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Star Reptiles(bad Guys)

G

godsmack000

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BEWARE BUYER:
Star Reptiles ripped me and my family off $125. I bought a male bearded dragon from them and never got it. I sent the full amount of money contacted them called them and every thing. They said that they were snowed in and could not ship the male. A month later they said we hadn't been answering their emails and we had been. We called and they just hung up. The person I was dealing with was a person with the last name of Hetland.

BEWARE WHEN YOU PURCHASE FROM THESE PEOPLE!



These people live in Chicago so if you live close to here or live here let me know. If you can get my money back you may keep $20 just send the rest. Please let me know if you live close to Chicago or close. My email is [email protected]
 
I'll wait awhile to give you some time to post your full name, which is required on posts on the BOI. The easiest way to take care of it, and avoid future warning points for not having your name in your posts, is to edit your profile to include your full name rather than just initials. Or, you can put it in a signature line. Either one can be taken care of via the User CP link at the top left of the screen. A bit more tedious, and easy to forget at times, is to just manually type out your name in each reply.

Either way, I need your full name to be here somewhere, otherwise I have no other option than to delete this thread.
 
Factual evidence or substantiation or no?

I read both of your rather impugning allegation posts regarding Sarah Hetland @ Star Reptiles and I was curious about what caused this deal to go wrong and whether you have any supporting facts? I'm in the process of discussing a possible deal with Sarah and I've only had a couple of phone conversations with her thus far. I'm always leery of reading posts about someone without some facts to support any claims made, be they positive or negative, so I thought it best to ask you directly. Sarah seems very knowledgeable, courteous, and polite on the telephone, as well as quite cooperative, hence my question to you about the details of your alleged "rip off" transaction on the bearded dragon. Any e-mails or substantiating proof of your claim? Did you have a contract with her? Did you keep a receipt for your payment sent? I'm not taking sides, but I think it's a bit unfair to make an allegation of theft or to label a person or business as a "bad guy" without some factual evidence to substantiate your claim. Sarah is currently experiencing computer problems, but I'll be certain to point out this thread to her when I next speak with her. I feel she has a right to present her side of the story. And you are obligated IMHO to substantiate your allegations of Star Reptiles as "bad guys" or "rip offs"! As Jack Webb used to eloquently proclaim as Sgt. Friday, the popular detective on the old Dragnet TV series, : "Just the facts, ma'am ... just the facts."
 
reply

I have a full email address with proof. It has messages recieved from her and messages sent. She never gave me a reciet and I at first did know of the contract but later I found out about it. I waited for well over 45 days and no lizard and no refund. She told me though not through direct email that she would be sending me my full refund. She seemed courteous but either way i didn't get my product. Also she said that her holding the beardy costed her well over the value of it because she needed the room. How could haveing one lizard in a cage cost you over $100. Even with the cost of food it couldn't have costed that much. I gave her many replies and she said although not through the direct email as I said before that she hadn't been getting my reply and I wasn't getting any failure delivery replies meaning that she had to have gotten them. I never used foul language or was rude.
 
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Thanks for letting me know. Most of that is not true. I emailed her alot telling her to ship him. I payed for the lizard in full with a money order. The money order was in my name but it was for my brother mark. I never got the lizard and since I didn't is all I expected back was my full $125. We even called her but is all she did was hang up and say that we were scam artists. Even if she needed the cage for babies it still should have costed her alot of money like she claims. I have babies right now and had to buy a new cage for them and food and it didnt cost me a whole lot of money.
 
I just want everyone to know that I emailed Star Reptiles informing them of this thread and asked them to please respond to it.

In my opinion, if they do not respond, it doesn't look good for them.
 
