Bad Guy Clayton Miller; CCA Reptiles

[AceOfSpadesReptiles]

I asked around if anyone had worked with CCA reptiles and got a no after I had purchased the snake, my transaction has gone from happy to complete garbage. I purchased a $400 pastel adult female from him to put to my male butter and found him on reptile classifieds ball pythons on facebook. I contacted him we worked out a deal for a payment plan as I don't make very much money being a college student and have to plan out financial things. Well after what seems like months to me my payment plan only took about 2 weeks which is what we agreed on, she's all paid off and everything he is not happy that he can't ship to me because it's too cold and the snake is taking up space. SYR says they won't guarantee live arrival on to ship on the 2nd of January, I told him that I would like her shipped to me when the temperature is right which he clearly doesn't want to wait for. Well I found an alternative to this and asked if he could ship her to my friend in Phoenix since it's a lot warmer down there. My friend is only going to be in Phoenix until the 3rd and that's the soonest he can ship. Well about shipping we originally agreed on $75 max well he starts saying its $95 then $80 and now I don't honestly know how much he wants. He also wants me to pay $5 every day until it's warm enough for him to ship her or it's my fault if she arrives dead. This is what he said last email "when u send the money i will ship the day the money hits my bank account and syr price is 78.83 but i also have had her longer then the payment plain was talked about im trying to work with u her but she is taking up room and food so first payment was sent dec 6th. and the sec payment was on the 16th and it is now the 1st of jan. ...thats 16 days past the last payment so u tell me where u want it to send and if u was it sent to u when my weather is under 38 deg. i will need u to write down that im not responsible if anything happens but if i have to wait till ur friend gets back then from the next email there will be a 5 dollar a day fee till she leaves my building. i have never had a problem like this and im sorry to say this will be the last time we do business thanks again....." I honestly don't care that I won't be able to work with him again as he has been plain rude to me in this email. Would you charge a $5 a day for him keeping her until its warm enough to ship? Would it be my fault if she arrives here dead if I said don't ship? I have ordered quite a few snakes for this only being my first year and this is one of the worst experiences I've EVER had even on other transactions for other things besides animals. Every time I bring up I want my money back he brings up me paying for shipping again. I told him I was going to post this to the BOI on fauna at 7 pm MST if I have not received my refund. I told him this and have yet to hear back from him. All I wanted was my refund. I did not want to start a boi as I think of myself as a cautious person but not cautious enough it seems..... If I can get my money back maybe he can save some of his reputation. I was treated more like what you treat your enemies. He was nice at first and seemed understanding but that quickly changed.

Attached I have images of emails and chats on facebook and my record from paypal. I couldn't find the ad itself.

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd511/AceOfSpadesReptiles/Screenshot2012-01-02at73025PM.png

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Here is a picture of the snake

Here is his information that I have.

belleville il 62221
cell number
6189787432

 

[AceOfSpadesReptiles]

I have messaged Clayton a link to this thread as well

 

[dahlhouse23]

Sorry you have to go through all this. I would never consider charging for keeping a snake if the weather was bad! If he planned on doing that he should have told you at the beginning of the transaction knowing that it was going to be winter when you finished paying. You are entitled to your refund although it sounds like he already spent your money.

 

[RichsBallPythons]

Sorry you have to go through all this. I would never consider charging for keeping a snake if the weather was bad! If he planned on doing that he should have told you at the beginning of the transaction knowing that it was going to be winter when you finished paying. You are entitled to your refund although it sounds like he already spent your money.

He spent the money more than likely and is trying to make you go though with ti as he dont have all of it.

If he has to work out a deal by making payments so be it.

But charging to house a snake and feeding it is absurd. The OP is a good customer/friend of mine and ive held snakes 2+ months for her during bad weather. Never once asked for more money to keep the snakes in my possession.

And for him to get you to sign paper to waive his liability of shipping in cold weather, proves hes shady. Regardless if you sign papers or not saying its okay to ship, hes still liable as its still IN HIS POSSESSION. Snake dies from bad heat pack or improper packaging, its still his fault signed paper or not.

 

[smilts]

Im confused that email makes it sound as if there was a third payment, that he hasnt recieved? Is that on the price of the animal, or shipping?

 

[RichsBallPythons]

Im confused that email makes it sound as if there was a third payment, that he hasnt recieved? Is that on the price of the animal, or shipping?

What your referring to is final payment for the cost of Shipping. Then snake is fully paid for.

