Amanda Thomas--has my gecko and money, no response

On December 24, 2010, I purchased a gecko, “Mischief,” from Amanda Thomas (Geckos and Giggles, www.geckosandgiggles.com) for $45 from an ad she had posted on the Pangea forum. She told me that it was too cold to ship, and she would ship in the spring when it warmed up.

When the weather warmed up, I contacted Amanda and she told me the cost to ship Mischief would be $55.00, and on April 22, 2011, I sent the money to her. I have the receipts for both Paypal payments, the one for the gecko on 12/24/10 and the one for shipping on 4/22/11, and have also made hard copies of our e-mails.

When I saw optimal times to ship, I’d contact Amanda, but she always had something going on or the weather wasn’t quite right. That lasted all spring, and then she decided the summer was too hot.

I had two crested geckos shipped to me from other breeders during the summer, so I know it would have been possible. Still, I really wanted the gecko and care about the gecko’s safety, so I thought I’d wait until fall, even though I was starting to think I’d never see the gecko.

This fall I contacted Amanda again. When I had no success e-mailing her, I called several times and one time she did answer the phone. When I told her who I was she sounded like she was in a hurry to get off the phone. Since then I’ve tried calling her several times, but have not succeeded in getting her to pick up the phone again. The last time I called I left a message telling her that if she wants to keep the gecko, I would understand, but if that’s the case, she needs to refund the money I paid her. I have been polite with her so far in spite of the fact that I feel she has ripped me off.

Today, 12/11/2011, almost a year from the day I purchased the gecko from Amanda, I left a message on her phone telling her that it’s been nearly a year, and I would like to either receive the gecko or get my money back. I also told her that I’m very disappointed with her and explained that it’s a crime to sell someone something and not send it and keep the money, and that I felt it was time to let the gecko community know and time to take this to the board of inquiry.

Since Amanda is a popular first name and there are quite a few Thomases in the world, I want to mention that the person I am talking about lives in Falkville, Alabama and goes by the name Prinnie on the Pangea board. I don’t want there to be any confusion. If she would send me the gecko safe and unharmed from its trip or refund my money, which came to $100, I will gladly post an update.

Christine Tomczak

That's really rotten! Can you post emails and paypal recipts?

I had the same experience. I purchased a gecko from Amanda and made payments over the course of a few months. We had talked in a chatroom and I told her I liked the gecko but couldn't pay all at once as I was making payments to some other people and it wasn't right to purchase another gecko until those were paid off. She said that was fine...and I made payments from Feb 2011 until May 2011 for a total of $140.

Weather wasn't cooperating and we finally found a day that worked for both of us and she sent me the tracking number. Then she text me and told me the fedex place she chose to use wouldn't take the package and it was too late in the day to take it to another center. The next day, apparently the weather was too hot and she couldn't ship him.

After that, she said the weather was too hot to ship and we would have to wait until fall. She kept in good contact in that time, answering my texts when I sent them, but the weather was never good. After awhile she stopped answering my texts as often, and when I finally told her that MY weather was getting too cold to ship, she said she had a few nice days but was "too busy" to ship. I sent her one last text saying this was the last week she had to ship or I just wanted a refund, and she said she totally understood and would try her best to get him shipped or send me a refund. That was the last I heard from her and was on Sept 29, 2011.

I have emailed her, sent her private messages on both forums we frequent, text and called...and have never gotten a response. I even searched the web for hours trying to find any mention of her name in an obit or accident report or something because I had chatted with her on another forum often and found her to be a very nice person with an otherwise good reputation.

I no longer am interested in the gecko, I just want my money back.

Sarah Dukart

I have the paypal receipts right here, I'll see if I can scan them and post them. (I'm not that computer savvy.)

Christine you are a very very patient girl. even tho it is only $95.00 I would hound her until you get paid.

Give your local Police dept a call and ask for advice.maybe you can file a complaint there then they can send it to her Police dept to light a fire under her.

Sarah, that sounds like what she was doing to me, either the weather or too busy, and it's been about a year!

I tried scanning the paypal receipts but the printer says it's waiting on the PC and I tried several things that worked on my last computer but can't seem to upload the pictures to this old Mac. I do have them though.

If all else fails, a cut and paste from my e-mails should work. I deleted my address and account transaction numbers.


Hello Christine Tomczak,

Your payment for $45.00 USD to GeckosandGiggles@gmail.com has been sent.

It may take a few moments for this transaction to appear in the Recent Activity list on your Account Overview.


Payment details
Amount: $45.00 USD
Transaction Date: December 24, 2010
Transaction ID: (deleted for privacy reasons)

Subject: You've got money!

Message:
Hello Amanda, here is my payment for Mischief. Thank you so much!

Shipping Address:

(deleted for privacy)
United States
View the details of this transaction online




This payment was sent using your bank account.

By using your bank account to send money, you just:

- Paid easily and securely

- Sent money faster than writing and mailing paper checks
- Paid instantly -- your purchase won't show up on bills at the end of the month.

Thanks for using your bank account!




Sincerely,
PayPal





PayPal Email ID PP118


Dear Christine Tomczak,
You sent a payment for $55.00 USD to amanda thomas.
Please note that it may take a little while for this money request to appear in the Recent Activity list on your Account Overview.
View the details of this transaction online



This payment was sent using your bank account.

By using your bank account to send money, you just:

- Paid easily and securely

- Sent money faster than writing and mailing paper checks
- Paid instantly -- your purchase won't show up on bills at the end of the month.

Thanks for using your bank account!





Amount: $55.00 USD
Sent on: April 22, 2011
Payment method: Bank account
Subject line of your payment email: You've got money!
Message in your payment email: Hello Amanda, here is the money for Mischief's trip to me!  
Sincerely,
PayPal

Originally Posted by Gotagecko

I tried scanning the paypal receipts but the printer says it's waiting on the PC and I tried several things that worked on my last computer but can't seem to upload the pictures to this old Mac. I do have them though.

Try taking pics of receipts upload to comp than attach to BOI post.

OK, if they're needed, I'll try. That will probably work.

Ugh I hate it when deals go south like this.

I just checked her iHerp and she hasn't logged into that since October 9, apparently: http://www.iherp.com/Public/ShowUser...8-9e9a346e572d. Hasn't logged into Pangea since August 25th and hasn't posted since June... All that sure isn't looking good for you guys. :/

I hope you do manage to either get your geckos or get your money back!