Puppy deposit

bod1467

Small claims court .... Google MCOL.

unholyangel

Poppy1991 wrote: »

Thankyou unholyangel. Out of interest, what would be the 'action' that I could take after sending the letter?

Small claims court action. If you do it online, £25 filing fee and £30 hearing fee (if it gets to a hearing that is). Its up to you whether you actually want to take that action - all fine and well for us to give our opinions but it should go without saying never do something just because someone on the internet (especially an anonymous forum) tells you to.

You can still send the LBA - usually you end the letter with something like "if I do not receive a satisfactory response from you within 14 days of the date of this letter, I reserve the right to commence legal proceedings without further notice at which time your liability for costs may increase".

Make sure any deadline you give is reasonable. I believe the civil procedure rules state 14 days for simple cases and no more than 3 months for a very complex one.

You could also try informal negotiations for the transaction to be completed as originally agreed. He's maybe thought you were taking the mickey as bank transfers can go through in as little as 2 hours if you do it by faster payment. Just thought Id suggest that with you saying you know a lot of people they have dogs from and that the situation has surprised you.

Fosterdog

I know you said you know people who have had pups from this guy before but to me he still sounds like a backyard breeder. I'm yet to meet a good breeder who doesn't already have a waiting list for pups before a mating even happens, to still have some available at three weeks old doesn't sound like a well planned breeding. Of course there could be an extreme situation of having a long waiting list for males and only a few females and ending up with an entire large litter of females but this would be incredibly rare.

I would say you've had a lucky escape

bris

He's at it, you are due it back but what if he sold the pup 20 times and did this to everyone? A nice little earner for him.


That's unlikely tbh but possible. You would easily win a small court claim as you did nothing wrong but maybe he is hoping it's not worth the time and effort.

Mojisola

Poppy1991 wrote: »

I agreed to make the bank transfer. I did so on Friday, and then explained that it could take a couple of days to clear (according to the bank) but emailed him a screen shot of my bank statement showing the transaction, and heard nothing more.

A couple of hours later I was contacted by her again, saying that the money had not cleared in her father's account and that he was very angry and I was no longer allowed the pup.

I was more than willing to wait until Monday (today) and then drive to collect the pup.

Poppy1991 wrote: »

the deposit was paid in cash.

There were no T&C's, just the understand that the rest was to be paid on collection, and that "cash was fine."

Poppy1991 wrote: »

They are actually really well known gundog breeders with excellent working bloodlines, and I know a lot of their pups and lots of friends have had pups from them over the years

The lack of paperwork, receipts and the sudden refusal to let you buy the puppy doesn't sound like a reputable breeder.

At best, he's not declaring the cash he's getting for the pups. At worst, he's puppy-farming on the back of his reputation for having good blood lines.

Poppy1991

His daughter has said that she is going to speak to him and that he "may be willing to refund half of the deposit." I am drafting a letter now, thankyou for your help guys.

bod1467

Poppy1991 wrote: »

he "may be willing to refund half of the deposit."

You have him on the ropes and he knows it. I'm sure you're going to tell him that he'll be refunding you ALL the deposit.

hollydays

Very bad all round. I hope you'll be naming him at some point.

pinkshoes

Poppy1991 wrote: »

His daughter has said that she is going to speak to him and that he "may be willing to refund half of the deposit." I am drafting a letter now, thankyou for your help guys.

Definitely don't settle for half the deposit!

Send them a 'letter before action' (use that as the title) giving them 14 days to return the £100 deposit in full, otherwise you will be taking them to court.

Stick to the facts, saying that as they refused to let you collect the puppy, then they have broken the contract and must refund in full.

Send with proof of postage from either two separate post offices, or one post office then an email version. This way they cannot deny receiving it!

[Deleted User]

pinkshoes wrote: »

Send them a 'letter before action' (use that as the title)

I think this advice has been given and explained in depth already earlier in the thread...