Forced to sign a Language in non-English

[illonavamp]

My Sister worked in Germany as a self-employed riding trainer, paying all her taxes etc here.

 

To cut a long story short she purchased a half-share in a horse with a horse-trader with a view to earning a share in commission when it was sold. It was indeed sold and my sister received commission in German currency which she paid into her English bank.

 

Due to issues, the horse was returned and my sister re-paid the commission she was given back into a German account.

 

Because of exchange rate, the commission converted back to German currency was less.

 

She agreed with the trainer that she would care for the horse that was returned back in the UK.

 

Cut to the day she was returning, under extreme stress he placed a letter in German in front of her demanding she sign it before she leaves. As my sister was due to board a ferry with a truck containing a horse and was severely stressed - she signed it. It was the first time in the four years they worked together that he had ever given her anything in German.

 

He is now harassing her via social media - and it would be useful to know what sort of advice or protection she can expect. She assumes the content of the letter was regarding paying the costs of the horse while it was in England.

 

Does English or German Law apply here?

 

Appreciate any advice you might be able to help us with.

 

Thanks

 

Samantha

[Bazooka Boo]

Regardless, Harassment is a criminal offence and should be reported to the police, no ifs or buts, report him.

 

As for the piece of paper she signed, who knows, she will have signed it under duress, and it would be next to impossible that it would stand in a court of law.

 

Is she staying in the UK for the foreseeable future, or does she have plans to return to Germany?

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

There are plenty of online translation sites you can use. If you type in the letter, you'll see what it means in whatever language you choose.

 

HB

[illonavamp]

Regardless, Harassment is a criminal offence and should be reported to the police, no ifs or buts, report him.

 

As for the piece of paper she signed, who knows, she will have signed it under duress, and it would be next to impossible that it would stand in a court of law.

 

Is she staying in the UK for the foreseeable future, or does she have plans to return to Germany?

 

She is a permanent resident here, no plans to return. Presumably that's the answer then, if you're in the UK, you're protected under UK Law? That makes sense actually. Do he have any recourse regarding the exchange rate?

[illonavamp]

p.s. thanks for the replies - I know how busy CAG is

[steampowered]

I would have thought issues caused any change in the exchange rate is her responsibility. If she was required to return the money, she would be required to return the same amount as she received, and that amount was denominated in Euros.

 

I would assume that German law applies to a Euro contract with a German trader, but it is impossible to say for sure without further details of what the contract was about or what the letter says.

[Ethel Street]

What is the German trader seeking from your sister? Money presumably, but have you any idea how much? And is he claiming your sister owes money because of the document she signed?

 

When you say "He is now harassing her via social media" can you be a bit more specific? What's he actually doing/saying? Although it's true that harassment can be an offence in English law "harassment" is often used very loosely and vaguely in online forums and it's not always obvious that what's complained about is legally harassment. "Harassment" has specific legal definition.

 

First priority I suggest is to get the letter translated so you can see what your sister has agreed to. Although your thread title says your sister was "forced" to sign it what you describe isn't her being forced to sign it. Nor does it sound like "signing under duress" in the legal sense. She felt under pressure and stressed, yes, but that isn't automatically the same (legally) as "signing under duress". It's possible that your sister has the defence to any claim of saying the contract was signed under duress and so is void or voidable. But on the information you have given I wouldn't assume that. For the moment safer to assume that in any court action the contract might be found to be enforceable.

 

I don't know enough about private international law to answer your question "Does English or German Law apply here?" but my guess is that as the agreement was entered into in Germany with a German national/resident it's likely that German law applies. So I would think if the German trader got judgement in German court he could come to the UK and enforce it here. Just my guess though, not my special subject.

 

We really need to know more about what's at stake here in terms of cash and what the German trader is trying to do.

 

How's the horse getting on?