# Warning on dealers in Kent from Police....



## attheponies (8 June 2013)

This link has just been posted on FB:

http://www.kent.police.uk/news/latest_news/130607_hoese_fraud.html


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## Wundahorse (9 June 2013)

I know exactly who these dealers are.They continue to reinvent themselves and tend to capitalize on the very novice buyers who usually have no experience,and are thus very easy prey.I wonder why Kent police do not name and shame as i worry that purchasers may not have heard of their poor reputation.Also a certain show centre still allows these dealers to rent boxes at their yard in order to sell poor unfortunate equines to the poor unknowing first time buyers who simply want a nice safe pony for their child.


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## cronkmooar (9 June 2013)

I wonder if the equestrian press, who have already produced an article on the matter, will now do the decent thing and stop running their advertisements!


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## Wundahorse (9 June 2013)

cronkmooar said:



			I wonder if the equestrian press, who have already produced an article on the matter, will now do the decent thing and stop running their advertisements!
		
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Totally agree with you.Ethics should come before profit.If anyone is interested just look up eponastars,there is plenty of information there thanks to the initiative of the originator.My worry is how to inform prospective buyers who are not privy to the background of these dealers.


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## ttt (9 June 2013)

Which show centre please?


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## Clodagh (9 June 2013)

You have to feel sorry for any genuine Kent horse dealers!
I have a horse 'rescued' from a novice who bought him from a Kent horse dealer. He is 10 years old and has more medical problems than you could poke a stick at. The sellers must have made thousands and thousands over the years, it is a huge operation.


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## Wundahorse (10 June 2013)

ttt said:



			Which show centre please?
		
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Not sure i am allowed to name the show centre here.


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## benson21 (10 June 2013)

ttt said:



			Which show centre please?[/QUOTE

QUACK QUACK
		
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## benson21 (10 June 2013)

Its about time something happened to these people.  Why is it there has been investigations into them for 4 years through the Police, but they are still allowed to deal. especially after being arrested and let out on bail, they are still doing it!!  makes my blood boil!!


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## ttt (10 June 2013)

benson21 said:





ttt said:



			Which show centre please?[/QUOTE

QUACK QUACK
		
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Thanks 

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## EAST KENT (10 June 2013)

What about SmartCobs?? Are they OK??


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## Suziq77 (10 June 2013)

EAST KENT said:



			What about SmartCobs?? Are they OK??
		
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I have always heard positive feedback about smart cobs.


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## onemoretime (10 June 2013)

ttt said:



			Which show centre please?
		
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Duckhurst


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## onemoretime (10 June 2013)

Now to catch up with the other dodgy dealers !!!


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## MrsB (11 June 2013)

Full details of who was arrested is on Epona Stars (and thanks for the shout out).  The man in his 30's has now put his location as Sussex as well as Kent on ads placed on Horsemart, as the Police have revealed Kent is not the place to seemingly buy a horse!

It seems the net is finally closing in... but what I cannot fathom and makes my wee boil is that they are still allowed to trade.  No matter how many times they try to reinvent themselves, the truth will out


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## EAST KENT (11 June 2013)

Until there is positive proof all goes on as normal  The bail runs out shortly I believe,and unless a sure case is built it will all be dropped.
     It is a bad situation for anyone decent selling horses in Kent,reinvention is an artform! We had another shark dealing in Labrador dogs ..again in Kent...he reinvented himself and moved premises more than most people change their  knickers, so many heartbroken dog owners were the result.Trading Standards and the Council Licencing people in Ashford did do him for £14000.....you know what? He BOUGHT the two middle pages of the local paper as a kind of interview/advert. Bloody amazing neck Eh? The very same week he got done too!!


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## MrsB (11 June 2013)

EAST KENT said:



			The bail runs out shortly I believe,and unless a sure case is built it will all be dropped.
		
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And how would you know that?


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## Wundahorse (11 June 2013)

I'm just still amazed the show centre allows them to deal since the police became involved,although the centre also deals itself.The rogue dealers also rent another nearby yard which makes their operation quite big.Funny how its invariably these particular dealers who get mentioned most on this forum.The two women have a bad reputation as individuals (very unpleasant people) in addition to the stuff related to their dealing.


