Pandemic Puppies Sounded Like A Good Idea Until They Absolutely Did Not
Raquel thought she had found the perfect puppy for her family, and the timing could not have felt more right. With everyone stuck at home during COVID-19, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Duke seemed like a small burst of happiness.
She paid an online breeder $600, plus $150 to ship the puppy to Cleveland, after checking photos, videos, and even the phone number tied to the seller. But after the money was sent and the pet-store supplies were already bought, the next email turned the whole plan into a scam story.
What happened next shows how quickly a cute online listing can turn into a costly mistake.
“He was really excited about getting a puppy,” said Raquel of her son. “We’re kind of housebound now with COVID-19 and figured we’d bring a little bit of joy, a little excitement to the house.”
“They said that they were having shipping issues, and because of COVID-19, the dogs required a special thermal crate in order to ship them,” said Raquel
The breeder claimed that the shipping company wanted an additional $1,500 for the crate, and after Raquel refused to pay, he cut her off without refunding her initial payment of $750.
These scams have been going on for years, especially online, but recently, ripping off people has become much easier thanks to the pandemic. Business is booming.
UK and Canadian police, as well as the Better Business Bureau, recently warned people about these pet scammers and how they are exploiting these exceptional times to scam people.
The kittens and pups are advertised for sale online, but scammers state potential buyers are unable to see them in person due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“You have a new huge market of people that are being scammed. People who would never buy a pet unseen now have a reason for doing that,” PetScams.com manager Paul Brady told BuzzFeed News.
According to Brady, a victim even had to pay more than $800 to supposedly “quarantine” a puppy that unfortunately never arrived.
Over the past month, the number of visitors to his website has increased significantly, and according to Google Trends, data shows a strong increase in searches for “buy a puppy” worldwide since March 22:
Attempting to buy a pet while housebound leaves you completely unprotected.
People are stuck at home, and it’s a good time to get a pet and train a pet. So they’re going online, looking for animals, and running across the puppy scam sites.
The website that ripped off Raquel is kingcharlesempire.com. She eventually filed a complaint with the Cleveland BBB about them. After receiving the email informing her to pay an extra $1,500 charge for the crate, Raquel called the breeder.
I asked him if this is something he did all the time, why he was not aware of these extra crates that were supposedly needed to ship the puppy? He started to get a little irritated with me. And I told him I wasn't going to be sending him additional funds.
That was the last conversation they ever had.
BuzzFeed News contacted the number for the scammer, and a man who claimed his name was John answered the call. He denied knowing anything about Raquel, the puppy, or the shipping costs. After being told that there were online complaints about his company scamming people, he hung up.
Raquel was initially informed by the person who answered the phone at the shipping company, unitedpettransport.com, that shipping a dog costs $200. As soon as he was asked about the cost of the thermal crate, he hung up.
Brady added that asking for additional fees after the initial deposit is pet scammers' bread and butter.
Buying a pet is an emotional purchase, so once you have that initial deposit made, you can make up all sorts of rubbish.
Losing out on Duke made Raquel's son sad.
He's been really looking forward to getting a puppy. He's an animal lover, so for him, it was really disappointing.
It was really disappointing to know that there are people out there who take advantage of pretty much any situation.
Want more entitlement drama? See the screenshot where someone demanded a free purebred dog.
Share this article:
