Trying to get a deposit back on a puppy

Aylesbury_Duck

Buying puppies on faceberk,  what could possibly go wrong?

Jeez, there's no helping some people.

Supersonos

Puppylove1980 said:

powerful_Rogue said:

Anyone that doesn't go and see the puppy along with mum, or is able to purchase without being questioned by the owner should not own a dog. Sorry OP, as harsh as it sounds, I hope you do lose your deposit. Maybe next time you'll research purchasing a puppy and what should be the correct procedure.

We were always going to see puppy and Mum, and we were told we could pull out if puppy/Mum, breeder, didn't feel right.

Maybe it's a stupid idea, but if the terms of the contract were that you could pull out if you saw the puppy/mum and it didn't feel right, why don't you go and visit, say it doesn't feel right and then you can legitimately ask for the deposit back.

You'll be there in their house, so they can't ignore you, and you've fulfilled their terms.

powerful_Rogue

Puppylove1980 said:

powerful_Rogue said:

Anyone that doesn't go and see the puppy along with mum, or is able to purchase without being questioned by the owner should not own a dog. Sorry OP, as harsh as it sounds, I hope you do lose your deposit. Maybe next time you'll research purchasing a puppy and what should be the correct procedure.

Cheers for the friendly advice.
We were always going to see puppy and Mum, and we were told we could pull out if puppy/Mum, breeder, didn't feel right.
You've noting better to do with your life?

You mean in the minute it took me to write that reply? As you asked, i've had a lovely day today with my 11 year old Cocker Spaniel called Charlie. Who when I got him I saw with mum and litter. Also KC registered and was more like going to a job interview with the amount of questions I was asked before I was allowed to purchase him.

soolin

This is the second ‘puppy bought on Facebook’ thread we’ve had in the last couple of weeks which is quite disturbing. Facebook do not allow the sale of animals , so just advertising on there shows that the seller (assuming they actually exist) don’t really worry too much about rules. I would also worry about any real breeder allowing the sale of a dog without doing a home check first. My son and his partner can’t even foster a stray through any reputable charity as they refuse to allow animals to go to a stranger without stringent checks being done first. 

askeym

A puppy is for life, not just for pandemics.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Puppylove1980 said:

Hello there, newbie here.
Having tried to find an online answer to this or at least some help and MSE comes up so I thought somebody here might be able to help.
So...
During lockdown my partner and I decided to get a puppy- we've always wanted one, both working from home etc.
We found a breeder via Facebook. Important to say they seem very legit so i'm not questioning whether it's scam.
We were after a particular colour Cocker, they had three dogs in that litter. One was provisionally reserved. 
We were told we could have 'first dibs' on the other 2 (or all 3 if the other buyer pulled out).
My partner agreed to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure this, and the seller filled in her usual contract for us as we weren't meeting face to face. My partner didn't actually sign it.
During this process the seller told as, given the unusual circumstances, that she'd pay back the deposit if either Covid restrictions made the whole process too difficult or if, on meeting the dogs, we decided we didn't like any of them (aww).
Although she sent us a video or two of the entire litter, we weren't able to identify which dogs were potentially ours, and that combined with the seriousness of lockdown resulted in us asking to pull out of the deal. At this point we were expecting the deposit to be returned, understanding this was founded in goodwill. This was three weeks before we due to meet the puppies. We didn't ever meet the puppies or choose a particular puppy nor pull out after we supposed to meet them.
We had no response. We tried various other ways of getting hold of the seller for the next two weeks. About a week after the proposed sale date the seller messaged us saying that they hadn't had any contact- but they hadn't contacted us either (would make sense to ask where we were if she was expecting us to pick up a puppy and pay the rest of the fee). Their message was rather patronising and curt but they agreed to pay the deposit. After sending bank details we waited a few days, no response. Then a message telling us the bank details we sent were incorrect. They were correct, we sent them again plus another set of bank details. We've heard nothing.
Now i understand we were silly to pay the deposit if we hoped to get it back (though she said that was fine), and as i said at the start, i'm certain they're no scammer, I think they're probably just hoping we'll give up. It's probably all just a question of what if you think is right and wrong, we're probably being naive, but now we'd really like the deposit back because they're being an !!!!!! more than anything.
Does anyone have any advice on what to do next?
Many thanks in advance. 

I got as far as FarceBuck!

Puppylove1980

London50 said:

I take it that you paid the deposit by bank transfer??

Yes

Puppylove1980

hollydays said:

Are they a registered breeder. If you wanted to message their details I'll try to check them out. I will not post any personal details publically

Thanks, what details would you need?

hollydays

Puppylove1980 said:

hollydays said:

Are they a registered breeder. If you wanted to message their details I'll try to check them out. I will not post any personal details publically

Thanks, what details would you need?

Just send me whatever you have. Facebook name, home address, phone number, name breed of dog

DoaM

Puppylove1980 said:

London50 said:

I take it that you paid the deposit by bank transfer??

Yes

You've almost certainly been scammed. Or if the dog really exists then you're dealing with a puppy-farmer not a proper breeder.