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TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE WITH ALLEN BELCHER OF FURS FEATHERS & FINS PET STORE!!!

toddg

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THINK TWICE BEFORE MAKING A PURCHASE FROM THIS SELLER!!!

I recently bought three ball pythons from Allen Belcher of Furs Feathers & Fins pet shop located in Phenix City, AL. His username is simply “Allen” on Reptibid at the time we conducted business. Please note my package arrived on 2/22/05, so this was a recent purchase. He seemed like a trustworthy, responsible fellow, but proved to be FAR from it. I was supposed to receive three 1500g LTC female animals, however, two of them were LESS than 900g and the third was barely 1,100g. Furthermore, he clearly stated all his animals are treated upon arrival for internal and external parasites for six months, however, I found ticks on one of the animals. Also, all three animals act like wild caught specimens by displaying wild caught behavior when approached.

Now, the animals I have will need to be treated for internal and external parasites. Also, one of the animals looks to have a burn mark on the ventral side of the tail. Next, there are a series of wounds that look recent along the spine of the animal. I will have to purchase the correct size food for these animals which will run me about $15.00 per week from a pet store, or I will have to buy a large lot from a frozen supply company and hope they eat. If the reptiles would have been 1500g as discussed I would have frozen food in the appropriate size. Do you want these complications when you buy pythons? Of course not, especially after putting your trust in someone only to have him spit in your face. These animals were not cared for properly, and I am convinced he was fully aware of it.

He seemed willing to work with me up to the last minute when I demanded my $400.00 back. He REFUSED! In addition, he wanted me to pay $95.00 ( non refundable ) to have these animals shipped back to him before he would send a new group. If you have a problem after making a purchase from this person would you want to be responsible for shipping expenses after receiving a group of misrepresented animals? Then risk receiving another group of poorly cared for animals. If these three are poorly cared for then chances are all of his animals are poorly cared for. Hell, even after I agreed to pay the shipping he still REFUSED to refund my money. This guy does not understand customer satisfaction and in my opinion, he will take advantage of a buyer whenever the opportunity arises. He can talk the talk so BE CAREFUL!!! I wrote this to inform others of Mr. Allen Belcher’s business ethics ( or lack thereof ) and help aid individuals in making there own decision. The comments written prior to this are factual and in my opinion this seller is purposefully selling animals in a deceitful manner. Please be careful and recall my misfortune BEFORE you buy something from Mr. Allen Belcher or his pet store, Furs Feathers and Fins. It could save you a lot of time, money, and headaches.

Todd
 
Well, I saw several posts from him on Reptibid. As a result, I contacted him and told him what I had in mind. We worked out a deal over the phone, so there was not a bid on the auction site.
 
Unless you have emails or something similar to prove you didn't get the animals that were described to you, you may be out of luck. I don't think you should be responsible for return shipping on animals that were misrepresented.

I suppose you could charge them back on your credit card, and then I'll bet he's willing to pay the shipping to get them back.
 
Terese,

I am going to suck it up and keep the animals. I could drive to his pet shop one weekend as it is maybe a 5 hour drive. Chances are I will wind up getting arrested as a result - I AM FURIOUS!!! Besides, these animals are lucky to have fallen in my care and not return to this loser who obviously does not care for his animals. Financially, if I can get these back to health they will be worth what I paid by next Fall. Also, they should breed by then, so I simply have to postpone my breeding projects. Two of these females were to by mating with a friends Pastel NOW. So much for that! I wanted others to know this in an attempt to prevent future hardships. Live and Learn.

There are many ball python breeders, so I hope others will take this into consideration before making a purchase from someone like Allen Belcher.
 
LOL! Excellent question! Truth is I do not own a set of probes, but a good friend does. He is coming to the house this weekend and I am praying they are the correct sex. It would not surprise me if they are not. If I have males that trip to Alabama may become a realization. Thank you for showing a concern.

Todd
 
Important questions

What, if any, guarantees did you discuss with him? What about his TOS? Does he have a website and are they stated on the site?
 
Wendy,

Honestly, this was not something mentioned. His website is supposedly under construction, so no help there. I think the TOS is as follows: I will tell you what you want to hear and take your money! My experience with internet buying is the written words mean nothing. Someone with an honest spirit is going to do the right thing no matter the circumstance. My main goal by posting this thread is to save others from the hardship it has caused me.

Take care,
Todd
 
question

You expected those females on Feb. 22, yet they were already supposed to beed with your pastel male by now (if they had been the correct size).

Wow, I think you should think your quarantine procedures through.

Even if they had been the right size, appeared "clean", you just never know what they could have carried, esp. coming from a petstore that carries all kinds of animals and is not specialized in reptiles.