 

[smilts]

This is what he said last email "when u send the money i will ship the day the money hits my bank account and syr price is 78.83 but i also have had her longer then the payment plain was talked about im trying to work with u her but she is taking up room and food so first payment was sent dec 6th. and the sec payment was on the 16th and it is now the 1st of jan. ...thats 16 days past the last payment

Just this little part had me confused, sorry just trying to make sure I fully understood the situation.

 

[AceOfSpadesReptiles]

Im confused that email makes it sound as if there was a third payment, that he hasnt recieved? Is that on the price of the animal, or shipping?

Third payment would be shipping as I've already paid for the snake (look at first link). He keeps changing shipping on me and this is where I've had enough especially with him charging me $5 a day for how long it takes till he's able to ship her.

 

[RichsBallPythons]

Just this little part had me confused, sorry just trying to make sure I fully understood the situation.

Yes, the Last payment would be final shipping price, Which seller Kept changing after agreed upon price.

OP would of sent that once an agreed upon day was made.

 

[smilts]

Thank you I was fairly certain that it was for shipping.

 

[RichsBallPythons]

He was viewing this thread, then signed off. HMM

 

[AceOfSpadesReptiles]

I have a proposal. To Clayton or CJ whatever you want to go by, if you are tight for money I will accept my refund in payments that we can agree final amount is due. I know times are tough and I'm sure you don't want your name tarnished so I would like to work with you as best as I can even though it isn't in my best interest as I'm a college student and could use the money for other things. If this is acceptable please respond. Otherwise I will call my bank and try to make arrangements for a reversal of payment.

 

[JoMama2]

WOW! What an ordeal! I have had snakes held for me by many people for breaks in weather, sometimes for months. I have never been asked to pay a fee to hold the animal for a safe time to ship. In fact, it's absurd. I hope this guy does the right thing and returns your money. Sorry you had to go through all this.

 

[Morph2187]

This is insane, Clayton is definitely on my do not buy from/sell to list. I hope everything works out.

 

[Serene Serpents]

Personally I have never heard of any reputable breeder asking for a fee to hold an animal due to shipping conditions being unsafe. Even if someone was to charge to hold an animal, five dollars a day is absolutely insane. Even if you take into consideration changing paper towels every day for substrate and feeding once a week you at most would come up to maybe a dollar a day to keep a snake around? After a buyer has paid for the animal... why would you not do that small service, especially if you care about your animals? This guy obviously does not care about his snakes at all... otherwise he'd care more about the animal arriving safely than making room for some other poor creature to come into his possession.

Good for you on asking for your money back and even taking the high road and giving him the opportunity to pay back in payments if he has in fact already spent the money. Though frankly I think anyone making any kind of transaction should not spend the money until they are sure their customer is satisfied... there is always a chance somebody could want their money back or something could go wrong.

I think in short... I will never do business with this guy and I am very sorry you had to experience this.

 

[dahlhouse23]

I would also like to know how he came up with $5 a day.

 

[Matt2979]

Definitely found another to NEVER do business with! Kaitlin, I sincerely hope that CJ/Clayton/CCA Reptiles makes this right. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

I'm currently holding an animal that I cannot safely ship. Since it is MY (the seller's) responsibility to ensure live arrival, she'll stay here until it's safe to get her to her new owner. As bad as I feel that my customer will have to wait on a break in the weather, I couldn't imagine asking him to pay a dime because "she's in my way"!! Ridiculous!!

 

[Kristi23]

I find it disgusting that he would ask for $5 a day. He knew it was winter when he was selling it. Common sense would be to realize that even if the snake is paid off, the weather may be too cold to ship. At that point, he should hold it for free until however long is needed. It would be different if you were asking him to hold onto the snake for a couple months for another reason. Even then, $5 a day is a lot. This is horrible customer service and I'm sorry you have to go thru it. Thank you for making us aware. I will not be doing any business with this person in the future. I hope you get you money back. Good luck!

 

[Desert Queen]

I also think it's ridiculous for him to ask for a fee. As someone who has shipped a few snakes I can and will ship a snake in cold weather! It's called a heat pack inside a well packed insulated box. I've shipped 3 snakes to the east coast in the past 4 months in freezing temps and all arrived just fine. This guy sounds like he's just ripping you off. Cold weather is not an excuse to an experienced seller.

 

[chamgirl99471]

$5 a day is an insane amount to hold onto an animal and if the seller agreed to the payment plan then he should have considered the weather and planned for that as well. I myself am holding several animals at the moment until the weather is suitable for shipping. It is the Seller's responsibility to plan for delays and not make plans for housing until said animal is actually moved out! I hope everything works out for you!! Good Luck!!