the deposit without commiting to the horse, yet. When she mentioned the history and vet history, probably looked like a red flag.

So no, she hadn’t originally negotiated any kind of PPE. She bought the horse. Something she did or said later made the Agent a) think she couldn’t afford the horse an b)think she was going to hem and haw about vet bills, history now.

I don’t know if she asked him for a payment plan or what, but he was turned off and said if she couldn’t afford it…

Sorry, talking about somebody’s post way way ^ ^ ^ up there already

I dunno’ that we can assume that no PPE was planned/discussed simply because it wasn’t mentioned by the OP in her post[s] here…??

As for the red flags Agent may have seen when she asked for Vet records… I completely agree Agent may have taken it that way. That doesn’t mean that’s how it was intended.

[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;8155603]
I too wonder if the agent thought when she asked bout the vet and stuff if she was suddenly wanting to do a PPE and wanting contingencies on the deal.

I also wonder why the agent was suspicious of not being able to pay the balance.[/QUOTE]

I definitely agree, but thats thats just it. The assumed. If they would have answer any phone call it would have been a done deal.

[QUOTE=Ambitious Kate;8155637]
So, OP, what changed your mind about wanting this horse? In the begining you said no matter what, you wanted the horse. You wanted to schedule to pick up the horse, now you don’t want the horse. Can you say what made you change your mind?

See, when you said

It is shady that they are avoiding the history on the horse, but it is what it is, I like him. But the fact that I can’t even schedule to pay off and pick up this gelding is worrying me. For all I know they could have sold him to someone else and are keeping the large deposit.

It made me think you wanted the horse, even though they weren’t responding answering your further questions. From the agent’s point of view, now, I think I would have been surprised and suspicious that you now wanted to know more about a horse, and you weren’t giving me the balance of the money and just going to pick up your horse. It sounds from the above, even though they avoid you, it is what it is, and you like the horse. It seemed your concern on this thread was - why can’t I go get my horse?

Now it seems the agent might have been right, you have backed out of the horse.

I am not sure what he expected from you, except I am sure he expected you to pay the balance and go pick up your horse. Can you say why you didn’t?[/QUOTE]

Now it’s a week later and I’m just getting a call back, after never getting a response about records, after seeing a new ad put up after money was given.

Would you purchase the horse in this same scenario?

I saw him late afternoon, called next morning with questions then was ignored for 5 days after that.