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## MrsB (11 June 2013)

Unpleasant indeed - I've received nasty threats from one of them, not to mention the other one setting up a 'hate' page dedicated to me; all of which forwarded onto the Police and got them absolutely nowhere other than to make themselves look totally ridiculous 

Let's not forget the other 2 men who were arrested, one of whom I believe EAST KENT knows personally?  And surely you'd know if Smartcobs were a reputable dealer   The other one is trying to extract himself from Kent by advertising his location as Sussex as well as Kent now...


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## benson21 (11 June 2013)

EAST KENT said:



			Until there is positive proof all goes on as normal  The bail runs out shortly I believe,and unless a sure case is built it will all be dropped.
		
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So, you seem to be insinuating that there is no positive proof? You think that the many many (many!!) people that have been done by these people are all making it up?   none of them have met, but all the things being said are the same things happening to person after person after person?


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## Clodagh (11 June 2013)

I seem to remember that East Kent is friends with the dealers concerned and knows the vet involved and is sure there are no problems with the operation.
Disclaimer...this is not my view!


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## Wundahorse (11 June 2013)

I have witnessed these women trying to sell lame horses,and worse, to very novice people at the show centre mentioned (while we have been competing there)I also have some personal experience of them,when they were children,and by then both were showing unpleasant personality traits.A big shame as with much better parental guidance things could have been very different. Both women were allowed free rein when they were teenagers,with no clear boundaries etc.One of them stole money from my home when she lived nearby.She was at primary school with my eldest daughter.This girl was always a bully at school.


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## MrsB (11 June 2013)

Clodagh said:



			I seem to remember that East Kent is friends with the dealers concerned and knows the vet involved and is sure there are no problems with the operation.
Disclaimer...this is not my view!
		
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Hmmm indeedy!  She also made a gaff last year when she said what might/might not be on the shelves  loose lips sink ships, love 

As for the other women - lower than a snake's belly and nothing surprises me about either of them, in fact all of them thought they were untouchable... just goes to show nobody (not even horse dealers) are above the law


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## MrsB (12 June 2013)

Golly, the silence is deafening!!! No response from EK then...


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## EAST KENT (12 June 2013)

Simply because you assume I know the dealers,which I do not,except to avoid at all costs!The vet ,yes,use his practice ...and it is a very good one.Saw the bail date ran out ON THE LINK TO THE POLICE NOTICE....real rocket science that!.  You assume too much,  FACT...if insufficent proof to build a prosecution case is the end result..then rightly or wrongly it will be dropped.
    Same goes for the ever name changing Lab dealer,he caused immense misery to buyers and suffering to dogs,but it is building concrete facts to make a case for prosecution.
   I bought my present horse from Val May,no doubt there are disgruntled buyers from her in times past,but I bought a good one
    Time will tell.


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## MrsB (12 June 2013)

But nobody's talking about dogs, only you 

The only thing I will assume, is that the police don't issue statements like they did unless there are plenty of complaints and cases to be heard.  Three dealers arrested and one vet; FACT.


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## benson21 (13 June 2013)

So, do you really think the Police would of released all of this information if they then thought the case would be dropped?


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## Superhot (13 June 2013)

I sincerely hope that everyone, and I do mean everyone, who has ever had a bad experience with these people, have formally complained to the police.  It is no good moaning about something if you are not prepared to take action and back it up.  Apathy is the friend of the bully.  I can't understand why it has taken so long for these people to be brought to justice and how they are allowed to continue trading, when so many people have had wicked experiences.  If they were rogue car traders, they would surely have been shut down by now????


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## benson21 (13 June 2013)

Superhot said:



			I sincerely hope that everyone, and I do mean everyone, who has ever had a bad experience with these people, have formally complained to the police.
QUOTE]

I most definately have!!  It was all a bit of a cerfuful, but its been done!!  It started off about 4 years ago with a complaint to RCVS, who then passed it on to the Police, and with the envolvement of Epona Stars, many more people have done the same!
		
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## EAST KENT (13 June 2013)

Well you know,talking about dogs again,similar sort of thing though;that dealer got done for £14000 by the trading standards people..you know what,he just carried on trading!Wrong,very wrong,but it happened.
   I have no doubt there are cases to answer,probably every dealer has,but it is actually proving it is`nt it?Buying horses is an absolute minefield,it should`nt be,but it is.