I just want everyone to know that I emailed Star Reptiles informing them of this thread and asked them to please respond to it.
Click to expand...
Perhaps you failed to read within my previous post, but I'll repeat myself for clarity. Sarah of Star Reptiles has indicated that their personal computer is currently out of commission, so it's doubtful that she will be able to reply to this any time soon. That said, I believe without any proof of any type from this kid making a damning allegation against someone with an otherwise spotless record is nothing more than an unfounded spewing by an unhappy child who didn't get his way. The burden of proof is HIS to make, not Ms. Hetland's! It seems from the links to the 2 Reptibid forum threads, this was handled appropriately by the administration at Reptibid as well as by Ms. Hetland. Personally, I consider this posting by godsmack000 as nothing more than hearsay, and totally unwarranted, barring any evidenced proof of inappropriate business practices on the part of Star Reptiles. I find it inappropriate for JMelissaMc to play both sides of the fence with her statement above:
In my opinion, if they do not respond, it doesn't look good for them.
Click to expand...
You can't post the very revealing links from Reptibid showing just how inappropriate and unwarranted this mouthy minor has been and then come back with the above quote regarding Star Reptiles. The burden of proof lays with the original poster of this thread to back up the allegations made and NOT for the accused, who has already addressed this quite politely and succinctly within the very links which you previously posted! To put it concisely...godsmack000 needs to prove his case or make an apology to Ms. Hetland @ Star Reptiles. You don't attempt to impugn someone's reputation in business with unfounded childish allegations! To godsmack000, may I say with all due respect...it's time to put up or shut up young man!
 
Re: reply

godsmack000 said:
I have a full email address with proof. It has messages recieved from her and messages sent.
Click to expand...

Then lets see them.
 
proof

Ok if you want proof you got proof.


Hey, I am just checking in with you. It is supposed to snow here tomorrow so I do not feel comfortable shipping him. I figure youd like him to arrive safely so unfortunately I have to wait now for the weather here to cooperate. I'll check back soon, probably later this week or next week it should have warmed up just enough to ship him. Let me know if this is ok.

<[email protected]> wrote: i cant believe it friday it was supposed to have bin sent monday and then come thursday that week im told no it was sent on tuesday , man i cant wait until this summer when i finally get to drive then i can get things done that need to be when i want them to be oh well im happy you got it ok my shipping is
to mark leger 21461 joe paul ln and chandler ,tx 75758


star reptiles <[email protected]> wrote:
Hey, I got the money order today, you can calm down :) I just got off work so I didnt know it arrived yet, but my fiance told me it arrived today and I just got online to let you know it is here. By the way it says it wasnt sent until Friday which explains ehy it got here so late! Anyways it is here. It is snowing in IL so the first Monday or Tuesday that the snow stops I will send him. Please give me specific instructions for shipment (where,when,who's name to send to, and any days that you will not be home to recieve him...etc...) I ship overnight UPS because UPS is very careful with the animals compared to others. I will e-mail you before I ship to make sure 100% that you will be home to recieve him and I will e-mail you with the tracking number once he is shipped.
Sarah

<[email protected]> wrote:
hey email me tommorow to tell me if you got it or not so i can go find out what happend if you didnt get it but i really hope you get it


and she claims that I didn't ever give her a mailing address. Not to mention she could of sent him to the return address on the money order.


Hi, I am just e-mailing you so you do not worry. It is colder than I thought it would be this week and for the dragon's safety I would like to wait until next week to ship as it is supposed to not snow and warm up a little. I want you to be happy and I also want the dragon to arrive healthy and safe. Sorry about the delays, I wasn't expecting the sudden cold and snow to stop shipping because even though it was winter, it was a lot warmer. If there are ANY problems or concerns, just feel free to e-mail me.
Sarah

