Fraud Warning: Chris Altizer/christal Ganley

[kenfosterpb]

Warning: Be on the look out for Christopher Altizer/Christal Ganley whom are making fraudulent purchases using PayPal. Their fraud method is to purchase your animal and pay via PalPal's Instant Transfer Option. Payment appears to be completed and is transferable to your banking account only to be removed by PayPal up to two weeks later due to non availability of funds in buyer's checking account. They may possible try to give you a substantial deposit for future purchase via an echeck that will eventually be cancelled. According to PayPal they do not guarantee funds from any source, credit cards, banks accounts or echecks. You are always subject to a reversal.

The VPI line male pastel that I sold was offered on this website within days of being purchased on July 4th.

Here is their information:
Christopher Altizer/Christal Ganley
32 E. Belair Ave. Apt. F.
Aberdeen, MD 21001
443-505-8697
[email protected]
[email protected]
Cell phone messages gives the name of River City Truck Tire

Paypal will not protect you! Beware it is a double impact to your wallet. You loose your animal and then owe Paypal for it. Only the crook and PalPay make money in this business. PayPal needs to stop fronting money to buyers just because they have a verified checking account.

If you are using PayPal do not ship to an unconfirmed address!

 

[daniel1983]

Thanks for the warning Ken and sorry to hear that you got scammed. With scams like that going around, everyone is going to have to start holding animals for two weeks after paypal payment is received. It might be a good policy to include in a term of sale from now too. I was working on my TOS for internet business too...thanks.

 

[Crested Lady]

I'm sorry that happened to you. Thank you for the heads up. It's sad how low some people will go....

 

[Chameleon Company]

Ken,
Don't deal with snakes, but thanks for the "heads-up" as a warning about what can happen with PayPal, which so many of us use frequently. I cannot give out names, but this may help you. Aberdeen, where these scammers seem to live, is very central to the reptile community. I am originally from Baltimore, and know the area well. The "All Maryland Reptile Show" (see Cold Blooded Events in Reptiles) is a monthly show in Havre De Grace, MD, not 5 miles from Aberdeen. It has been a going thing for likely a decade. Try the contact points listed there, and maybe they might know something or someone to help you track down these phonies. Many good reptile folks up that way. You may also eventually be able to retain an attorney up that way for $500-800, who can bring enough pressure to bear to get you satisfaction, if that's an amount worth putting out for recovery. Good luck, and thanks again.

Jim Flaherty
The Chameleon Company, LLC

 

[HerpLuver]

First of all, I must apologize for any and all inconvenience. Secondly i must assure you this was no intended scam. I have had some seemingly unreal issues with my banking account AND paypal lately due to a double charge on my checking account for a credit card transaction that is still under investigation.

Ken, I understand your frustration, anger and now lack of trust with ANYTHING i say. I ask that you give me a chance to fix this situation. What puzzles me, is that paypal retracted our payment from you.. Yet they are charging us for the amount declined also. How can they make two people pay for one persons misfortune? I believe we should be the one's with the burden on our shoulders not you. And i apologize to the utmost extreme for the burden this has placed on you.

Let me explain my placing the animal on the classifieds. I placed pictures of the pastel on a few different boards and showed pictures in a few chats, where i was told beyond all benefit of doubt that the animal was NOT a pastel yet a very nice looking normal. I got scared that i was ripped off and didnt want to confront you with this and slap your intelligence in the face. I was on a teeter totter whether or not to call you or just resell the animal for my costs. Granted, this was most likely the WRONG choice to make, but being scared that i was scammed out of the money i paid for a supposed morph i reacted without thinking. Just a list of the places i posted pics when i first got this animal, Bob Clark Forums, Morelia Python forums, showed pictures in the fauna chat and reptichat.com. I got a high majority telling me i was ripped off and reacted like a rat in the corner, stupidly and blindly. I then had the animal checked by some of the people in know around me, and got a half and half that it was/wasnt a pastel. After a few better pictures, i started receiving people stating that it indeed WAS a pastel. The people i had come over and check the snake out also probed it, and after a few probes a consensus that it was apparently a female had been reached. Well if it was a female it was going to take me too long to get it up to breeding size and i figured i might be able to make a couple bucks on it and still purchase a male from someone.

