Don't Deal with Clinton Billingsley

Here is the story:

I sold Clinton Billingsley a Large adult female ball python for $650. The snake was sent out on Oct. 13 2004. Everything was fine to my knowledge. 3 months later I get a charge back on my paypal account. I called paypal and asked what was going on. I was told Clinton went through his Credit Card Company to get back his money. He told his Credit Card Comany He DID NOT make the purchase. You do have to log into Paypal and Clintion NEVER reported someone had somehow gotten his password or changed it! I called Clinton and he said he recieved a box that was completely beat to crap and there wasn't a snake inside. Clinton DID NOT refuse the package, instead he signs for it. He then proceeds to tell me that he has pictures of the box, this and that....a bunch of crap to me. This chargeback is now in collections and I am going to have to pay it. Because I have been calling so much and dealing with this forever I misplaced the tracking number. Totally my fault, but I do wish for people to see what this scam artist does.

John,

Do you have e-mails or other written correspondence between you and Clinton to prove that he actually bought the snake?

It sounds like he is telling two different stories. On the one hand, you say he is telling the credit card company that he did not make the purchase. On the other hand, he is telling you that he received an empty box.

Does he know that you have posted this here? Maybe he wants to post those pictures.

Originally Posted by Jim O

John,

Do you have e-mails or other written correspondence between you and Clinton to prove that he actually bought the snake?

It sounds like he is telling two different stories. On the one hand, you say he is telling the credit card company that he did not make the purchase. On the other hand, he is telling you that he received an empty box.

Does he know that you have posted this here? Maybe he wants to post those pictures.

If I remember correctly this sale was done over the phone, not through e-mail. I can call paypal and have them send me a copy of my past sales which I can then scan onto the computer. They have locked my account due to the $650 charge back not being paid by me so I can't prove he bought the snake at this time. It's one story, he called his credit card company and took pictures of a battered box. I don't have a phone number for him anymore (lost the way bill GRRR!!! - going to cost me $650 for that move!!!) so he does not know about this thread. If I had a way to contact him I would. Why did I not get a call the day the box arrived? Instead a charge back 3 months later!!!

Originally Posted by jlexotics

If I had a way to contact him I would. Why did I not get a call the day the box arrived? Instead a charge back 3 months later!!!

That part does indeed sound fishy. I would have called the seller, I'm quite sure. What shipper did you use? Do you recall what city and state he lives in?

It was either UPS or Fed Ex. I can't track through UPS as they don't hold past shipped items past 6 months. It may have been Fed Ex though so I plan on calling them today. I'm going to do some homework today and see what other info I can get through paypal. I'll be sure to post my findings. Sucks I'm stuck with this bill and no snake.

Originally Posted by jlexotics

It was either UPS or Fed Ex. I can't track through UPS as they don't hold past shipped items past 6 months. It may have been Fed Ex though so I plan on calling them today. I'm going to do some homework today and see what other info I can get through paypal. I'll be sure to post my findings. Sucks I'm stuck with this bill and no snake.

If you shipped through a local UPS store (mail boxes etc..) then they have record of every transaction you have done. They dont need your name, they will ask you for the city you shipped to and they will be able to pull up evey package sent to that city from your location. Shouldn't be hard at all. You said this chargeback happened 3 months after the sale, if thats the case, then items shipped past 6 months shouldn't be an issue unless you have waited over 6 months to post this.

Secondly, if Paypal has locked your account from sending or receiving money, you still may be able to access your account on pc. It shows you every transaction if you enter the appropriate days. If they refuse to allow you to access it, then contact them and ask for transaction details on all deposits in the amount of $650 which too shouldn't be hard as I am sure you haven't sold more than a couple of items for that exact amount.

Lastly, without keeping documents of a sale or transaction it leaves alot to be questioned ie.. pictures, and emails.

Good Luck

Jeff & Starr
5StarrMorphs

Originally Posted by 5StarrMorphs

If you shipped through a local UPS store (mail boxes etc..) then they have record of every transaction you have done. They dont need your name, they will ask you for the city you shipped to and they will be able to pull up evey package sent to that city from your location. Shouldn't be hard at all. You said this chargeback happened 3 months after the sale, if thats the case, then items shipped past 6 months shouldn't be an issue unless you have waited over 6 months to post this.

Secondly, if Paypal has locked your account from sending or receiving money, you still may be able to access your account on pc. It shows you every transaction if you enter the appropriate days. If they refuse to allow you to access it, then contact them and ask for transaction details on all deposits in the amount of $650 which too shouldn't be hard as I am sure you haven't sold more than a couple of items for that exact amount.

Lastly, without keeping documents of a sale or transaction it leaves alot to be questioned ie.. pictures, and emails.

Good Luck

Jeff & Starr
5StarrMorphs

I have waited a long time to post this, I have no excuse why I haven't posted sooner, I guess I haven't gotten around to it. I can't access my account to view anything. I'm currently on the line to see what exactly I can get info wise. I have lost the way bill, which is totally my fault. If need be I will have paypal send me the past transactions to prove anything. Because Clinton went through his Credit Card Company Pay pal Can not get the funds back. Therefore They are dumping this back on me after I followed all of their seller protection policies! I now have his addess on hand from Paypal. Clinton is out of Atlanta Georgia. I will be going to UPS tomorrow with the shipping info to see if I can track down the Tracking number. This may infact get me out of this ordeal. Paypal has also informed me he told his Credit Card company that the female was not what he ordered. He knew exactly what he was getting. I would take this to small claims but this is going to cost me MORE money to do so and I may not end up getting my money back~! Time off work and so on...I have his address for anyone that wants it let me know. For details in person feel free to give me a call: (954) 691-5489

Originally Posted by jlexotics

I have waited a long time to post this, I have no excuse why I haven't posted sooner, I guess I haven't gotten around to it.

Time is always of the essence. It always harder to do things when you have to go back.

Originally Posted by jlexotics

I would take this to small claims but this is going to cost me MORE money to do so and I may not end up getting my money back~! Time off work and so on

Small claims is a relatively simple process and inexpensive. No lawyers, just you -vs- him. However, without anything to back up your claim, you sit in small claims as you sit here.......no way to prove your case and no win.

You said he has 2 claims, one that he says the package arrived damaged with no snake and the second one is that he never got anything or what he was promissed. The first thing to do is to solidify his statements about receiving items that he never paid for. Then when you are able to establish proof of that, then you use the info about a damaged box and no snake to damage his credibility. Once you have established either of the two, then contact the local authorities and have them do what our tax paying dollars pay them to do, and that is stop internet theft or crimes for that matter. Call the Atlanta PD and give them your info on him. Since the claim is filed, he has to be around to complete the claims. Also since you are in Florida and he is in Georgia, you can pull up any phone records from a cell or from a landline in the month of October to retrieve his phone number.

Having nothing to back up any transaction is a bit naive on your part. What if he had a problem and sent you back a snake that wasn't yours? Then you would really be stuck trying to prove he sent you the wrong one. Always take pics of your animals and always use emails as correspondance backed up by phone calls as it makes for an easy rebuttal in the worst case scenario.

As we said, Good Luck


Jeff & Starr
5StarrMorphs

John,

What is it? It's not what he ordered or he got an empty box? His story has more holes than a Limburg cheese!

Regards.

When I called Clinton Directly 3 months later when I found out I had a charge back on my account he told me that he recieved a box that was empty. He had to sign for the package in order to get it. He said he had the box and pictures which means he signed for the package! When I called paypal they told me he told his credit card company that he didn't recieve what he wanted (wrong item!). The proff I have is in my paypal account which they won't open because I don't want to pay for this! I've been looking all over and can't find the tracking number - this may cost me $650 but atleast everyone will know not to work with this guy. I plan on calling nextel to get his phone number and having a talk with him again! I'm going to let him know this thread is on here and he can come and fight a losing battle. If I had recieved a call the day the package arrived with no snake, I could have done something then and this would not be a problem. This guy is likely to run off with my snake and his money because of my lack of organization (lost tracking number). Again I can't get onto paypal so more proff of this transaction is lost! I will update what is said in the phone convo later today!