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Steve Vigo, Chameleons By Design, Caution

[QUOTEddejesus]Well, no response. So I decided to take the initiative and send the sick chameleon out to him using the return address on the original packaging the chameleon was shipped in. I e-mail him on the 1st to let him know I am shipping the chameleon back. I also leave messages on his phone on the 2nd and 3rd . I then sent him an email on the 3rd with tracking information (tracking #: 1Z950X310151648354). Still no response. I filed a paypal dispute on the 4th of January and FINALLY he responds and says he never received the sick chameleon. I shipped it to the return address on the package he sent the chameleon in the first place since he would not answer my e-mails/phone calls. Well I did some web searches on the address I mailed the package to and apparently it is to a shipping company that is called “US Pak N Ship” and is in conjunction with Fed Ex and UPS. He used this address for his return mail on his original packaging, therefore I believe he either has a personal mailbox there or knows someone who works there.[/QUOTE]

OK, I am in NO WAY WHATSOEVER defending anything Steve has done.....but I also find it unbelievable that you would send out this sick animal to a random shipping company address, without any clue whether or not anyone would even be able to pick it up. From what I can gather, US Pak N Ship is like many mailing companies, I can walk in off from the street and have them ship something for me, and the return address will be theirs. It doesn't mean I have an an account with them, or a friend that works there.....or that they would even have any way to contact me to let me know that the package is there.

I understand your frustration and desire to resolve this, but in IMHO, shipping the poor cham out like that was NOT the best answer, especially when you stated yourself that the cham wasn't "stable enough to be reshipped" to begin with.

Let's just hope this guy truly is out of the business, and no one else will be put into this position.
 
Why I shipped

I had the chameleon for almost a month. I did NOT pay for a sick chameleon and therefore the responsibility to care for this sick animal was not mine to begin with. However, I did try to do the "RIGHT" thing and take care of it (i.e. took it to the vet, purchased & administered meds, provided suitable environment, etc.). Steve did not respond or make any effort to compensate for my bills or care I was giving this cham. My next option was to force a chargeback through my credit card company and file a dispute with paypal, which REQUIRED the item to be RETURNED. The cham never progressed and worsened with every day. After not receiving an answer from Steve I decided to send it back to the address it was shipped from, an address it would have gone back to anyways if there were any issues/problems with shipping. As I stated, I did not purchase a sick chameleon and certainly did not volunteer myself to care for a sick chameleon. Take it however you want, this chameleon needed attention from an EXPERIENCED herp/cham keeper/breeder and this was my first chameleon/herp. It was the only way I could assure I received my hard earned money that I paid for a healthy chameleon.

Damian
 
ddejesus said:
So I decided to take the initiative and send the sick chameleon out to him using the return address on the original packaging the chameleon was shipped in. I e-mail him on the 1st to let him know I am shipping the chameleon back. I also leave messages on his phone on the 2nd and 3rd . I then sent him an email on the 3rd with tracking information (tracking #: 1Z950X310151648354). Still no response. I filed a paypal dispute on the 4th of January and FINALLY he responds and says he never received the sick chameleon.
Click to expand...

Let's not forget the above part. It seems to me that Damian did everything he possibly could to inform Steve that the animal was being returned for obvious reasons, since Steve was obviously not going to issue the refund or replacement he had promised. Was Steve not checking his voicemails and emails until the very moment the Paypal chargeback went through? If there wasn't a pattern already established of sherking responsibility (and yes, I know of a number of other people who've received the similar treatment from Steve) I could give him the benefit of the doubt. Steve knew the animal was coming. Steve knew where it was being sent returned to. Steve denied knowing the address of the US Pack and Ship and the person who signed for the delivery, even though that very same Pack and Ship employee said she knows Steve and that he comes in to ship all the time.

Sorry for hijacking your story Damian, but it has been very clear to me from our discussions what Steve was doing the entire time.
 
As I said, I do understand Damian's frustration and desire to get the whole mess over with.
I just wouldn't have handled it that way, as I tend to be the sort of person who looks at the life of the animal as meaning more than the money, and chalk it up to an expensive lesson learned....especially knowing how neglectful Steve seems to be, and the likelihood that he would not pick it up right away, I couldn't purposely send an animal to what I was fully aware was probably his unpleasant doom. But that's just me.

Also as I said, I truly hope the guy is out of the business now so that no one else is forced to have to make that choice.
 
Perhaps a misunderstanding? My understanding was that Damian believed the address he was returning the animal to was Steve's home, office, etc. Not that it was a US Pack and Ship. He had to do a search on the address, after it had been shipped, to find out that it was the Pack and Ship Steve apparently was frequently using but professed to not know.
 