As to the paypal issue, give me the opportunity to make this right. I can and will make this right. But please, speak with me before making accusations. I understand your rage as i've said, but NONE of this was intentional. I am still new to the morph scene. And STILL have people that are steadfast on it NOT being a pastel, yet a decent amount of people saying it is. I will trust that it is. Allow me to stop rambling. I hope to hear from you soon. I have called your phone 3 times since i received the message on my cell phone and the email. Please contact me via phone, email or if you would like continue this here so everyone can see the measures im attempting to make this right. Just please be reasonable with me, This was not a scam, this was a misplacement of funds.

 

[Gib]

Sounds like His account got overdrawn to me...Not a scam...

ive had MAD probs with my bank stuff similar to what sounds like happened..

Had a Freeze put on my account not to long ago after making some expensive purchases and they kept it froze UNTIL i actually came into the bank and let them know that my card wasnt stolen and that i made the transactions..

I could be wrong..but it sounds like you may have jumped the gun on this one...should have got in contact and found out WHAT happened before labeling him a scammer...

 

[Chameleon Company]

Chris,
Thanks for getting in here quickly and trying to mitigate things, and hopefully get to a solution. I was one who used the word "scammer" in my earlier post, and with your post, feel it now very innapropriate. My apologies, and I commend you for being forthright here. Hope you folks can work this out outside of this public forum. One question. Have you gone to any games at Ripken stadium ? How is it ? I always thought "Cow" (Cal, for you non-Baltimoreans) was great!

Jim Flaherty
The Chameleon Company, LLC

 

[HerpLuver]

Honestly no i have not gone to any games here in maryland. It's been quite some time since i have been to any sports game.

I really hope me and Ken can fix this in a professional, reasonable manner also. I am awaiting a form of contact from Ken now. I can imagine the first post that comes from him will be one of disbelief and contempt for me and my actions. Understandable, i will do what needs to be done to re-set myself to a trusted and respectable place here.

Thanks for your posts.

 

[Jim O]

I know Chris from another forum and from what I know of him I am inclined to believe this was an honest mistake and not anything more malicious. To say he works long hours and has a hectic life might be an understatement.

If the snake was in fact mis-sexed, perhaps it can be returned to Ken and call it a day. Before doing that though, I would have the snake sexed by a herp vet at Chris's expense, and checked out with a fecal at the same time before it is returned to Ken's possession. All of this should e documented and provided to Ken. Just a suggestion of course, and the resolution is up to Ken and Chris.

 

[HerpLuver]

Well apparently Ken Foster has refused to handle this with me in a professional manner. I just received an email stating he will be processing the charges as of tomorrow 9 am. If anyone is willing to maybe give me some advice on how i should handle this. Ken says i would need to send him the money by tomorrow which as of this moment is quite impossible since i did not expect this and had no funds saved in order for a re-payment of this animal. Im at a loss for words.....

 

[Laura Fopiano]

Chris

This sounds like a bank error, did you offer to return the animal? In years past I've been in terrible battles with banks. I hope this works out for both of the parties involved. Keep us posted and good luck!

 

[Jim O]

Well apparently Ken Foster has refused to handle this with me in a professional manner. I just received an email stating he will be processing the charges as of tomorrow 9 am. If anyone is willing to maybe give me some advice on how i should handle this. Ken says i would need to send him the money by tomorrow which as of this moment is quite impossible since i did not expect this and had no funds saved in order for a re-payment of this animal. Im at a loss for words.....

Hey Ken,

How about cutting a little slack here and listening to the guy? He's got a story to tell and it's worth hearing. It's not as though he has avoided you. He posted a response to your initial post in three hours. Maybe, just maybe, that says somethng about him. Charges can be filed anytime. But your opportunity to settle this without legal action will end if you take this action.

By the way, I had a lengthy talk on the phone with Chris last night. He is distraught over this. He lost track of his balance and uses a debit card for his purchases. He was double charged for a purchase leaving his balance low and some things did not clear (like Ken's charge) due to NSF. Each time a charge was generated lowering the balance. Some of them tried twice, as I believe PayPal did, leaving him further in the red.

Chris explained why he listed the snake for sale. He was concerned about what it was. And evidently it was mis-sexed. He had wanted a male and paid for a male. The animal is "sold" on ReptileAuction.com and if the buyer pays, Chris intends to pay Ken immediately. If not, Chris would still like to keep the snake but I am sure he will return it if that is what Ken prefers.

Now Ken, does this sound like a scam or a dumb mistake? Why not give him the time he needs to make this right or take the animal back?

 

[critical bill]

I just received an email stating he will be processing the charges as of tomorrow 9 am.

