Maddreptiles = Bad Reptiles

[Ophidiophile]

Purchased 1.1 neonate South African mole snakes from Tim Colston/Maddreptiles on 8/30. They were said to be healthy and feeding readily on pinkies. The first problem was when I received this email:
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From: Tim Colston [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2005 8:20 PM
To: Tracer David
Subject: RE: 1.1 Pseudaspis cana

Sorry, just got in, been running all day
here it is 1Z6175X40140066400 UPS raised its rates and it was going to be $70 for the 10:30 delivery so I went w/guarenteed by noon pls give me a call on my cell as soon as you get them.
thanks
Tim MADDREPTILES
www.maddreptiles.com
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The animals arrived the next day (WED) alive so the change of service may not have mattered, but I think it shows the seller's priorities. The cost unexpectedly cut into his profit margin so he unilaterally changed the service.

Anyway, the animals arrived and though the male was fat, the female was emaciated -- her spine was protruding and she had lateral folds of skin down near her tail. It lo0oked to me like she had never fed. I should ad that I've kept moles on and off for the last 8 years or so and have worked with babies before. They tend to be very fat when born and can be tough to start on rodents. I bought these specifically because they were guaranteed feeders and I wouldn't have to mess with getting them feeding.

Anyway, I decided since Tim said they were feeding readily, to take them home, give them a day to settle in and try to feed the next day (THURS). I tried them on tiny newborn pinks the next day - nothing. The following day (FRI) I tried brained thawed pinks - nothing. So I sent Tim this email on Friday:

-----Original Message-----
From: Tracer David
Sent: Friday, September 02, 2005 8:57 PM
To: Tim Colston
Subject: RE: 1.1 Pseudaspis cana

Tim,

I am a little concerned that these guys don't seem at all interested in pinkies (tiny newborn, live). The male seems fat and fine but I am more concerned about the female whose spine is showing prominently (she arrived that way). She sure looks to me like she's never fed or it's been a very long time since she has. I've worked with 2 pairs of babies before and this female doesn't look healthy to me. If she doesn't feed voluntarily in the next day or two, I doubt she'd survive more than a week without being pinkie pumped.

Just keeping you informed.

-David
------------------------------------------------

Well she was dead the next day - Saturday. Tim by the way, didn't answer the email above nor a subsequent one in which I informed him that the female had died and sent 3 photos including one close up showing the protruding spine and folds of skin at the tail. By the way, to date, the male has not fed either.

I finally made an offer to Tim for compensation that I thought was very fair but gave him an opportunity to counter. Here it is:
-------------------------
From: Tracer David
Sent: Monday, September 05, 2005 12:17 PM
To: Tim Colston
Subject: RE: 1.1 Pseudaspis cana

Tim,

I'd like to see some response to my emails. I know it's Labor Day Weekend and thought you might be away but I see you posted a bunch of animals on Kingsnake today so you're obviously around.

Here's a proposal on my part. I would like to return the male to you for a refund of his price ($300). He is in identical condition to when I received him. I am willing to pay shipping. I would like to split the cost of the female with you ($150) and I'll eat the $40 shipping I paid the first time around. If you want the female back, she's in my freezer and I'm happy to include her as well.

I hope you understand my dissatisfaction. I paid for animals that were healthy, FEEDING, and properly sexed. I asked this on the phone. These animals are obviously not feeding voluntarily on pinkies and the female was on death's door as shown by her protruding spine and folds of skin at her sides near her tail.

If you agree to this I am still out $150 for the female plus $40 for shipping the first time plus at least another $40 for the return shipping. And I'll have no snakes to show for it. I think this is fair. I'm sure you'll let me know if you feel differently.

I look forward to hearing from you and hope we can solve this quickly and amicably.

-David
-------------------------------------

Here's Tim's response:

David,
Sorry I didn't get back to your email yet. I wasn't avoiding you I just haven't had time to respond to my emails since I got back. I have some problems with what you propose yes. You had my cell # and never called to say you weren't happy with the snakes, in fact you did call when you rec'd them and said you were happy, you did NOT mention you thought either looked bad. I did send you healthy snakes and they did eat pinks readily for me. Sometimes snakes do take a few days to settle b/f they will eat after shipping so that may be your prob. The female pic you sent just shows me a dead snake. Not the reason she died. She could have died from dehydration for all I know. I assumed you knew how to properly care for the spp since we talked on the phone. I assume if you thought that she looked dehydrated on arrival you would have soaked her. Frankly, you had my cell # and could have called if you had a problem w/in the 24 hrs of arrival as stated in my terms. I do have live a! rrival guarentee as I stated on the phone. You called me and let me know they arrived and you seemed happy with the purchase. I am sorry but I do not see how a refund is warrented in this case. I know you are not asking for a full refund but being outside the limits of my terms no refund will be issued. I hope you can see it from my standpoint as a business. I am willing to work with you though since you obviously don't want to be stuck with a lone male. I can provide your email address if you wish to the other individuals that contacted me about purchasing the snakes(one did want just a lone male) so you can see about selling the male to them. Or I am as I told you going to get more, my breeder told me he could send about 10 more before the end of the year. If you'd like to wait I will give you a female from that shipment at my cost.