I live in Kansas and purchased what I thought was to be a beautiful bright chameleon from Steve Vigo and when he arrived he was a bit stressed and did not have much color. Being new to the Chameleon I was unsure, but I gave it a good 3 weeks for color to appear and have had him now almost 2 months and does not look even remotely close to the picture I received from Steve. I had been in contact with Steve to try to resolve what I believe was getting a turquoise veiled and he has since ceased contact.
In a nutshell, I was taken by Steve Vigo and I too will take legal action against him and pursue it relentlessly until he wants to be a reputable breeder and stand up and resolve this problem. I have the email he sent stating the chameleon I was to get was the one pictured and I was not born yesterday, he is a breeder I would never again buy from, nor recommend. Being taken like this is sad to the chameleon world and misleading when you are only in it for a dime. Steve if you read this, do know, I have posted this, since you will not return my phone calls nor emails and are avoiding the truth, and I do hope others will not consider buying from you as you are not to be a trustworthy breeder!
 
Wow-I don't think anyone knew he was still in business. Where did you see him advertising or how did you end up buying from him?
 
Steve Vigo

He poses under the breeder "Chameleons by Design" and is the worst possible breeder. The shipper was a Karin Lieber out of Tamarac, FL.

He can run but he cannot hide, I will seek him out and relentlessly do all I can to make certain he cannot sell to anyone in the state of Kansas again.
 
Susan, since this is an old thread and since most of us (interested in the cham side of the industry, anyway) thought this guy was long gone, please give us more detail about your experience.

When did your transaction take place? Was it recent?
 
And just for clarification, Susan ... Steve Vigo was the seller and Karin Leiber was the shipper?

Do you have any emails or street addresses/phone #'s of either of them?

I see that Karin Leiber is currently advertising chams at KS (only as "Leiber" with no location).
I'm just trying to figure out the possible connection, if any.
 
i was about to buy a cham from theveiledchameleon.com and the person i was talking to was...Karin Lieber!!

is this person in anyway associated in sending sick chams or unhealthy chams??
 
Karin Lieber

I would be one to guess most definitely. She is the one that shipped mine to me and without question she is working with Steve Vigo.

DO NOT BUY FROM HER OR STEVE VIGO. They are working together to rip people off!
 
Steve Vigo of The Chameleon Company

Hello,
I too have been recently scammed by Steve Vigo. I ordered 5 farmed savannah monitors that were supposed to be 8-10 inches. I was very concerned about receiving the shipment because it was around 40 degrees. Steve told me that he was qualified to ship in the cold and to not worry. I was dumb and listened to him. When I received the animals, there was absolutely no heating in the box and they were freezing. This wasn't the first thing I noticed. After opening the pillowcase I came to see massive animals. After measuring, these animals measured 14, 17, 17.5, 18 and 18 inches. They were massive. After further inspection, one of the savannahs had a crushed hand with many broken fingers. Another had a broken hand and was having alot of trouble walking. Each one of the animals was infested with ticks as well.

Steve was very responsive when receiving the money, but every time I tried to contact him after I showed my anger, I was told that he was not in the office or that he was "sick". I am still trying to contact the man, but just like many other people on this thread, it looks like he robbed me as well. PLEASE DON'T BUY FROM THIS MAN, HE IS NOTHING BUT A SCAMMER.
 
Can anyone of help me verify the current address for Steve Vigo is 4562 NW 58th Court Tamarac, Florida 33319. IF you know of a different address post it here, or pm me asap. Thanks in advance. Randall
 
Chameleon Company said:
There is no pleasure in posting a negative thread about another vendor in the business.

I shipped Steve a group of chameleons on Feb 19th, 2008. The total cost to him was $1780, of which he paid $1000 prior to shipping, and had committed to pay the balance, $780, on or about Feb 22nd. Steve communicated that he was very pleased with the animals, and I can honestly say that he got a good deal. I had dealt with Steve several times prior, but always at lesser volumes.

He missed that scheduled payment date, and has also missed three since. On each occasion, he set the date to expect payment. On each occasion, no payment materialized, and neither did any pro-active contact from Steve. On each occasion, after letting several days to a week pass, I would email Steve, and most times no reply was received. When I was able to get his attention, he would commit to a new payment date, at his choosing. No payment resulted. No communication as to the missed expectation.

He is in Florida as am I. He knows that I will pursue legal action. No one wants that. He was also warned 10 days ago that I would pursue notice in forums such as this. I was mum to someone's inquiries here over a week ago about Steve. We all run into difficulties, some more than others. What I cannot give respect to is being fed BS, and then the silence. I have explained this to Steve. I expect a commitment from him that he can honor. More than that, I expect communication when something goes awry. He will get a link to this as soon as it is posted. I will post relevent communications only if there is a need to further substantiate my claims should a denial occur. In the meantime, buyers and sellers need to exercise a higher level of caution with Steve and Chameleons By Design. This thread will get its bumps, and should a resolution occur, not words, I will post such.
Click to expand...

Jim what address did you ship to? was it 4562 NW 58th Court Tamarac, FL 33319?
 
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