| sweetandsassyshih-tzu.com |
| sweetandsassyshih-tzu.com Shelby R McAfee Think twice before dealing with this breeder! Internet |
| 12th of Jun, 2011 by User993288 |
| Beware when dealing with this Breeder. Absoluetely DO NOT give any deposit or payment unless you are absolutely sure you can proceed with purchasing a puppy and have "signed" a contact. When you search breeder forums regarding "non-refundable" deposits....depending upon the circumstances....on a case by case basis...some will provide you with a refund. It will really depend upon how reasonable and understanding a breeder is. Personally, I have not had a good experience with this breeder. I am speaking from my own personal experience. Although I have strong feelings regarding the outcome of our failed transaction, I am not about to have a back and forth dialoque on an open forum...as people often times misinterpret the information shared. My main purpose for writing is simply express my dissatisfaction and dissappointment in dealing with this business....which I have a right to do....but I am a strong believer in "what comes around...goes around..." As a potential Shih-Tzu buyer, please do your due dilligence. Ask about - potential circumstances that can arise unexpectedly. Dealing with an online businesses is very different than dealing face-to-face with someone in person... as they can hide behind the distance of where they are located, their computer and email. Ask opinions of other breeders about their policies and read their contacts thouroughly!!!....Breeders can change wording of their contracts instantaneously! (I experienced this.....always print out or email a copy to yourself!) I hope going forward, no one else has the misfortune of losing a significant amount of money as I did. |
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Francine Griggs first contacted me on October 31st 2010 by phone discussing using one of my males as a stud for her female. We then proceeded to email back and forth from that point on and had numerous conversations via phone. She then contacted me again with interest in one of the puppies I had available on my website. She sent payment on Jan. 22nd in full for the older puppy as he was 7 weeks of age and to be paid in full at that time. My deposit is ½ the purchase price and is non-refundable. It clearly states that on my website and I have my purchase information and contract posted on my site which she was fully aware of my policies as she clearly stated in her posting. It also states that ALL Monies Are Non-Refundable and we discussed my policies in one of our numerous phone conversations prior to her sending any money. She then emailed me prior to me receiving her money orders and asked me to not cash them as she was still undetermined as to which puppy she wanted or if she wanted a stud service from my male “Patriot”. We spoke on the phone and she decided to take the newborn puppy instead. I then offered to send one of the money orders for 750.00 back as the puppy was younger and she would not need to pay for him in full until he was 7 weeks of age. She declined as she was going to have to pay it anyway. She then started going back and forth on other puppies I had available and I held the sales on them until she once again tried to make up her mind. When her puppy was almost ready to go she requested more pics and then again started questioning me about what other puppies I had available. I was concerned at this point as her puppy was almost ready to go and she was still indecisive. I sent her new pics of the puppy who was now 8 weeks old and did not receive a response for 4 days. I then received an email on March 18th stating that her daughter needed braces and she could not afford to purchase a puppy at that time and wanted a full refund. Here is the the email she wrote to me…..
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fromfrancine griggs [email protected]
toShelby McAfee <[email protected]>
dateFri, Mar 18, 2011 at 1:21 AM
subjectRe: Patriot brother
mailed-byyahoo.com
signed-byyahoo.com
hide details Mar 18
Shelby,
I don't know how to tell you this, but we have all of a sudden had a severe & unexpected expense that has come up. My daughter was x-rayed by an Orthodontist and it appears she is required to have braces. She has severe crowding and her rear baby teeth are not able to come out. She has to have her rear baby teeth extracted and once that is done she will need to have the braces put in. This is a $3000 expense that I did not anticipate..and my Dental coverage does not cover Orthodontics!!!
I talked it over with my husband and I just don't know how we can purchase a dog at the same time as having to pay for the braces. I just don't have that kind of cash flow.
I am beyond being heartbroken. I know you have children and can understand my dilema.
My daughter is just as heartbroken because she knows the decision that we are having to make.
I don't know what else to do...I just don't have the ability to do both. My daughter really needs the braces, as her teeth are not growing in properly.
Feel free to give me a call tomorrow at work after 9 am PT.
