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Bad Guy Don't buy from LLL.reptile

D

debknitter57

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Alert to Everyone!
I just recently purchased a baby ball python from this website in January 2009. Not only was this porr snake sick--it had rat mouth a bad mouth infection. I took it to the vet who is a zoo vet and experienced who gave us antibiotics and a mouth cleaner. after 1 week it died. The vet said it was probably sick already from the online website LLL.reptile. AFter a $300.00 bill later, the snake never really recovered and died. So I called and asked for my money back which they did not refund. They said I should have called them after the snake got sick, how can they diagnose a snake over the phone? Anyway they said they would give me a credit but after this experience I will NEVER buy on line-only from a reputable dealer.
 
debknitter57 said:
Alert to Everyone!
I just recently purchased a baby ball python from this website in January 2009. Not only was this porr snake sick--it had rat mouth a bad mouth infection. I took it to the vet who is a zoo vet and experienced who gave us antibiotics and a mouth cleaner. after 1 week it died. The vet said it was probably sick already from the online website LLL.reptile. AFter a $300.00 bill later, the snake never really recovered and died. So I called and asked for my money back which they did not refund. They said I should have called them after the snake got sick, how can they diagnose a snake over the phone? Anyway they said they would give me a credit but after this experience I will NEVER buy on line-only from a reputable dealer.
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i am sorry for your loss. i have done buisness with LLL before and never had a problem with them. you should have contacted them when you got the snake if it was sick so they are right. also they have offered you a credit of that amount to purchase something else even though you have shown no evidence of a dead snake. are they just taking your word for it and giving you a credit or did you provide them pictures of the reptile in question? from what i can see they are working with you and trying to keep you pleased by offering a credit of some sort. i think its a little to early to try branding them as a bad guy but thats just my 2 cents.
 
No photos or proof?

debknitter57 said:
Alert to Everyone!
I just recently purchased a baby ball python from this website in January 2009. Not only was this porr snake sick--it had rat mouth a bad mouth infection. I took it to the vet who is a zoo vet and experienced who gave us antibiotics and a mouth cleaner. after 1 week it died. The vet said it was probably sick already from the online website LLL.reptile. AFter a $300.00 bill later, the snake never really recovered and died. So I called and asked for my money back which they did not refund. They said I should have called them after the snake got sick, how can they diagnose a snake over the phone? Anyway they said they would give me a credit but after this experience I will NEVER buy on line-only from a reputable dealer.
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The key to any mistakes made are in your own words. It is common practice to notify the seller IMMEDIATELY of health problems. No, they can't diagnose on the phone, but they can be made aware that the snake is/was ill and that you intended to take it to the vet. That (AND PHOTOS) gives them a heads-up that there is an issue to deal with--one that could involve them reimbursing you for more than the purchase of the snake.
I agree with Bo. :yesnod: You avoided a lot of hassle just because they were willing to take you at your word that the snake died. If the offer is still open, I would take the credit and spend it on supplies or something other than a living creature if you feel that strongly about not getting another snake from them! And that is my 2 cents...
 
The vet said it was probably sick already

Did you send a photo of the said snake? Do you have a photo of said snake? Its very generous to offer you credit on something that is unseen. UNLESS you did send a photo and just didnt mention that in the original post. Its unfortunate that the snake died. I think you should take them up on their offer for a replacement. I don't think very many breeders would offer that sight unseen. I have to agree, if they have offered you credit towards another, how does this deserve the BAD GUY label? But like I said earlier, maybe photos were provided to them. I was also curious as to when in Jan was the purchase, compared to the date taken to the vet? Just trying to get a little more of the story.
 
I have never heard of "Rat Mouth." LLL has both wc and cb animals. Did you ask for a captive bred Ball Python?

Dave
 
It's unfortunate that many vets tend to say that "the animal was sick when you bought it." It's almost a standard with any "sick" baby reptile taken to a vet shortly after purchase. It makes their job easy, usually gets them out of diagnosing any problem, and they still collect money, while pissing the customer off at the retailer all in a single $300 visit.

I believe LLL is good with their guarantee, as long as the terms of their guarantee are followed. Had you contacted them on day 1, they probably would have had you send it back or credited you towards the purchase price of the snake. They almost certainly wouldn't have had you go to the vet (for the reasons listed above).
 
LLL Reptile is an excellent business but they do a TON of volume. Mistakes can happen.

If the universe were to invert and go completely haywire, and you somehow got a bad animal from me, the most cost effective solution for BOTH OF US is for me to pay for immediate return shipment, and deal with the snake myself. In the meantime, I can send you a strong healthy animal.