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## MrsB (13 June 2013)

The Police and RCVS have more statements and complaints than you can shake a stick at.  It's been going on for years and those arrested have been getting away with it for a very long time.

So time to get your head from out of the sand, because it's not going to go away that easily   As said before, the Police don't release statements like that for nothing....

Final word from me on the dog thing - I'd rather deal with a vet bill regarding a dog than the one I had to deal with from a mis-sold horse....


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## jodie3 (14 June 2013)

From my one experience with these people the man involved was based in Hertfordshire
and the same horses were advertised twice, once with a Kent location/phone number and again with a Herts one. There seemed to be a fair amount of movement of horses between the two places.


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## Clodagh (14 June 2013)

Thats intersting, my horse came form Hertforshire, but was vetted in Kent. (I didn't buy him from the dealers, they are just some of his homes).


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## MrsB (14 June 2013)

I know of a dodgy dealer in Herts, former squeeze of one of the arrested and I'm not surprised in the slightest that some horses were from Herts...  Said dodgy dealer's mother runs a riding school in Herts...  I tried one of his horses once and it was noticeably lame and promptly rejected by myself after chucking one of the instructors off whilst I was observing...

But Jodie3, the younger man who was arrested and in the Kent Police statement isn't from Herts, he's front Kent, 100%.  However, I have no doubt that they were advertised twice, noting the above paragraph


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## Wundahorse (18 June 2013)

A few days late but there was a mention in the KM about the dealers but sadly no names attributed to the case which could prevent unsuspecting people going through these dealers. Can only assume nothing can be said until after the trial.


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## MrsB (19 June 2013)

All we can hope is that people google dealers before visiting - if you google those who were arrested, their name pops up very close to the top as they're named on Epona's page


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## hoggedmane (5 July 2013)

Superhot said:



			I sincerely hope that everyone, and I do mean everyone, who has ever had a bad experience with these people, have formally complained to the police.  It is no good moaning about something if you are not prepared to take action and back it up.  Apathy is the friend of the bully.  I can't understand why it has taken so long for these people to be brought to justice and how they are allowed to continue trading, when so many people have had wicked experiences.  If they were rogue car traders, they would surely have been shut down by now????
		
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I personally took one  to court over a pony I bought and won. However the law is on the side of the perpetrator when the victim has to then pay to pursue the dealer to retrieve their money. She sent the court papers back marked 'Gone away'. At the time she was living with her boyfriend's parents so I could see the bailiffs turning up and there being nothing of hers in the house. It is still within the time limit to chase so now maybe a  better bet.

In the end I am glad my daughter wasn't injured by the pony we bought but the whole experience was not nice. As someone said about the two girls (the other one had previously owned the pony I bought and became involved) they are not nice people and will try and intimidate.

Beware!


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## Ghost Rider (6 July 2013)

She, Poppy Eastwood if that is her real name and the rest of her gang should be exposed to the public as widely as possible. !!!!

It is terrible that she can get away with stealing thousands and thousands of pounds without her being convicted. 

I know of many that have been scammed and if you want to see them then as posted above got to the facebook account " Scammed by Poppy Eastwood "

If you have been scammed by her then PLEASE join this group and share your story, strength in numbers and tell the police and crime watch. 

Get these criminal on t.v and exposed !!!!

Jail time for them. !!!!


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## hoggedmane (9 July 2013)

Never heard of Poppy Eastwood and as far as I know this thread is not to do with her.


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## Ghost Rider (10 July 2013)

There is more than one Poppy Eastwood so I think you are referring to another Poppy. 

The one Im talking about is originally from Kent and it is this one as even her mother has written to say sorry, check the facebook page out. All those people arent making it up !!!


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## hoggedmane (13 July 2013)

I see there is a statement about Poppy Eastwood on epona stars but I haven't heard of her.

 The police statement linked to in this post is not about her. See the epona stars facebook page post on July 10th 2012 if you want the names of the dealers it does refer to. I am helping police with their enquiries so I am sure about this!


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## s4sugar (15 July 2013)

Just been a question about their latest name on the regional boards.


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