Francine :(
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I told Francine that she had already purchased a puppy as her money was sent 2 months prior and made a commitment to purchase a puppy for 1500.00 with full Akc registration and would have to send extra funds for shipping. Several emails later I agreed to send her 750.00 in a courtesy refund and if the puppy sold for the 1500.00 I would send her 900.00. I then received an email on March 25th that was meant for someone else proclaiming how happy her and her family were with their new puppy which upset me tremendously as she had told me she wanted a refund and could not afford a puppy. Francine had accidentally emailed this to me rather than the appropriate recipient.
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Here is the email to the other breeder, it is altered as to not show her name as this breeder is not in anyway a part of this dispute between Francine and me. I do not feel her name should be included in this posting………
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fromfrancine griggs [email protected]
[email protected]
dateThu, Mar 24, 2011 at 11:29 PM
subjectDay 2 & 3
mailed-byyahoo.com
signed-byyahoo.com
hide details Mar 24
*******,
Mai Tai had a great 2nd and 3rd day. She is getting used to our routine pretty fast. She is quite a sweetheart. She does like to be cuddled and the only time I hear her little voice is when Martini and her give each other the staredown and want to play. I am not letting them have contact until a few weeks. It will be interesting to see how they will play together.
She likes her little crate...she knows that's where she goes to bed. She is eating and drinking well. She did not tear her pads today. I caught her snuggling with the snoopy. I'm sure she will be so excited when her armadillo comes! She definitely knows that the crying will not get a reaction from us. When she tries...it quickly stops. She is a doll!
We love her!
Warmly,
Francine
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After receiving this email, I confronted Francine. She responded as it was a puppy she purchased for her mother but I am still unsure of that as she was so indecisive with me throughout the whole process and feel that she found a puppy from someone else and purchased that puppy instead of mine. Especially with the timing she received her puppy from the other breeder. She stated that she wanted me to send her the puppy for less than what she originally paid for him as a pet but her agreement was to purchase the puppy for 1500.00 not 1200.00 and the 1500.00 was guaranteed to me when she sent the funds. I was not agreeable to lose 300.00 on the puppy because she could not honor her commitment. I then placed the puppy up for sale and finally found a wonderful home. However, he did not sell for the original amount that was previously promised to me by Francine. He sold for 1200.00 and I had spent all the extra time to re-list him for sale and talk to customers. I had to then keep him here for even more weeks which cost me extra dog food, 2 more vaccines, 2 sets of de-worming, more work potty training etc…. Not to mention the loss of time going back and forth with Francine during this time as she threatened me with slander etc. I have told her that if she was unhappy to take this matter to court as I refunded what I had promised, and she was the one who did not fulfill her commitment to purchase the puppy. I sent her a courtesy refund of 750.00.
Francine then made a complaint on my business through the Better Business Bureau. She stated that she would like the remaining 750.00 to be refunded to her or the 150.00 to make the refund a total of 900.00. She also said that she would be agreeable to me sending her one of my older puppies I had listed for 600.00 as a pet and I should pay for shipping of 300.00 = 900.00 and she also wanted to be able to keep the 750.00 previously issued to her.???? I stated that I was NOT agreeable to any of her desired resolutions as I had already refunded her the proper amount agreed upon in this transaction. .
She stated that I removed a “Clause” on my website which is untrue, and I do not know where she came up with that one??? I have all of the email transactions where she was very belittling and condescending towards me…. I have saved all her voice mails she left for me saying that I was being immature because I wanted to keep all of our communications in email from that point forward. I handled this whole situation very professionally. I feel I kept my cool when at times it was very difficult to do so. Also considering she was fully aware of my policy concerning refunds which are in place to protect me and my business and to insure compensation for the loss I have incurred as a result of her buyers remorse.
I believe that I had been more than reasonable in this business transaction with Francine Griggs as it is clearly stated on my website “All Monies are Non-Refundable.” I, being reasonable, offered her several options including her taking another puppy and all of her money would be applied to a future puppy for up to 1 year. I offered sending her the puppy she purchased and she could re-home him to recoup her money (she stated she would rather not do that and would rather I re-sell him). Since she did back out of the puppy she purchased when he was over the age of 8 weeks there was no recourse for her as she did not accept the puppy nor any of the other options I had offered to her. I then, being reasonable, agreed to send her a courtesy refund in the amount of $750.00 as she did not accept the puppy or choose to take advantage of the other offers I had graciously given to her. Even though, I was not required to send her any funds as all monies were non-refundable. Yet, she feels, I am the one who is responsible to take the loss of time and income because Mrs. Griggs had buyer’s remorse???