She said that I stopped emailing her, but look at these dates stragiht from the sent messages folder
to subject day date size
star reptiles hey its me Sat 02/21 6k
star reptiles Re: orange male Thu 02/19 6k
star reptiles Re: orange male Tue 02/17 5k
star reptiles Re: orange male Mon 02/16 6k
star reptiles Re: orange male Tue 02/10 3k
star reptiles Re: orange male Tue 02/10 3k
star reptiles Re: orange male Sun 02/01 15k
star reptiles Re: orange male Thu 01/29 13k
star reptiles Re: orange male Wed 01/28 9k
star reptiles Re: orange male Wed 01/28 3k
star reptiles Re: orange male Sun 01/25 9k
star reptiles Re: orange male Sat 01/24 7k


hi its me again go ahead and send him this monday ok i sent u a few emails thru out the week and you never answered me so please email me back asap to tell me your going to ship him monday im sorry about not getting your email sunday but you should have just sent him my dads here too pick it up all the time ok well thanks just send him monday and email me ok




star reptiles <[email protected]> wrote: OK, I have to go to bed now so since I didnt get a reply I am guessing Monday is not good for you. Please let me know ASAP which days are good for you, you must be home to recieve the package with the beardie. I would like to get him shipped soon for fear of the weather getting colder and delaying shipping even longer. Let me know Thanks :)
Sarah Hetland

I've got some more but this should show you proof enough.
 
Zoo Dad....not saying who is right or wrong here.....I think that's yet to be determined. But "my computer is down" is really not an excuse in this day and age where most everyone has a PC. Maybe for a day or two.....but it's certainly not a reason to ignore a problem. I'm sure they know someone with a PC that is up and running and can respond.


G-Smack......I don't suppose you made a copy of the M.O. before it was sent by any chance did you? Always a good idea for backup in cases like these.

TC
 
Where's the proof?

Anyone can type supposed e-mails of any form or type, but does that make them legitimate? Of course it doesn't! E-mails can and should be copied in their entirety with headers included to show the originating IP numbers of both the sender and the recipient. Your IP is registered when you join a forum such as this, which provides compelling evidence from where messages are originating. This is useful to the administration in the event that someone should attempt to register with more than one user name, for example. It also serves to support claims of e-mails sent or received. Although editing can still be accomplished, with the complete header info, the evidence becomes much more legitimized than it does without this important information.

If Paul, Mark, Texas_beardie, godsmack000 or whomever this individual making these unsupported and damaging claims has evidence, not contrived, but cold hard factual documentation, then it's quite simple to remedy this situation as he or they allege:
She never gave me a reciet and I at first did know of the contract but later I found out about it. I waited for well over 45 days and no lizard and no refund.
Click to expand...
and she claims that I didn't ever give her a mailing address. Not to mention she could of sent him to the return address on the money order.
Click to expand...
If you in fact sent a money order, that is one of the best forms of proof you could possibly have to support your claim. In fact, you could easily scan a copy or take a photo of this document and post it here as proof! Furthermore, you can take your money order receipt to small claims court and sue for reimbursement and damages incurred as a result of your proven payment. If in fact you have no such receipt or written contract, as I suspect is the case, then you've made false and accusatory claims and at the very least owe Ms. Hetland @ Star Reptiles a sincere apology! IMHO, you should then ask for removal of your unfounded, inappropriate, and defamatory thread from this board!

It's quite simple...submit facts or proof and properly support your damning allegations or shut up and go do something productive, such as your homework, your chores, or take a lesson in respecting one's elders! If you do show factual evidence, supporting your claims, I'll be the first to publicly apologize to you, but I fail to see anything thus far, other than a disgruntled minor with an ax to grind against an otherwise innocent adult herpetoculturist and business woman! Honesty is ALWAYS the best policy and the clear facts will ultimately surface! As it stands now, you've proven nothing negative about this person or business and your "bad guy" post won't hold water!
 
yet another thing...

Another thing that can be pursued is...Mail Fraud. A payment with a MO will have a receipt and it typically sent via the USPS. If you in fact did not receive the "goods" which were paid for using the USPS (especially if the MO was one from the PO as well,) then the Postal Inspectors can be brought into it vial your local office.

The level of potential frauds in the herp industry seem to be rising in relation to the increase in interest and money involved. The FBI's division (somebody please help with the name and URL) which is devoted to pursuing internet scams/frauds is another indicator of the activity not just in the reptile industry but the intire sale/purchase of goods using the internet.

