Scam of Pet Deposit

[Donna Crenshaw]

In July, I sent  $500 via PayPal to be placed on a wait list for a goldendoodle that was supposed to be bred in either August or September.  Just getting an e-mail reply receipt of my deposit was like pulling teeth.  As of the end of September, there still was no breeding.

In the meantime, my home situation changed and I no longer was interested in being on that wait list for a litter that wasn't even bred yet, so I contacted the breeder, a recommended breeder on goldendoodles.com's website, and she informs me that the deposit is nonrefundable, even though NO contract was ever signed between us.

I feel like I have been taken advantage of.  What options do I have to get my $500 back????  I also did a search on this website yesterday and found that the same breeder has done this before.

Help!

[Jennett Pulley]

Applause.  I didn't have a great experience with my breeder, but I know some people did.  I won't bad mouth her, but those who asked got an overview of my experience.  That was all that was necessary IMO. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Whoops, my error about the broker. But I still think this is a rotten policy. I like the breeder review method just the way it is because those he said, she said discussions get very heated.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Donna, I like the idea of notifying pay pal and also have often thought of the news station in our area that does a consumer report type segment each week. Being I. Houston, I would think a local channel does the same. You send in your story and if chosen, the channel sends people to investigate and communicate with the person/business in question. The stations that do this are always so big on this type of story regarding recovering money for persons who feel they have been wronged.
Might be worth looking into.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

Whoever this Breeder is this is bad business practice.  It is NOT OK to hold a deposit for a year for a puppy or for anything else for that matter.  You need to do everything in your power to retrieve this money and let this Breeder know that you will not stop fighting for your money back. $500 is not a small amount.  Start with PayPal and also try every public method and local news stations and let the Breeder know in no uncertain terms that you are going down these routes.  I am sorry that your laws are not strong enough in this instance to offer some protection from this sort of shoddy business.

[Anthony Leong]

I think most breeders got a non-refundable policy on your deposit.    Here's the policy for a very famous reputable breeder, All deposits and booking fees are non-refundable but can always be moved to a litter of your choice.  Once your deposit is received we will contact you via email and you will be placed on the litter reservation list of your choice. We will contact you once the puppies are born and begin emailing pictures and updates. If there is not a puppy for you in your desired litter, you will be contacted and your deposit will be moved to next available puppy or litter. 

But your breeder didn't even have a litter at all, so this could be the breaking point with getting your deposit back.  I think holding your deposit for 1 year is very wrong.