Once a day or two passes, and you committ to bills from a vet, it becomes exponentially more expensive. Even a strong healthy snake can go downhill quickly with poor husbandry (and I have heard of some REALLY poor husbandry : ) so if you don't make contact immediately, the variables just explode, and make choices harder.

The industry standard is for immediate notification of any problem, upon receiving the shipment. It sounds like you weren't familiar with that standard, or chose to go your own way. Bummer either way, sorry to hear about your snake.
 
I almost never respond to threads on here, as people have a right to their own opinion. What is a shame in this situation is that not only was the ball python literally captive bred (from pro exotics of all people), but after knowing nothing of the situation, they were still offered a full credit for the animal from the one of the girls in our warehouse. We will ALWAYS do our best to take care of every person, in every situation. We sell many animals, and can't please everyone. Things happen sometimes. However, in this case, not much more we could have done given the circumstances.

If you really think that you didn't get a fair shake with your purchase, give the warehouse a call again and talk to Kate. Honestly though, with the snake having no issues upon inspection when we shipped it and when you received it, being captive bred from one of the best facilities in the entire country, and not hearing about the issues right away, I think what was offered was more than fair.

Either way, good luck if you choose to go elsewhere. If anyone ever has ANY concerns or questions on anything, call us. We are open 7 days a week, and will always do our best to take care of you.

Scott Wesley
LLLReptile & Supply
 
They're a bad guy for giving you a credit for the animal on your word that it died?

Have you got some scans of the vet diagnosis and bills?
 
Strictly speaking from a business standpoint in this economic time, it is amazing that you were offered a credit for the full amount of the snake without returning it or notifying them. It goes to show the strength of their commitment to their customers and ultimately their animals and partnering breeders they work with. I have seen all kinds of posts on these boards but don't recall anything like this. They should be thanking you for your post, as I think they may get more business out of it than what they could lose from it. What a stand up reputable company. I have only had 1 transaction with them at a show but now i think I will consider buying more from them.
 
I have to agree with everyone else also. Even though I've seen my share of those saying that buying a living creature from a large company like LLL not being as good as buying personally from a breeder, I'd still say they do a dang good job on taking care of their customers. Of course it's always best when they are notified immediately of any problems. I got my female hog island from them and I called them immediately upon delivery to let them know that fedex didn't even knock to ask for my signature even though they said they requested one. Come to find out they were right and it was a fedex issue, not on their part. But they had no problem getting back to me and addressing the concerns immediately. I think this situation was just handled extremely poorly on the buyer's end, not the seller.
 
I have bought feeders and supplies from LLL several times and have only ever had a problem 1 time. After I moved my first order of mealworms went to my old address. I put the updated address on the order, but it was shipped to my old address. I called them after my order didn't arrive. They apologized, updated my address, and sent me out a new shipment.

It seems to me that they offered you a full credit toward a future purchase even though you didn't notify them of any problems when you received the snake. That's going up and above what most would do. Seems like good guy post material to me. :shrug01:
 
robyn@Pro Exotics said:
And yet the title of the thread remains "Don't buy from LLL Reptile". That doesn't seem fair.
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Luckily anyone with any sense will see she is pretty much just being difficult, and the next 10 posts all point out that LLL did more than they needed to.

It's just too bad there are a lot of people out there with no common sense.
 
Actually Mr. Markland, that is one of the things that makes the BOI a great place to research sellers and buyers.
One can come on here, look at who said what about who and make an independent determination base on what the thread discloses.
If anyone does a search on LLL Reptiles this will just be one of many threads posted about them and only the second or possibly third that is negative.
The searcher will read those threads and be able to make their own judgment based on their own standards as compared to what is disclosed in the thread.
 
Thank you sir, I shall endeavor to remember that. But with my failing mind, no promises!
 
ive noticed a few things here. one, the accusor has no realm of proper grammer or spelling. two, the accusor has not chimed back in to further his/her title of the thread. three, it seems LLL was way more than ethical in offering credit to a person that says, and only says, that his/her snake was sick and has died. kinda suspicious that the person had no clue how to care for a snake, it died and now wants money back.
 
reticguy76 said:
ive noticed a few things here. one, the accusor has no realm of proper grammer or spelling. two, the accusor has not chimed back in to further his/her title of the thread. three, it seems LLL was way more than ethical in offering credit to a person that says, and only says, that his/her snake was sick and has died. kinda suspicious that the person had no clue how to care for a snake, it died and now wants money back.
Click to expand...

The correct spelling would be grammar.
 
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