• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

Bob Kite & Odyssey Reptiles (BAD GUYS)

While a full name is not required for other parts of the site.
It is required for the BOI

BOI= Board of Inquiry

Please post your full name or put it into your signature.
 
Ritchie Luna said:
While a full name is not required for other parts of the site.
It is required for the BOI

BOI= Board of Inquiry

Please post your full name or put it into your signature.
Click to expand...

The subject matter of the Board of Inquiry forum necessitates that people take ownership of their own words by posting using their full names. Anonymous replies are generally not permissable, and are deleted in short order.

Snakeman23_2003, you are free to repost your replies, but please remember to post using your full name. As Ritchie has alluded, the easiest thing to do would be to place your full name in your signature line. This can be done by clicking on the "user cp" button near the top of the page, then the "Edit profile" tab.
 
Good news!

Well, I must say that I am very happy and suprised right now. I just received a full refund, receipt, and records from Bob Kite in the mail this morning.

I sent them this e-mail as soon as I got it:
------------------------------------------------------------
Subj: Re: I hope to make this better
Date: 3/10/2003 11:56:32 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: BrimstoneHunter
To: [email protected]


Hi Jeff,

I wanted to let you know that I received the refund/records/receipt today from Bob. I was VERY happy to see that he came through, even with all the mess around it. I will be posting on BOI that Odyssey Reptiles came through, and I want to thank you guys for doing the right thing.

Regards and no hard feelings,

Lauren
--------------------------------------------------------------
I feel very relieved that this situation is finally taken care of.

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies and concern during the length of this thread.

Regards,

Lauren Rost
 
I knew he would be coming through for you today......he told me so.
I just did not want to ruin your surprise...because sometimes a surprise is a good thing.

anyway. sometimes things happen.
Unfortunately it happened to a couple good guys.

To bad most people will not read this whole thread to realize they made things right. but that is not your fault either. you had to do what you had to do.

congrats to both parties.
 
Up until today I would not have done any business with these guys just because of what I had read on the BOI.

Now, I might. It does do good to follow all the way through to the resolution. As a fairly new user here all I have to go by on some people is what I see here and while I take it all with a grain or three of salt I do value the information here.

The right thing was done here, both by the seller and the buyer.

A little late is far better than never.
 
I am not quite sure I understand the "good job to both parties comment. The buyer, to be sure, was more than reasonable and patient. The seller, however, repeatedly lied initially and then completely feel out of contact.

His partner, while apparently symapathetic, laid the whole thing off on Mr. Kite and said the refund would have to come out of his pocket. After repeated arm twisting by members of this Board, they did the right thing. I hardly think that type of behaviour warrants a "good job" in any way shape or form. At best, this is still a "bad guy" post that had a satisfactory resolution.
 
Re: Fem Boa

In regards to the female boa that was offered to me, no, I have not received it. I have not heard anything about it since Odyssey Reptiles last posted. I am just so happy about the refund.

Lauren Rost
 
John,

That is a valid observation, and I may have been to hasty with my "good job" there. I guess it is just so rare to see an obvious bad situation made good, that when it does occur, I tend to give the benefit of the doubt. The one partner still seems suspect to me, but the one that made good on the refund seems rather upright to me. Maybe that says more about how far my expectations have slipped as much as anything else, though.

Good point! Thanks for helping realign my perspective on it!
 
I am writing in defense of Bob Kite. He is not a 'bad guy'. I had stated before that this was his first DOA, and even though it does not excuse his tardiness in the refund, I know he regrets the delay, but he was not ignoring the issue. He did not refund Lauren the money after 'arm twisting' from these posts. His refund was 110% to her. As far as his partner's offer, that's between the partner and lauren.
Even though Bob is representing odysseyreptiles, this was still a personal sell. Let's quit beating a dead horse. I am sure both parties have learned a great deal on this issue and hopefully it will make them more cautious and aware before selling/buying. Melissa Hoback
 
Just an observation...

Melissa,

It's commendable that you're sticking up for your friend Bob...however, I think it would carry a lot more weight if Bob made an appearance himself.

In the mean time, I agree that this one can be chalked up to a learning experience, and it is nice to see that the situation was made right in the end. This was a situation from which we can all learn, and proof once again of why the BOI can be such a great tool.

Just my $.02

Kara Glasgow - NERD
 
SHIPPING VIA AIRBORNE EXPRESS

I'm so sorry you have experienced this, and glad you were refunded your money. I've had a similar experience with a "reputable" breeder that shipped me some designer Leos in the dead of winter without any heat pack via Airborne. I have a question... was the shipping container labeled "Live Harmless Reptiles?" If so, Airborne blew it.

I have stated this in a couple of other posts when someone lost reptiles being shipped via Airborne, and I would like to re-state that shipping live reptiles via Airborne Express is totally against their policy. Here's the link:Airborne's Acceptability Policy

Airborne's cargo areas are NOT temperature contolled, and shipments are subject to low oxygen and sub-freezing conditions. People who ship live reptiles via Airborne are doing so without the knowledge of the carrier, and are 100% liable for the health and safety of their reptiles.

