Need advice from the people I trust most; about a payment plan incomplete,what to do?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Now I still must decide. If he does not get back in touch with me, and does not finish paying for the snake, I know the deposit is mine to keep, but what about the $200? Most of me feels like I should refund that money and move on. But I admit there is a perverse little part of me that whispers, "Why send it back? Chances are he never intended to finish the deal. You've been patient with him, if he's out that money it's not your fault."

Few years ago when another customer defaulted on his payment I refunded everything minus the deposit, to me that is the honest thing to do, I now some people don't do that and issue a credit instead but to be honest if the person default on his loan, I would rather give them a refund and be done with them then do through the same thing again.

[angllady2]

Well, I did hear back from him. He apologized for not contacting me, he said he's been very busy.

He said he intends to send the remaining payment over the weekend so that I can ship on Monday before it gets too cold. He thanked me for being so patient with him and seemed very sincere and polite.

I hope this means all will work out now. I do understand that having a new baby makes your life kind of nuts.

I want to thank you all for helping me to take the needed steps to bring this to a close.

Gale

[zeion97]

Well, I sent another email.

I gave him until the 28th, which is a full month past the 90 days we agreed on.

I really hope he gets back with me and it was just a case of too busy to think about it.

I know it's completely within my rights to keep his deposit and re-sell the snake. It just feels wrong to me somehow. I'm too softhearted I guess.

I will let you guys know if I hear back from him, and what he has to say if he does.

Gale

THIS imo, is wgat makes a good seller, stuff happens, and people have bad luck. I had to turn down a bumblebee female because I had a tire blow and had to get a new set, the breeder was nice and and understanding..


As long as you only keep the non refundavle deposit there is nothibg wrobg.. he's past what you set, but like I said it makes you a good seller to comprise like that and gice him the extra time.

Best of luck!

[SaintTawny]

Here-in is my dilemma.... He paid by PayPal right? The evil of all evils!!

I hate PayPal as a seller for the one reason that if the buyer does not like the even just the color of the snake when they get it, they can file a claim, get their money back and you are out the snake and money- believe me, it happens. Despite all your emails and documentation, PayPal is all for handling the money again and getting 3-5 days more interest off it while issuing a refund to the buyer.

Paypal's official policy is that their claims handling excludes the sale of live animals. I haven't run into this myself, but I have seen it come up time and again where a buyer gets stiffed after paying through Paypal and they ask here on the forums what to do about it, the general response is "Paypal MIGHT help, but they don't offer buyer protection on animal sales." They'd probably just as soon not get involved in animal transactions, likely for the reason you're describing, it's too easy to be less than honest about what it means to be a "satisfied customer" when you're talking living things rather than dry goods.

[bcr229]

...I have seen it come up time and again where a buyer gets stiffed after paying through Paypal and they ask here on the forums what to do about it, the general response is "Paypal MIGHT help, but they don't offer buyer protection on animal sales."

This is correct. HOWEVER if you link your PP account to your credit card and pay that way, you can file a dispute with your credit card company and you have a much better chance of getting your money refunded from them than from PP.

As for the OP, it looks like everything is working out just fine. Most of the time patience and flexibility is all it takes to make a transaction go smoothly.

[jwill226]

I would double check the laws in your area but as far as I see it he didn't pay in the amount of time agreed upon. You gave him extra time and he still didn't pay. In the time he was making payment you have been a reptile sitter. You have paid money for power, food, and upkeep. You have also invested your time. If you where running a business of housing reptiles for people you would probably be owed more money then he has paid (just guessing here).

Long story short; I would print out all the emails and save them somewhere safe and resell the PB if you still want to or just keep it. Let him take you to court if he wants. He broke the contract. You're fine. If your heart tells you something else then cut him a break if you want but I wouldn't.

You never know, maybe the wife didn't know he was buying the BP and cut him off financially.

BTW, I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV. Don't yell at me if what I said is wrong in your area.