Gave dog back to breeder, refusing to give money back

mattuk80

Hello,

My mother recently bought a pedigree dog from a breeder for £500 on Tuesday. She had the puppy for two days but unfortunately she realised she had made a mistake and didn't enjoy the experience. My mum suffers from anxiety and panic attacks and suffered a bad attack after getting the dog. She rang the breeder who said she couldn't take the dog back becaue she was going on holiday however her friend (who owns the father of the puppy) would take it back until she gets off holiday. She told my mum that she couldn't afford to give her any money back until she re-sells the dog. On Thursday night we took the dog to the breeders friend, no money was mentioned. My mum has been very emotional and depressed and as a family we decided she needed to make a clean break from the dog, obviously it would've been better for her to keep it for bit longer to see how she goes but she was in no fit state to do this and unfortunately none of our family or friends could take the dog so that's why she'd given it back. She's obviously upset about the money issue as well but I told her to wait a couple of weeks and when she feels a bit better she or one of us could give the breeder a ring to sort out getting the money back.

Today she got a phone call from the breeders mobile (who we thought was on holiday), it wasn't the breeder but her friend who we believe still has the dog. My mum spoke to her and the friend said the breeder doesn't have time to sell the dog and my mum won't be getting any money back. My mum said she felt they were taking advantage of her and it would be reasonable to give her at least half the money back, but the women said no and claimed that in the conversation my mum had with her on Thursday on the phone prior to giving her the dog she told her she wouldn't give her any money and that they were doing her a favour taking it off her.

My mum is very upset and doesn't know what to do. I've told her I would sort it out but I have no idea if there is any legal recourse she can take. I'm sorry for the long winded post, any help regarding this query would be much appreciated.

skintstudentnurse

I haven't really got any advice but shouldn't your mum have thought long and hard before buying a dog in the first place? You know the old saying "A dog is for life not just for Christmas"? I appreciate that she suffers from anxiety but don't really think this is an excuse. Looking after puppy is demanding maybe she should have thought about getting an older rescue dog that would have already been house trained and not so boisterous?

McKneff

Get the dog back and sell it yourself would be one suggestion.

mattuk80

skintstudentnurse wrote: »

I haven't really got any advice but shouldn't your mum have thought long and hard before buying a dog in the first place? You know the old saying "A dog is for life not just for Christmas"? I appreciate that she suffers from anxiety but don't really think this is an excuse. Looking after puppy is demanding maybe she should have thought about getting an older rescue dog that would have already been house trained and not so boisterous?

We tried to warn her beforehand about the reponsibilities, however this is really irrelevant and not a useful comment. Part of the reason she is feeling depressed is she knows that she made a mistake. Telling her "I told you so" really isn't helpful right now.

orlao

I'm sorry for your mum but IMHO I don't think that you have any recourse to law.
When I got my pedigree pup (some time ago now!) the agreement I signed with the breeder stated that if I could not keep the dog at ANY time in the future, he must be returned to them and no refund would be given. I was also told this verbally both at first contact on the phone and when I went to see the litter. In fact, she had a 2 year old dog returned at around the same time which had quite a few behavioral problems which meant she would have to keep him for some time, retrain etc before she could rehome him. AFAIK, this is a standard term in the contract for any KC accredited breeder.

While I'm not unsympathetic to your Mums problems, if you look at it from a breeders POV (as a business) she may have to pay someone to look after the pup while she's away, readvertise which costs, probably have to get extra jabs done and start training and socalising the pup in the meantime....afterall a dog isn't like a TV, it can't be put back on the shelf and ignored until the next buyer comes along.

foreign_correspondent

McKneff wrote: »

Get the dog back and sell it yourself would be one suggestion.

selling a dog should not be a straightforward matter of a cash transaction - vetting potential buyers and making sure the pup does not go to another home that will not be suitable, and to owners that have a realistic understanding of the commitment of taking on a pup, and will not be using it for cheap back yard breeding is a big responsibility, and I am not sure your mum is able to do this, especially seeing as she mis-judged her own ability to cope. (No disrespect to your mum, just stating it as it appears).

Why not contact your local trading standards for advice?

Is the breeder registered with the local council?

mattuk80

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

selling a dog should not be a straightforward matter of a cash transaction - vetting potential buyers and making sure the pup does not go to another home that will not be suitable, and to owners that have a realistic understanding of the commitment of taking on a pup, and will not be using it for cheap back yard breeding is a big responsibility, and I am not sure your mum is able to do this, especially seeing as she mis-judged her own ability to cope. (No disrespect to your mum, just stating it as it appears).

Why not contact your local trading standards for advice?

Is the breeder registered with the local council?

Thanks foreign correspondent, we all agree the dogs best back with the breeder and its safety and health is of prime importance. However surely its just and fair for them to give some of the money back to my mum? She's not asking for all of it, even half would be great. We appreciate they are going to have to re-advertise and keep it for a while. But if they do sell it again then they are making double the money. Giving half back to my mum would be a nice gesture.

Orloa - Not sure if she signed a contract with a no refund offer, will have to check.

BitterAndTwisted

In my opinion giving half the money back would be a nice gesture but I don't think your mum is going to get it and in the breeder's position I wouldn't even consider it. If there was a problem with the dog, like a health one for instance, then that would be a totally different situation. I don't see that in this case that the breeder should be obliged to refund your mother anything and in the buyer's position I wouldn't have expected or demanded it. Your mother made a mistake and she's the one who should be doing the paying for it, in my opinion

mattuk80

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

In my opinion giving half the money back would be a nice gesture but I don't think your mum is going to get it and in the breeder's position I wouldn't even consider it. If there was a problem with the dog, like a health one for instance, then that would be a totally different situation. I don't see that in this case that the breeder should be obliged to refund your mother anything and in the buyer's position I wouldn't have expected or demanded it. Your mother made a mistake and she's the one who should be doing the paying for it, in my opinion

I'm not after your opinion, what I'm requesting is helpful advice or legal facts regarding this situation which other posters have kindly provided. It's sad, Bitter and Twisted (literally) that you've got nothing better to do with your time than make unhelpful posts. If you have a solid background knowledge of contract law and the requirement of legal concepts such as consideration then fair enough but i doubt it.

lowis

try and find out if the breeder is registered, find out if your mum signed a contract. sounds to me as if this breeder is a bit of a shark so unlikely there was a contract.

your mum could always call the police and say she was promised the money back when the pup was resold and the breeder has now gone back on her word...which may be a case of theft and deception (not at all sure but you won;t know until you call the police).

i can understand a breeder not returning any money after the pup has grown, but after just two days is taking the pi55. perhaps you could have the dog back and try and find a nice home for it yourself on behalf of your mum?

i think you may have to get involved on your mum's behalf, it sound as if she will not cope with this at all. five hundred quid is a lot of money to thrown down the drain. i am surprised the breeder went back on their word after promising some money back if they sold the pup on.

poet123

The contract was complete when the transaction was concluded. The fact that your mother returned the dog (whether that was part of an initial agreement or not) does not mean the breeder is under any legal obligation to return any part of the money, unless that was specifically written into the contract, which is unlikely. I would imagine this is not an uncommon occurrence, and the law is on the side of the breeder here I am afraid.