Whether or not the case was that she needed the extra funds for her daughter’s braces or that she purchased another puppy instead she was still aware of my policies and took advantage of me by requesting the funds to be returned. Francine was aware of my policies and still chose to demand the funds back, threatening me with the BBB and Slander with the purpose of Extorting the funds she demanded to be returned. When entering in a business transaction a person should be aware that certain circumstances do arise and should weigh that into their thought process before making a purchase of this kind. Considering Francine is Second Vice President of Wealth Management, Financial Planning Specialist and a Financial Advisor, I would be under the impression that she would be aware of the necessity to have money set aside for unforeseen circumstances. Regardless, it is not my responsibility to send back funds that were mine when she sent them to me because she did not have extra funds set aside for an unexpected expense that came up 2 months after she sent the funds and committed to accept a puppy from me. I too have children and unexpected expenses and the profits from my business pay for those expenses, however, when those unexpected circumstances arise I do not go back to the places I purchased merchandise and ask for them to give me my money back because something came up…. NO business would be willing to give someone’s money back under those or any other circumstance especially 2 months later. Again, I offered to send the puppy to Francine and she refused. She refused to send the extra funds to have the puppy shipped to her, therefore, she did not accept the item that was purchased. I lost income due to her refusal to accept her puppy and sent her a courtesy refund that she feels is unfair.
Francine states that the email regarding the purchase of another puppy is irrelevant but I feel it is VERY relevant as the reasoning she gave to me after receiving the email in question was that it was a puppy she had purchased for her mother. Whether it was a puppy for her or her mother she put out the funds to pay for this puppy and did not ask for those funds back from that particular breeder however it is my responsibility to refund all of the funds to her?
This whole situation has taken valuable time from my family and my business and I have put forth every effort to accommodate Francine with her requests and demands. I had to consult with a lawyer over this matter and he helped me come up with a “reasonable solution” that is still not acceptable to Francine. I will repeat what I stated before that if Francine is unhappy with the current status of this transaction then I feel it be best that this situation be handled in a court of law.
This matter would have been resolved when the courtesy refund check was sent on April 28th 2011 and received by Certified mail on May 2nd 2011. Francine has yet to cash the check that I sent her. Even though, she is in such need for the funds at this time.
Note: The Better Business Bureau found in favor of my business and in their letter they stated that the case was Administratively Judged Resolved due to the Refund Policy being clearly stated on the business’ website.
Rather than Francine being agreeable to any of my offers, she then was unhappy with the response from the BBB and she is now resorting to Slander, Libel, Defamation of Character and Unfair Competition (as she wants to breed her dogs) by placing this rip-off report and other defamatory statements on other sites. These statements are her attempt to ruin my reputation and deter future customers from doing business with me, in turn causing me and my business to possibly lose even more income over this whole ordeal. But yet I am sure she still wants to keep the $750.00 that was issued to her as a courtesy. I feel that now that she has resorted to these extreme measures that I should be compensated for ANY and ALL FUTURE loss of income that I have and will endure from her buyers remorse. Just to have the Rip-off report removed would cost me $2000.00 if I choose to go with the VIP Arbitration Program offered through this site. Otherwise her untrue statements will be clearly seen by all my potential customers who view these websites where she placed her defamatory statements. Since Francine did not cash her courtesy refund check when she received it on May 2nd and in the meantime causing me to lose valuable time both in my Business and Personally by having to defend myself to the BBB and now with the slandering of my business through the internet I have no other choice but to protect myself and my business from Francine’s inability to be a reasonable and rational person. Therefore, if Francine would like to receive a refund of any kind she will have to take me to court as I will not allow someone to drag my name through the mud because she had buyers remorse and truth be known deciding to get another puppy elsewhere thinking that she could pity me into refunding all of the funds given to me. I bent over backwards to resolve this issue with Francine, however, she would have been unhappy with any resolution. If Francine decides to take me to court I will be filing a countersuit due to the potential loss of income that I may incur from her choice to slander my business via the internet etc...
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Shelby |
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