Need Help!! Jeffrey Grass has burned me good!

I need the best practices and advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation. Jeffrey Grass (Jeffrey333@comcast.net) has burned me for $400.00 and I want to know if I'm out or is there a way to approach this situation that would lead to the refund of my money.



I bought a Cawley Red male bearded dragon from him about 6 months ago off of Rept-Bid and the transaction was successful. I recently inquired about a breedable Chris Allen red female that he had been auctioning on Repti-bid that wasn't selling. His reserve was set at $280.00 plus shipping and I offered him $280.00 shipped. We both agreed on the deal but before I payed him I asked him about any other red females he might have available. He sent me a group picture of hatchlings (4-6 weeks old) that he had and I asked him for his best price on 2 young red females in that picture plus the Chris Allen female and we agreed on $400.00 shipped. I paid him immediately and it took him almost a week to ship out after I made payment and I did not recieve what we talked about. He sent me 2 females that were around the 3 month range that were not of good quality. One of the females he sent had a tail nip, and a limp arm and the other had a chewed tail. They were both lacking in color and did not look red. He admitted that the wrong package was shipped out and that 5 different packages were shipped that day. He said he would get back to me when he found something out. I waited all weekend for him to respond and I e-mailed him several times on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to let him know that I just wanted my money back. I got something totally different than what I paid for and that I was sending the dragons back to the return address. The package was sent via U.S.P.S. express mail as they were sent to me. He didn't pick up the package and the post office is currently holding it for 5 days and they will send me back 2 dead dragons. Over the course of this transaction he probably typed me 5 e-mails that were very vauge and gave me the impression that he didn't care. His responce e-mails to my legthy inquiries were answered in a one or two sentence responces that left me hanging and upset. He has yet to refund my money including shipping back to him like I asked because he sent the wrong product or sent me the right dragons.

To sum things up with facts:

I made payment via pay-pal of $400.00
He admitted he shipped me the wrong package
I shipped the package back
I have no dragons or money at this time
He has not agreed to refund my money or send the dragons back

What can I do to get my money back? Will filing a claim with pay-pal get results? I believe some of the money came directly from my bank account so should I dispute the charges? Will calling local law inforcement in his zip code (48442) help? Is their anything I can do?

Any help that you can give me will be greatly appreciated!

Jeff Janes
Arnold8169@charter.net
(931) 249-1119

Id file with paypal but since he has a tracking number to show it was deliviered you may need to call them to explain it was shipped back to him, doesn't mean you will get teh money back even if you win but its a start and you only have 30 days from the date of payment to file. If any of the money came from a credit card you can also file with the CC company.

Below is a reply to my e-mail stating that he sent the wrong package and would get back to me ASAP. It is dated Feb. 11th and clearly shows he's not being proactive to fix this.

Jeff Janes










I am very sorry,there must have been a mix up.I will find out who received
the other package ASAP
----- Original Message -----
From: <arnold8169@charter.net>
To: "jeffrey" <jeffrey333@comcast.net>
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2005 12:49 PM
Subject: Re: Re: I will send payment for these guys in a few seconds...


> Jeff,
>
> I have some serious issues with what you sent me. I am going to try and
sound as professional as possible about this because I feel that you will
make things right.
>
> I paid you $400.00 for 3 dragons. 3 females total. a pair of young (4-6)
week old red females) and the Chris Allen female that is possibly gravid. I
knew that I wasn't shipped the correct dragons when I picked up the box
simply because of the weight of the package. You sent me 2 females
(pictures enclosed) between 8-12 weeks. One has a big tail nip and seems to
have something wrong with his upper right arm and is not colorful at all.
The other female has a chewed tail that looks like it will fall off sooner
than later and although might hav red in its' genes is not very colorful
either. I got no 350g gravid female like we discussed. I asked you for the
best price on the proven female, and 2 hatchling red dragons and you said
$400.00 Now, I remember you telling me you had a female mail 5 different
packages for you so I am going to assume that there is a mix up. Please
tell me how you are going to take care of this. Okay, to sum things up:
>
> I paid $400.00 for 2 flawless young female red dragons and 1 possibly
gravid Chris Allen Red female that recently laid a clutch of eggs.
>
> I received to below average colored dragons that had several noticeable
flaws.
>
> Jeff Janes
>
> (931) 249-1119
>
> I'll be at work most of the day and night but would appreciate a timely
responce or phone call.

Originally Posted by Arnold8169

The package was sent via U.S.P.S. express mail as they were sent to me. He didn't pick up the package and the post office is currently holding it for 5 days and they will send me back 2 dead dragons. facts:

Get on the phone and tell them you have live animals in the package. GEEZ
people. Deal with the repercussions of sending them that way.

Did you tell him you were sending them back?

I e-mailed him at least three times from Friday to Monday to make him aware I was returning them. He never aknowledged the return but knew it was expected due to sending the wrong package. Or at least thats the excuse he told me.

There is nothing I can do if they are being held at his post office and he's not going to pick the package up. Animals shouldn't suffer because of his mistake and that's just another reason he's a bad guy.

Jeff Janes

There is nothing I can do if they are being held at his post office and he's not going to pick the package up. Animals shouldn't suffer because of his mistake and that's just another reason he's a bad guy.

Jeff,

Dennis is right. Try at least to contact his local post office. Do they know there are live dragons in the box? Maybe you can still save them by having them sent back to you if he is not going to pick them up. You can dispute the money later.

Regards.

Jeff, was the package marked "live harmless lizards" on the outside??

I am sorry that you did not receive what you paid for. IT sucks.

You should not have sent them back without confirmation.

Do what you can to save the dragons even if you do not get them back.

The box was marked perishable and keep warm. We did not broadcast "live harmless reptiles" on the box. I know the problems involved with that. I called the local post office today and they said they are going to send the package back to me, but I fear it's too late. I sent him several e-mails after I shipped the dragons including the status of the package and questioning him as to why he has not picked them up. He then proceded to ask me yesterday where the dragons were that he sent me! I believe he is playing games with me. He refuses to give me his number or call me. I am upset that he is ignoring my request for my money back and extremely outraged that he is knowingly allowing his animals to die.

Jeff Janes

I sent him an e-mail making him aware of this post. I'm giving him the chance to tell his side of the story. Oh, they dragons were sent out Monday afternoon of last week. They have been in the box for 8 days now unless the tracking confirmation is wrong.

Jeff Janes