Can anyone help with a Pet Seller issue?

maddie67

Im not sure if this is the right place for this one.

2 weeks ago I bought a Bengal kitten in good faith from a private advertiser on Preloved. I was told by the seller that the kitten wasnt getting along with his other cat so he had to rehome her. The kitten was £200.

He told me she was 14 weeks old and that she was due her 2nd vaccination. He also told me he had all of her paperwork from the breeder he had bought her from, he would dig it out and email it to me. He gave me her vets record book.

Once I had got the kitten home I checked through the book thoroughly and found the kitten was actually 20 weeks old, I emailed him and asked if this was correct and he replied that it must be! At the same time I also reminded him I still needed the paperwork.

I took her to the vet to be checked over, costing me another £35 and was told that there has been too long a gap from her first vaccination and I need to start from the beginning - hence the seller lying about her age!

Within hours of me getting her home my son started sneezing and sniffing and had sore red eyes, we have been using anti-histamines ever since but now its getting worse.

I have sent the seller numerous emails since I bought her asking for the paperwork and he keeps giving me excuses.

Yesterday things came to a head after I had to admit defeat and decided my sons health was more important that attempting to keep the kitten, it would be better to rehome her. I emailed him and explained the situation and asked that he send me the paperwork so that I have a better chance of finding her a good home.

He replied saying he would have her back, but then messaged again saying he wouldnt be paying me for her! I told him I just want my paperwork and he flatly refused, saying that if I was keeping the cat he would let me have it, but he didnt want her being passed from pillar to post so he wasnt going to give it to me. Then he said he couldnt find it anyway to I asked him to tell me where he had got her from so I could contact the breeder myself, he never replied.

I repeated my request once again and said I didnt want her to end up in a shelter and and basically he said that I may as well let him have her!!! He finished off by offering me £30 for her!

Does anyone have a clue where I stand legally? My prime concern is the kitten, obviously, and I will only let her go to a good home, if thats for no payment then so be it, but Im not letting him have her back.

Surely the paperwork belongs to me as the owner of the cat??

Any help would be greatly appreciated

NewKittenHelp

Contact him by letter, telling him that he has 24 hours to produce the papers for you and if he doesn't, you'll be suing him for the value of the kitten. Then, if he doesn't use https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome to sue him.

krlyr

Buying privately may reduce the rights you have in this situation. To be honest, I would have asked for the paperwork before handing over money, £200 is a lot of money to trust on the honesty of a stranger.
You could possibly argue that the cat was not as described due to the difference in age and lack of promised paperwork - do you still have a copy of the original advert?
http://www.consumerline.org/search/?cat=Buying+Goods+%26+Services&item=Private+Sales

Don't forget that your only legal safeguard is that the item being sold must be properly described. And so you should ask a lot of questions about its condition. You should also keep a copy of any advert. If the seller's answers or description later turn out to have been false, then you can claim your money back. For example, if the seller tells you that the car he is selling is two years old and it turns out to be four years old, then you are entitled to your money back because the car has been misdescribed.

TallGirl

Sorry to hear your son is allergic to the cat unfortunately I suspect there never was any paperwork in the fist place. When we got our pedigree Maine Coons we weren't given the final registration papers until the breeder had proof they had been neutered. We bought them as pets so that was no problem. If you buy to breed its a lot more so kittens mum may well have been a pedigree without papers hence the kitten will be too. Can you not find out from the original vets records which breeder the kitten came from. I would try that avenue to see if the papers even exist.

Hope you find a good home for her.

antw23uk

Sounds like you have been ripped off. I would suggest actually going back round to the house and knocking.

If that doesnt work as a previous post has said you should write to him and request the paper work and then follow it up with legal action.

Sorry lesson learnt

maddie67

TallGirl wrote: »

Sorry to hear your son is allergic to the cat unfortunately I suspect there never was any paperwork in the fist place. When we got our pedigree Maine Coons we weren't given the final registration papers until the breeder had proof they had been neutered. We bought them as pets so that was no problem. If you buy to breed its a lot more so kittens mum may well have been a pedigree without papers hence the kitten will be too. Can you not find out from the original vets records which breeder the kitten came from. I would try that avenue to see if the papers even exist.

Hope you find a good home for her.

There isnt anything that I can read on the vets records, theres a sticker with a scribble and a date on it on the vaccination section and just dates in the other bits. It does have Silver Spotted Bengal written in the breed section, but the book was full of pamphlets etc, he could have probably just put it together himself in all honesty! There are no reference numbers or anything for a vet to refer back to, even if they were in the same 'scheme' that this book came from.

I have taken her to a vet myself and she didnt dispute that she was a Bengal, I know the price was lower than what you would expect to pay for a Bengal but there were lots of the same breed advertised for around the same price so I didnt think it was particularly unusual.

I was also told yesterday that its common practice for most breeders to take a kitten back if things dont work out at home, so why didnt he take her back to them when he realised his other cat didnt get along with her.

Basically, hes a liar and Ive been a mug!

Fire_Fox

No idea why paid £200 for a 'pedigree' without seeing or having the paperwork, there are many Bengal crosses about. You can try a letter before action but if they don't have the paperwork you can only get a refund and will have to give the kitten back. Please don't ever get a cat from Preloved or Gumtree again and don't advertise your kitten there, there are many disreputable people using that sort of site.

What are you feeding the cat? Bengals are part wild so don't process carbs as well as some domestics and are often raw fed by breeders. A more natural diet can affect their skin/ dander which, in turn, can sometimes improve allergies in owners. This even works for non Bengals, no guarantees whatever the cat but maybe worth a try? Do also consider your son's diet, an anti-inflammatory low glycaemic index one can clear up conditions such as hayfever.

gettingready

Poor cat...

Fridaycat

Having researched the purchase of Bengals thoroughly before buying my two, I know there are so many unscrupulous "breeders" around and you get what you pay for... My two cost just shy of £1,000 BUT I was in full contact with the breeder before buying, and still am now, we go to cat shows together.

No-one responsible "loses" paperwork, so it just doesn't exist.

I would stop flogging a dead horse with this man if I was you and concentrate on getting the best possible home for the kitten, no matter what their breed or genetics, she is the most important consideration in all of this.

gettingready

lots of "bengals" around.. sigh...

http://www.gumtree.com/p/pets/bengal-female-cat-pure-breed/110544077

http://www.gumtree.com/p/pets/beauitful-8wk-bengal-kitty-need-homestake-home-today/110818169

http://www.gumtree.com/p/pets/bengal-cat-for-sale/1000830165

http://www.gumtree.com/p/pets/urgent-cute-8wk-fluffy-bengal-kittys-need-loving-homes-asap/111321845

I am slowly loosing a will to live TBH.....

Fridaycat

gettingready wrote: »

lots of "bengals" around.. sigh...

http://www.gumtree.com/p/pets/bengal-female-cat-pure-breed/110544077

http://www.gumtree.com/p/pets/beauitful-8wk-bengal-kitty-need-homestake-home-today/110818169

http://www.gumtree.com/p/pets/bengal-cat-for-sale/1000830165

http://www.gumtree.com/p/pets/urgent-cute-8wk-fluffy-bengal-kittys-need-loving-homes-asap/111321845

I am slowly loosing a will to live TBH.....

I know what you mean... number 3 not only is nothing like a Bengal in any way, shape or form, but they are also a tortoiseshell... Fine if it wasn't described as a "he"! It's extremely unlikely genetically that a tortie is a "he"... some people have no idea :mad: