Rhode Island Reptile Enclosures: Warning

Warning: Photos should not be displayed via links as those can disappear.
Travis, you need to repost the images using the 'manage attachment' feature per the rules for posting on the BOI.

Reposted, as per the request of the mod. Clearly I'm a little foggy when it comes to posting on this forum but I'll do my best. Screenshots of our correspondence will come at the end I guess, since I don't know how to set them into the text.

I'd like to add in my own awful experience with James Church. The timeline goes as follows:

May 3rd, 2017- After discussing the types of cages that will be ordered we agree on the process for payment, 2/3 down, and the final 1/3 payed a week before shipment. The invoice is paid the following day, at the total of $1,382.66. It's a large custom order, and will be shipped to SoCal.


May 9th, 2017- The final drafts for the build spec sheets are submitted to me, I approve them and he orders the necessary supplies.

May 17th, 2017- The materials arrive.

May 24th, 2017- Fabrication begins. I also receive an estimate of when it will be completed, as well as when I should expect it to be shipped. I take this with a grain of salt.

June 1st, 2017- I receive pictures of the cages from him. I'll admit, they look fantastic, and I'm really excited.

June 6th, 2017- I ask him when he plans to ship, he says it's likely they'll go out tomorrow, contingent on the arrival of RHP panels I had also ordered from him, that I'm guessing he gets from a third party.

June 11th, 2017- I ask for an update, the panels arrived late, but the shipment should be going out soon.

June 14th, 2017- The shipment goes out.

June 17-20th, 2017 I ask for an update, wanting to know when I should expect it to arrive. I know shipping freight can take a while, but at this point I've received no shipping invoice, or tracking number. He say's I should expect it by Friday, and that he'll call me when they're approaching...

June 23rd, 2017- Friday comes and goes... I still have not received my shipment.

June 24th, 2017- James tells me that the driver is still in Wyoming. I insist on getting the drivers contact info, as well as some kind of invoice number. The phone number in the screenshot doesn't go to any kind of delivery service, but rather, to a carpenter in Cranston, RI...

July 1st, 2017- I've been in communication with James, but neither of us know where the driver is until now. James is confident he'll arrive on Wednesday with my shipment, even confirming a time...

July 5-7th, 2017- Another no show. The shipment is now two weeks late. I confront James about my suspicions that nothing has even shipped yet, and ask for some kind of hard proof that it has. I understand that he runs a small business, so I know that accommodating an order like mine can be difficult.

James claims that the driver had taken a vacation mid-shipment, which should have been a red flag. He says the driver will definitely drop the package off on either Monday or Tuesday.

July 11-14th, 2017- And another no show. Tired of excuses, I decide that the best option is a refund. Sometime between the 11th and the 14th, James consents, and claims to file for the refund.

According to Square-up, the third party through which the exchange occurred, the refund should take up to 14 days to post.

July 25th, 2017- 11 days go by and I don't see anything in my account, I message James, who claims to have contacted Square-up. He says the issue was on their end, because of the large size of the transaction. It seemed strange to me that they wouldn't have reached out to him first... I ask for some kind of receipt or confirmation for the refund.

August 3rd, 2017- I still haven't gotten any kind of confirmation from either James or Square, and have definitely not received my refund. That same day, James assures me that he contacted them, and I'll have my refund in 2 business days. I wait through the weekend...

August 7th, 2017- ... And nothing. That same day however, I finally get a confirmation from Square that my returns are being processed. However, if you look at the date of the email originally sent to James, you'll notice it's from that same day, more or less proving that he literally waited till the 11th hour to refund me.

Clearly, I'm a patient guy, and I gave James plenty of opportunities to come clean on the status of the shipment, as well as the return. I read through this thread before I made my purchase with him, and I definitely payed the price for ignoring all of your warnings. James may seem like a nice guy, and who knows, maybe he is, but one thing is definitely for certain you do not want to do business with him.

Continued from previous post

and more...

cont'd

Just trying to be thorough...

The saga concludes...

I'd like to note that I have notified James that I posted our exchange here, and that I have also still not received my refund.

Let me know if ya'll need any further clarification on any of this.

Originally Posted by Tkaupp

I'd like to note that I have notified James that I posted our exchange here, and that I have also still not received my refund.

Let me know if ya'll need any further clarification on any of this.

Have you spoken with your credit card company?

So it appears that both Taria and Travis are owed refunds and all they have received is BS from J. Church, of Rhode Island Reptile Enclosures?

And when pinned to the wall he squeals that he has family emergencies, or that he isn't going to post any proofs on a public forum?

That sounds straight out of The Scammer's Handbook. I'm so glad that the community has been warned. I certainly wouldn't do business with him.