----------------------------------------

I'm not happy with this response since:
1) I would never re-sell a non-feeding male to someone!
2) Why the heck would I send more money to buy yet another snake from Tim when I think he's dishonest and unscrupulous to begin with!

By the way, I never stated to Tim, that I was "happy" with the snakes. I did give him a quick call as he requested to let them know that they arrived alive.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. I've been in the reptile biz for a LONG time and have never had to make a post like this before. Overall, I am probably just out of luck on this transaction but I did want to alert future buyers to the fact that Tim will do and say anything to make a sale but does not back up the animals he sells. As the subject line says Maddreptiles = Bad reptiles and in my opinion Tim Colston is a dishonest and unscrupulous seller.

 

[The BoidSmith]

David,

Does Tim have a webpage? Are his TOS in writing somewhere or at least did he e-mail you to state his guarantee covered live arrival only? You may be absolutely right in your assessment of the whole situation but I would still like to read his TOS. As far as the shipping issue goes, bad move. If the seller miscalculated the cost he should eat the difference but still deliver as agreed. That in itself is a bad deal from the very start. Did you notify him about this thread so he can post his side of the story? Do you care to post pictures of both snakes?

Regards

 

[Tsutton5]

maddreptiles

His web site is MADDREPTILES.com and his TOS are pretty clear IMO..

 

[Ophidiophile]

So are you saying that the fact that he misrepresented both animals as feeders when they are non-feeders and the fact that the female arrived emaciated and at death's door when he said she was healthy doesn't matter? How about unilaterally changing the shipping service so that it wouldn't cut into his profit margin?

Again, like I said, I believe I'm out of luck on getting anything out of Tim to compensate me (though I am going to try through my credit card company) but there is no doubt that he is an unscrupulous dealer and buyers should beware.

 

[Tsutton5]

didnt say that

All I said was his TOS were clear, did you tell him when you first called that the female looked sick... You stated that you told him that they arrived ok...Some snake do take time to feed after being shipped or even moved... You said you tried to fed when they arrived or shortly after... His Tos says arrive alive and they did, if there was a problem with the female you should have told him that when you called to say they arrived...

 

[Tsutton5]

just for the record

I am not trying to be a a$$, I am sorry for the loss... But I really dont see how this s his fault....Even if he did ship a sick snake you didnt tell him that when you called him...I do see that you emailed him about it, but why didnt you just call his cell since you had the number....??

 

[Suncoast Herpetological]

His Terms clearly offer a 7 day satisfaction guarantee. The problems were reported well within that time frame. I would definitely consider that the animal dying within that time period to be a definite point of dissatisfaction.

Bottom line is that the animals were misrepresented as feeding specimens. The female had obviously not fed regularly or there would not have been a weight issue.

The buyer is entitled to a credit as stated in the Terms. He is not, however, entitled to a refund. While most dealers would offer one readily in a situation like this, the Terms on his site clearly state credit only.

 

[Tsutton5]

Sorry

I did miss that in his terms of service...My bad I am very sorry

 

[gila7150]

Regardless of his terms of service, the buyers offer to resolve this was very generous in my opinion. The buyer is atleast due a full credit based on the terms of service but he really should be given a full refund if the seller is interested in doing the right thing.

Thanks for the heads up. I like Pseudaspis a lot but I'll know to steer clear of any I see offered by this seller.

 

[SPJ]

What is going on with this biz lately?

More and more people are showing up that need to be avoided.

The 1/2 dead snake should never have been sent. You deserve a REFUND not a credit.

There is no reason to ship a snake on deaths door unless you wanted to unload it and screw the customer.

As far as changing shipping goes, you paid for one type of shipping. If the price is higher than he charged you, that is his problem NOT yours and he needs to eat the difference.

I have had shipping end up more than the quote. I paid the difference. I NEVER changed the service that was agreed upon. I have even given 100% refunds to buyers for shipping. If a package didn't arrive by 10am, I got a refund from the shipper. I then sent that refund to the customer.

I am getting really disgusted with the way this biz has been going lately.

 

[gila7150]

ALL ANIMALS COME WITH A ONE WEEK SATISFACTION
GUARANTEE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED NOTE: WE ONLY
NEGOTIATE A PARTIAL CREDIT IN THE FORM OF CREDIT(NOT
CASH REFUND) ON SATISFACTION GUARENTEES

What the hell does that mean? Is satisfaction guaranteed or not? A partial credit? That really sucks!

 

[SPJ]

I guess it means, if you are not happy, you are out of luck BUT they will give you a credit towards ANOTHER purchase from them (but only part of what you already paid).

That sucks.