D. SHIPMENTS NOT ACCEPTABLE:

9. Live birds, mammals, snakes, lizards, bees, or other animals except for those which may be shipped subject to paragraph C of this rule.
Click to expand...
I am a breeder who ships all over the USA, and I know that our shipping options are getting slimmer and slimmer which compells people to withold the declaration of contents, BUT!... that is of little recourse after the fact that animals died as a result.

E. RESPONSIBILITY FOR NON-OBSERVANCE OF CONDITIONS RELATED TO RESTRICTED ITEMS -

Responsibility for the non-observance of the conditions relating to shipments which are not acceptable for transportation or are acceptable only under certain conditions, rests upon the sender and receiver of the shipment, who jointly and severally shall be liable to Airborne Express for any loss, damage, delay, liability or penalties it may incur because of the transportation of any such shipments. Airborne Express shall not be liable for any loss, damage, destruction, or delay to any such shipment that has been mis-described by the sender.
Click to expand...
Just some information and a "heads-up" for anyone shipping or receiving reptiles via Airborne.

Marcia McGuiness
"The Lizard Lady"
www.thelizardlady.net
 
I have a question... was the shipping container labeled "Live Harmless Reptiles?"
Click to expand...

No, I believe it was labelled "Keep at room temp-Live Turtle."

And in reference to the earlier posts on this page, I most certainly did learn several valuable lessons in this transaction. I am grateful that there is a place like the BOI to turn to when it becomes necessary.

Regards,

Lauren Rost
 
Misrepresentation of shipment

No, I believe it was labelled "Keep at room temp-Live Turtle."
Click to expand...
If this is the case, then Bob Kite misrepresented the contents of the shipment, and Airborne should have kept the box out of the regular cargo hold. Airborne allows turtles to be shipped under special circumstances:
7. Shipments of tortoise, frogs, non-venomous insects, live fish, and crustaceans only under the following conditions:

a. Such shipments must be boxed or crated so as to prevent escape, insure safe transportation with ordinary care in handling, and assure protection to any person handling the shipment.

b. Compliance with all laws, ordinances or government rules and regulations governing the transportation of live creatures.

c. Airborne Express assumes no liability for the conduct or act of the animals to themselves or to each other, such as biting, kicking, goring or smothering.

d. Sender must provide a letter absolving Airborne Express of all liability for loss, damage, or delay of such shipments.
Click to expand...
This is just Airborne's way of washing their hands of the whole deal, and it really irks me when shippers and carriers have such casual regard for the health and safety of live shipments.
 
I have to say that this is the best bad guy thread I have seen. It has been an eye opener for me regarding people on here and Bob Kite.
This thread stuck to the topic and there were no yelling or name calling. It shows how it should be done. And most importantly, the money was refunded!
I have seen threads that had airborne in it, thank you Marcia, for bringing light to that here as well.
And to Lauren, glad you received your refund, hope you get the snake that was offered as well.
Great thread.
 
SHIPPING VIA AIRBORNE EXPRESS AND OTHERS

In regards to shipping by airborne or for that matter, UPS, Fedex etc...... The Lizard Lady seems pretty critical of airborne. I have read other threads that are critical of UPS, Fedex etc.

I have received reptiles from all these carriers and never had a problem when the animals have been properly packed, heat packs etc. Many of the boxs I have received are marked as live snakes, and yet these carriers continue to ship them even though their policy states otherwise.

I don't see any point in being overly critical of these services, I don't think any of them are willing to ship reptiles, but do so everyday.

If you want to end up with no over night service at all, go ahead, be critical.
 
Well, Starling... there goes the thread! Already we have someone with a "bug" up their you-know-what! (joke, please...)

Sputnik, perhaps you misunderstood what I was trying to express. Winter received 2 dead snakes for pete's sake! This is due to 1.) misrepresentation by the shipper and 2.) the container not kept at room temperature by the carrier like the label on the box stated. My intentions were to give everyone a "heads up" in order to prevent this type of tragedy from occurring!

I am not being critical of Airborne alone, I am being critical of the entire system. I am just as frustrated as any other breeder who tries to ship live reptiles with the limitations and bureaucratic B.S. that we have to deal with. I am being critical of shippers that knowingly misrepresent what they are shipping, and the indifference of the carrier's employees. I have had plenty of problems with UPS and USPS, too. But at least I work within the system!

It's stuff like this situation that only adds to the carrier's unwillingness to ship live reptiles. When minimum-wage workers do not read labels, and animals die as a result of that combined with the breeder blatantly lying about the contents (this includes permits), what happens? Well, either the shipper or the receiver usually goes to the carrier and files a claim. Everyone gets upset. Then, the carrier gets gun-shy and eventually refuses to ship reptiles altogether.

It is not being critical that makes the carriers so difficult to deal with. The cause is NOT following the rules.


Marcia McGuiness
"The Lizard Lady"
www.thelizardlady.net
 
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