Ken, lighten up here just a bit. The police are not going to pursue this to an arrest Chris can provide evidence this situation was beyond his control. They will contact him in an effort to reslove the situation peacefully and monitor the progress. Trust me on that. In the end..the result will be the same....you'll be paid or sent back the snake. If Jim O is stating he knows Chris to be on the level I would trust what Jim says and skip the "popo". <<---chucky was listening to DMX.

 

[Gecko_Den]

All due respect to Jim and bill, but lets look at this another way....

Where was the communication when Chris decided, based on other peoples opinions on message boards that this snake wasn't a pastel? Or when he discovered that the snake was mis-sexed, which he hasn't proven by the way?

Why didn't he bring these concerns to the original poster instead of deciding to immediatly re-sell the animal?

Also, I find it disturbing that he had decided it wasn't a pastel, yet was willing to re-sell it as one to someone else.....

So, how does this look from Ken's point of view? He sold the snake, then gets the money reversed. He is out the snake and the cash, sees the snake up for re-sale and has no explanation from the buyer, until he brings it here. then all of a sudden Chris shows up with a ton of excuses wanting to make it right?

Ken has every right to proceed however he wants, but the fact that he was jerked around in this situation, I personally can't blame him if he decides not to "cut Chris some slack"..... Especially in light of the fact that Chris has provided no proof to back up any of his claims/excuses.

 

[Gecko_Den]

LOL, should have read "All due respect to Jim and Chuck, not Bill.....

 

[kenfosterpb]

Chris, Chris, Chris,
First it not a pastel and then it is and by the way it is a much more valuable female and not the male you paid for? Give me a break! You are a theft and everyone should know it. Today you emailed and said you no longer have the money. You stole my snake and I had to pay PayPal back the money. A double rip off by any measure. Hopefully this will be a warning to all of us honest breeders and collectors. You need to stay out of this business. Fortunately your local authorities are very interested internet fraud. I sure you will be hearing from them soon.
Ken Foster

 

[jmartin104]

First of all, I must apologize for any and all inconvenience. Secondly i must assure you this was no intended scam. I have had some seemingly unreal issues with my banking account AND paypal lately due to a double charge on my checking account for a credit card transaction that is still under investigation.

Ok, this can happen.

Let me explain my placing the animal on the classifieds. I placed pictures of the pastel on a few different boards and showed pictures in a few chats, where i was told beyond all benefit of doubt that the animal was NOT a pastel yet a very nice looking normal. I got scared that i was ripped off and didnt want to confront you with this and slap your intelligence in the face. I was on a teeter totter whether or not to call you or just resell the animal for my costs.

Do you have a pic of this animal? Why not show it at the Ball Python forum where there was a good chance someone would know what it is? The Chondro forum was not the best choice IMHO.

The people i had come over and check the snake out also probed it, and after a few probes a consensus that it was apparently a female had been reached. Well if it was a female it was going to take me too long to get it up to breeding size and i figured i might be able to make a couple bucks on it and still purchase a male from someone.

If it was a female and you were supposed to get a male, Ken would have corrected this. It would be in his best interest to do so. I'm concerned about your usage of the word "concesus" and "apparently". Were these people qualified to give you opinions of the validity and sex of the animal?

As to the paypal issue, give me the opportunity to make this right. I can and will make this right.

I commend you for trying to work this out. Whether Ken communicates with you or not, you have an obligation to correct this and correct it fast. Once he has been paid for his animal and other fees (if any), you can let us all know that you are a stand up person. I know Ken and I know he would let us know if you fill your obligation.

Hopefully, this will work out. Just try to work together to work it out.

 

[Suncoast Herpetological]

I am curious Ken...

...what attempts did you make to contact Chris after the reversal and prior to making the first post on this thread and by what means? Also, what was the time frame between the reversal and the start of this thread?

 

[Gecko_Den]

...what attempts did you make to contact Chris after the reversal and prior to making the first post on this thread and by what means? Also, what was the time frame between the reversal and the start of this thread?

Apparently enough time had passed for Chris to post the picture and gather opinions, have people over to probe the snake multiple times, and list and sell the snake on reptibid......

 

[daniel1983]

How soon after noticing that the funds were incorrect in the account did Chris take to contact Ken about the problem? When Ken noticed the problem how long did it take him to contact Chris? When were the phone calls made with respect to the purchase and shipping dates, etc? I would definately like a timeline of events for this entire ordeal and think it would be helpful in resolving this issue.