 

[KNOBTAIL]

This is what happens

when your dealing with people who attempt to protect their own interests knowing full well that in many cases the animals they are selling should never have been sold, or shipped. "ALL ANIMALS COME WITH A ONE WEEK SATISFACTION
GUARANTEE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED NOTE: WE ONLY
NEGOTIATE A PARTIAL CREDIT IN THE FORM OF CREDIT(NOT
CASH REFUND) ON SATISFACTION GUARENTEES "
I seriously doubt the author of the above TOS understands what he has attempted to establish as a reasonable method of conducting business. Just by the ambiguity of the TOS, I would have stayed away from this one.

Contact your credit card company and have them charge back the amount. This person took a chance , and I am glad this was brought the attention of the BOI.

 

[Crested Lady]

What is going on with this biz lately?

More and more people are showing up that need to be avoided.

Sad, isn't it? Too many people hoping to just make a quick buck.

Has he been made aware of this thread yet? I'd like to hear his side of the story as well before coming to any conclusions.

BTW, I am sorry the snake didn't make it.

 

[SPJ]

He knows about this.

This stemmed from another bad guy thread about him.

In that one he stated he will not respond to anyone anymore.

Basically he did what most people do who rip someone off. Choose to ignore the problem rather than fix it.

 

[The BoidSmith]

The funny thing is that they state:

• WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE/GUARANTEE IS VOID IF DUE TO
NEGLECT/DELAYS BY THE CARRIER

They were them who chose to delay shipment to save some money. For all we know the snakes could’ve been cooked and you would’ve been out of luck because they only guarantee live arrival if through airlines.

REFUNDS WILL BE GIVEN AT OUR DISCRETION NOTE: REFUNDS
WILL ONLY BE GIVEN WHEN AN ANIMAL IS DOA AND THERE WERE
NO DELAYS BY CARRIER AND TEMPERATURES WHERE SUFFICIENT

Well they themselves are responsible for the delay. What if the snakes did not thrive precisely because of that delay? What were the temperatures upon arrival?

• ALL ANIMALS COME WITH A ONE WEEK SATISFACTION
GUARANTEE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED NOTE: WE ONLY
NEGOTIATE A PARTIAL CREDIT IN THE FORM OF CREDIT(NOT
CASH REFUND) ON SATISFACTION GUARENTEES

In my opinion this one is the key. One week satisfaction guarantee (the dissatisfaction was manifested within the time frame)…but followed by the “unless or otherwise” and again the key words “negotiate” and “partial credit”. So you have to be willing to abide what they are willing to negotiate with you and offer a partial credit (who knows how much is “partial”).

Thanks again for bringing this to our attention. We owe you on this one. I would have never bought from them based on these TOS. But we all sometimes neglect reading the fine print. This reminds me of those cars at the lot sold “as is”. If you buy them well…in most states you are on your own. It shouldn’t be that way though. Think about it this way, although you are at a loss, he is loosing way more than you did. That is of course if he plans to continue in this business.

Regards.

 

[KNOBTAIL]

Was this purchase

made by a credit card? If so, then his TOS does NOT supersede the agreement he has to sign with the credit card companies. You are within your rights to chargeback the entire sale.

I hope you take advantage if that is the situation.

 

[Ophidiophile]

Yes, the purchase was made with a credit card and it was charged to "Stitch and Print" not Maddreptiles. I don't feel comfortable charging back the whole amount because I still have the male (he still has never fed) though I wouldn't mind returning him. But I will request a chargeback from my credit card company for the complete cost of the female. I'm willing to eat the $40 shipping.

 

[Crested Lady]

I had a deal somewhat similar with a different vendor, only it involved geckos and one was DOA. After calling my credit card, the money for the one DOA was immediately credited back to my account, and after an investigation, it became a permanent credit. That's definitely the first thing I would do in this situation... though it does stink that you had a bad deal with the person.

I've never heard of this business before, but thank you for bringing it to everyone's attention. I know I'll never do business with him.

 

[KNOBTAIL]

You cannot decide to only chargeback a portion

of the sale. Either you charge back the entire amount (which is what you should do) and send him back the snake, or be prepared to loose the entire transaction. By attempting to acknowledge that the shipment was partially correct will only provide fuel for the seller, confuse the charge card company and put some doubt into the whole transaction.

While he thought he had the upper hand, he made no attempt to reconcile the difficulties you encountered, and at least while you have the leverage, I strongly suggest that you get your money back , in full, as quickly as possible.

Also, its apparent that he does not have charge card capabilities, which is why he is using someone elses terminal to conduct his business. That is forbidden, by all the charge card companies. and could very easily affect the owner of the terminal making them liable for the chargeback as well considering that the chargeback would be levied against the terminal holder.

With this kind of information, you are in the drivers seat. I would contact this louse, and advise him of 2 things. 1. that he pays you within a 24 to 48 hour by bank check or transfer in full or you will charge back the account.
And 2ndly, you will notify the charge card company that he is using someone elses terminal to conduct his business. Which is illegal ! JERRY