If the MO was through another company, most of those also have fraud complaint divisions with their own inspectors. Either way, it will be in your best interest to request a copy of the cashed MO from the company to show that payment was received. The seller's responsibility at that point will be to show that the "goods" purchased were shipped to you, which in this case sounds like won't be possible.

It may take a while to get all of your "ducks in a row," but it will be necessary in order to completely substantiate your total claim. In a round-a-bout way, that is all that others on here are trying to get you to do on this forum. The more "evidence" you can present, the better your case...not just here, but for any party that ultimately is involved. Hope you understand as I'm not trying to belittle you in this matter. Just want all parties to have all the facts laid bare for all to see.

David
 
Jeff makes a good point. If you are going to post e-mails you should post a screen shot of them. It's the best way to show them as they were originally received. Retyiping everything is no good as one can leave things out "unwillingly". Hopefully the example below will show up.

Kindly.
 

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Ok thanks I forgot about screen shoots. Also I didn't retype the emails i just copied and pasted. Would it cost me anything to get my money back? Like any settlement fees or anything?

I'm going to get a screen shot asap of some of the emails. I don't have the time right now so I'll do it Monday.
 
I just was sent a message about this. If anyone has any problems with my sales they are welcome to ask, I have many references and have never had a problem except for one kid. I had a beardie on reptibid and the highest bidder sent the money very late. By the time I got it it was snowing and I asked them to wait until the snow cleared for shipping. No response. I gave them my phone, they had my address and e-mail, no response for a month almost. Then the father of this kid calls me saying he is not allowed to have the dragon and they want a refund. At the same time I get an e-mail from antoher person about the fact that a father son team are requesting multiple refunds for things on reptibid. I decided to send a check so it is easily tracked, which I did send a long time ago with all my info requesting a response. They got it, it was signed for. They have yet to cash it, but it is still good. If they have any problems they should contact me like I asked, but they never said a thing since they signed for the check. I will not pay extra to have the first check cancelled and then send them a new one, so what I suggest is that they cash the check I sent since they didnt want the dragon anymore.
If anyone has any questions or problems feel free to contact me anytime star_reptiles @yahoo.com I am more than willing to discuss any problems with them. This problem with the child was solved long ago and it has been the only complaint I have ever had, it is my fualt for not carefully screening my clients to make sure they are adults but I have learned and am careful now.
Sarah Hetland
 
Someone I have been talking to also told me I should scan the photo copy of the refund check I sent, I currently do not have a computer, mine is down, I check my e-mail occasionally at the local library but have limited time on it. This child caused a lot of headaches for me with saying he wanted the dragon, no he didint, yes he did. I did not know it was a child either. When he FINALLY sent the MO it had begun snowing and he was mad when I said I wanted to wait a week for the snow to stop. I also asked for his address since he had someone else ship the MO to me. I never heard back from him. He never returned my e-mails and when someone finally called they cussed at me and asked for the money back. I told them I would wait 45 days before doing anything so if the kid wanted his dragon and his father would let him I would send it if not, I would send a refund. NO RESPONSE, so a check was sent for the full price paid $135, it was sent USPS with a tracking number and it was recieved. They have yet to cash it though because it has not gone through my bank. THis all happened long ago and I have deleted everything I had because my inbox was full, all I saved was the photo copy of the refund check. I will try to find a way to scan it or if anyone is really interested I can snail mail them a copy of it as well. I dont know what the kids problem is but it would be nice if he would have let me known their was a problem, my e-mail and phone is clearly avavilable all over the internet. I sell mainly locally but occasionally I sell on reptibid, feel free to check out my feedback, it is rather positive. My name on there is gemisnake so you can look it up. The only thing I can think of is that I did not send the buyer MARK, the check because I dont have his address, I sent it to a MR PAUL LEGEN. If he has your money then you need to get it from him, otherwise just cash the check already, it has been months since this was settled. And since I do not do any business yet at Fauna (I was not too familiar with the website at all yet) I would have never known this post existed if not for a few people letting me know. Thanks, and sorry this is such a long post. Mark, if you have any further problems why dont you e-mail me or call me instead of ignoring my e-mails to you and then bad mouthing me on a site I dont even sell on? I am more than willing to try and solve any problems but I dont know what else to do for you, you wasted a lot of my time having me wait for your replys that never came on this animal, we both came out at zero, you with no dragon, but your money back. And me with no money for the dragon from you. Noone really lost, noone won. AND BEWARE TO ALL SELLERS: My mistake was to sell to this person without talking to them on the phone. I would have made sure the parents were ok with the sale if I had known he was a minor child. I started in reptiles a long time ago when I was a minor and many of them are serious so dont take offense to this but I urge all sellers to only sell to adults or make sure to talk to the parents just to save yourselves the problems.
Like I said my comp is down so if anyone wants a snail mail copy of the check just let me know until I find someone with a scanner and any problems, questions or concerns feel free to e-mail or for a faster response until the comp is fixed call 9 am- 9 pm CST
(815)787-4572. Thanks for your time.
 
