i need help with the whole ordering a dog online, shipping, and legal help issues?
JoshTurnerChick asked:
I ordered a dog offline and all I had to pay was $120.00 for shipping, but now the guy is saying that the airport charges a $550.00 deposit for insurance on her that will be refunded to me when she is delivered at my door. She was supposed to fly to the France airport, then to New York, then to Alabama. But when I called the airline, they said they didn’t have anything like that, that the guy was a scam artist, they don’t deliver to your doorstep (you have to go pick her up–which was fine!) and they that there wasn’t a straight flight from New York to Alabama. The airlines told me to not give him anymore money. He emailed me and said the airline told him that I was rude with them and they do require a fee. He also told me that if I don’t receive the dog, that since I have all his info, I can press legal charges. What do you think about all of this? Apparently, the dog is still sitting at the airline, because they won’t let it transfer on the overlay plane or let him have her back until the get the fee. I am so frustrated and mad. This dog was supposed to be here at 7:30 this morning and now it is supposedly stuck at an airport in France and the guy still has my money! What should I do?
Jason
I ordered a dog offline and all I had to pay was $120.00 for shipping, but now the guy is saying that the airport charges a $550.00 deposit for insurance on her that will be refunded to me when she is delivered at my door. She was supposed to fly to the France airport, then to New York, then to Alabama. But when I called the airline, they said they didn’t have anything like that, that the guy was a scam artist, they don’t deliver to your doorstep (you have to go pick her up–which was fine!) and they that there wasn’t a straight flight from New York to Alabama. The airlines told me to not give him anymore money. He emailed me and said the airline told him that I was rude with them and they do require a fee. He also told me that if I don’t receive the dog, that since I have all his info, I can press legal charges. What do you think about all of this? Apparently, the dog is still sitting at the airline, because they won’t let it transfer on the overlay plane or let him have her back until the get the fee. I am so frustrated and mad. This dog was supposed to be here at 7:30 this morning and now it is supposedly stuck at an airport in France and the guy still has my money! What should I do?
Jason
Tags: Dog Sitting, Legal Help, Scam Artist
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Josephine
The total cost of the dog should have included the known cost of shipping up front. The price to ship a dog from Europe to the US is well over $120.00 USD. I suspect you have been the victim of a scam.
March 5th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Agnes
Why would you buy a dog online? That says SCAM all over it. You better hope he gave you his real info, because if he didn’t you are just screwed
March 6th, 2009 at 6:24 am
Monica
Ok so from what i get there is in fact a dog, not that he was completely pulling your leg.
What you can do is email him and tell him that you will not give him any more money until the dog is at your home.
Look at any emails or contracts you’ve signed and read carefully. If he promised the part about the door being delivered to your door or about the airlines he has breached your contract, so you don’t have to give him the rest of the money till it has been filled.
Personally, i know you love this dog, but it sounds like you may just cut your losses and send the dog back. Who knows what this guy is up to if he didn’t know anything about the deposit and then springs it on you.
March 9th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Edgar
Call the airport in France and have them send this poor dog to Alabama. He sounds like he’s full of sh*t.
For future reference, never buy a dog online. A lot of these dogs come from puppy mills. Or you get scammed.
Do you have any idea how stressful and frightening being on an airplane is to a dog? Please don’t support this kind of thing. There are plenty of dogs that need homes you can find locally.
March 9th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Craig
You have got to be kidding me. A dog can fly from New York to Alabama. I lived in PA and got my dog flown in from Arkansas. I paid for him on Paypal and then paid the airline (Delta $189) when I he got there. My son and cousin did the same thing.
YOU girl have been taken. There is NO dog. Do NOT give this idiot any more money and do not answer any emails. Didn’t this seem strange to you in the beginning for him to say that the dog had to be flown out of the country first? You are too naive to do something like this or else you are a troll and I am naive.
Don’t get a dog til you can take care of yourself.
March 10th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Melanie
Check out his information — even Google might have something on him. It’s a good place to start, at any rate. Phone your local police department and ask about this guy. They may have info on him. It’s unlikely that he has only hit one victim if he is, as sounds plausible, a scam artist. Ask for advice on dealing with him.
March 10th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Jesus
What kind of dog is this that you had to buy it from a breeder in France? I couldn’t imagine any responsible breeder that would be willing to 1) ship a dog by plane and 2) ship a dog to another country overseas and 3) sell someone a dog and they have never met you, and you haven’t met the dog or the breeder. Call me rude, but if this guy did scam you, then you kinda deserve it for being so brainless. You have no idea what kind of a breeder this dog came from, what kind of conditions it was born in, the temperaments of the parents, or even if this guy really has a dog waiting to be shipped to you. If you aren’t willing to travel to the breeder’s home and check all of the necessary things out for yourself and bring the dog home with you, then you really don’t need that dog that bad.
March 12th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Leo
It’s a scam. There is no dog. He’s saying that to get money out of you. You can’t get your money back. Just be glad you found out now before you sent anymore money.
Ignore all future attempts this guy makes to contact you. He will try to convince you it’s not a scam if you tell him you found out it is.
March 14th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Brenda
TOTAL SCAMMER. Let me guess…he wants you to western union the money to him…You should always pick a dog up in person….for several reasons..
1)Make sure it is healthy
2) Make sure it is real
3) Make sure it is up to date on all shots
4) Make sure nothing is wrong with the dog
5) Safer way for the dog to travel and exchange money for the pup.
If you really want a dog…go to petfinder.com or craigslist.com
A good dog owner will never ship his dog overseas alone.
March 16th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Fred
red flags:
-change to shipping charges
-the airline would not have told him they talked to you, much less said you were rude
-all fees have to be paid before shipment (meaning the dog wouldn’t be sitting at the airport)
-the guy told you you can press charges rather than offering to solve the problem
I hope you used a secure payment method and you can get a refund.
March 16th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Karen
This is an EXTREMELY well-known scam. There is NO dog. The only thing you should do is to contact your local police to report that you’ve been taken. You’ll never see your money again, but it COULD help them track down the scammer (though there is nearly no chance of that happening, either). When you’re ready to get a dog, never even think of buying one online. Go somewhere that you can pick the dog up in person. It costs more than $120 to ship a dog halfway around the world-that should have been your first clue that something was up.
March 17th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Alicia
there is NO dog!
You were scammed out of $120.. there is no dog, its not in France, its not anywhere, the dog doesnt exist!
Unfortunantly, there may not be much you can do because the guy is in another country.
March 19th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Kathryn
Dude……..groan. Even if you flew to France, met the guy, had dinner, met his wife & kids……you would get screwed. You should’ve researched this a whole lot before trying to buy. As I’ve explained before, it takes a long time to build trusted friendships in Europe. I’ve been buying dogs there for almost 30 years, and sometimes they still try to slip a $hitter into the mix..when I’m standing right there! LOOKING AT THE DOG! Luckily, even if they ship it sight unseen, and it sucks, I make them replace the dog immediately, and THEY cover shipping. They know I can buy from anybody I want…and they want my business. They are NOT concerned with one-time buyers at all. Adult dogs run about $900 to import (recently down from $1200), so I would assume puppies are still gonna be $6-7 hundred.
As far as “what can you do”?? Break something, yell, beat the kids, throw a temper tantrum….that’s about it.