Paul,

I see that you chose not to fill in your birthdate on your personal information. For the record, just how old are you? And don't lie!
 
"Oh what a tangled web one weaves, when one attempts to wrongfully deceive!"

Attention: Paul, Mark, Texas_beardie, godsmack000 or whatever name you've currently chosen to adopt

I suggest you ask Daddy to cash the check sent to you by gemisnake aka Star Reptiles, make your apology to Ms. Hetland, and ask that this falsely reported thread be rectified by it's removal or by a clearly defined change to a "Good guy" post as it should have been from the beginning. It's encouraging to have young men and women interested in herpetoculture, as my own youngsters are, but when it comes to making purchases or corresponding with business owners, leave the responsibility of conducting such business in the hands of the adults! If "Dad" or "older brother" are part of the problem, seek some help from another caring family member. No one is attempting to discourage you from the world of herps and the enjoyment that accompanies, but you can cause irreparable damage to innocent business people with the uttering of "bad guy" or "rip off" when it's a false & erroneous allegation! You can still save face by taking the appropriate steps to show yourself as an upstanding young man with strong character...the choice is yours! ;)
 
STAR REPTILES: SARAH HETLAND

1st We have never recieved any refund from the beardie we had ordered from you back onn Jan. 20, 04. We have never signed for a check from USPS. I think that you are making up another story about this bad deal you made with my sons. We have been breeding and selling reptiles and birds for over 20 years. 2nd We have the reciepts and orginal emails that you have sent to us about you being snowed in. I think that since you don't even have a computer that works or even a camera to email us pictures of the beardy we trusted you and we tried to clear this matter up. I think you are truly a scam artist. You really should be ashamed of yourself for ripping off children. We have never said any bad words to you anytime we contacted you about this matter. 3rd You need to prove to us that we recieved a check from you. We have necer seen any check to solve this matter. The orginal price for the beardy we ordered from youwas $125, get you story straight Sarah. What you do to others will come back on you Sarah. If you really want settle this then cancel the check you sent to us and send another one for the correct amount of $125 or prove we have your check you say we signed for it through USPS, which means you have a copyof signature and you know where you sent it to. I am the Father you can make it out to me Mark Leger or Paul Leger, you know our correct names because you have your money and we have no beardy. We have proof you cashed our MO. Small Claims Court will cost me about $50, so we will still get $75 back!!!, or you can be a lady of you word and mail us our $125 back, and you will never hear from us again. You're not much of a business person if you have to go to the library to use a computer, this is a sad situation when people have to rip people off on the internet. Good luck to you in future sales. My home number is 903-849-3340. You have 15 days to send back my sons money or I will File Small Claims on you. Date 4-21-04.

Mark Leger
 
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