Gosh, even if you got animals FROM a specialized store or even from a good breeder for all that, you should STILL quarantine the animals.

That said, yes you got taken, and I hope the scammer gets what he deserves. To many bad apples in this industry, far to many.
 
More than likely you have newly imported animals. (The tick is proof enough for me) On the wholesale lists the adult BPs are around $20 and if you buy a quantity of them, they're a little less. And more than likely you have males. The place I work at buys a lot of WC adult balls, acclimate them and then sell them. Lately 90% of them we have been getting are males. I'd want my money back if I were you. Those WC animals are not worth $400.
 
Thanks Karen,

If they are males I will be visiting Phenix Alabama in person. He responded to the same post you all have read but on a different site. This is what he had to say:

"SHORT RESPONSE ( YOU CAN PLEASE ALL THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME, SOME OF THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME, BUT NEVER ALL THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME! ) I CAN AND WILL GLADLY PROVIDE A LIST OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE RECENTLY PURCHASED SNAKES FROM ME. I HAVE A BOOTH AT EVERY DIXIE RETILE SHOW IN BIRMINGHAM AL.
I SENT TODD PICTURES AGAINST A TWENTY DOLLAR BILL TO VERIFY SIZE. I HAVE E-MAIL COFORMATION WERE HE SENT ME BACK SAYING HE WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THE SNAKES. I HAVE AND WILL CONTINUE TO LIST MY PHONE NUMBER FOR ANYONE TO CALL WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SNAKES I AM SELLING. THIS IS THE ONLY RESPONSE I WILL GIVE TO THIS MATTER, THE ADD HOWEVER DID NOT SAY 1500 GRAM IT SAID SEVERAL FEMALES 1020 GRAM TO 1560 GRAMS AND TODD ASKED TO BUY THREE FEMALES FOR $400 SHIPPED. SHIPPING WAS $95 NOW WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD SELL THREE 1500 GRAM FEMALES FOR THAT PRICE. THERE IS ALWAYS TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY. FEEL FREE TO CALL 706-615-4772 ALLEN"

And here is my reply:

"Allen,

First, this is the last of my discussion with you as well because I am angry enough with the way you handled this. I do plan to report you to the better business bereau. Second, I will GLADLY send you pics of the three females on the scale. Third, we made an agreement over the PHONE and I did not "bid" on an auction. This was not a purchase from an "ad", rather, I called you and told you exactly what I was looking for. I simply got your contact info from the ad. If I had bid on an actual auction I would be able to leave feedback. Third, I can not tell the weight of an animal from a picture. The only thing I can do is put my TRUST in the seller. Anyone who deals in BPs or breeds them can EASILY tell these are not 1500g animals once viewed in person. Fourth, one can buy wild caught specimens in lots of 100 or more for very little cash per animal. It is not uncommon to find adult WC BPs for less than $100. You agreed to send me three animals at a minimum of 1500g and you admitted all animals were raised since hatchlings and treated for parasites. YOU LIED!!! During our conversion I specifically told you all I have is $400, and if that is not enough for three then I will purchase two animals at your price of $125 each plus actual shipping. YOU agreed to three for $400 as I gave you a choice. YOU SCREWED ME OVER AND ARE NOT TRUSTWORTHY!!!! A respectable company will bend over backwards to satisfy the customer. All I wanted was my money back, and I was willing to ship the snakes back to you. You made money off this deal, so please do not insult me by making it look otherwise. Ya know, you were willing to refund my money initially, so why did you change your mind? Maybe because you had no intention of doing so. You had a chance to correct the problem but decided to take advantage of me instead. Why anyone would want to do business with someone like you is beyond me. Rot in Hell."

Todd
 
Well, my initial fears were well expressed above...that they were likely imports, and that you had been had...unless they are very, very unusual specimens, 400.00 is a little (ok, a lot) excessive.
But, Todd, you may be going a little off the deep end with the threatening tone of your text...this seems like a situation that could have been easily solved without resorting to such antics.
Hope it works out well for you in the end, and you get some great babies to market next year !
greg
 
It looks as if he is already trying to spend your money. He has contacted us numerous times attempting to make a morph purchase and we have exercised our "We reserve the right to refuse sale to anyone" clause and linked our response here.

In fact we simply ignored him at first and he seemed to get a bit frustrated, we finally emailed him, told him we did not wish to sell anything to him, and linked him to this thread. Since then we received three emails, two trying to change our minds and a third with a quoted response from someone else’s emails it seems.

Either way, something just does not seem right with this individual. Buyer\Seller beware.
 
2/9/05

please call me Allen Belcher @ 706-615-4772 I am very interested in some of your snakes!

2/11/05

I have been trying to reach someone all week please call me about purchasing some of your snakes. 706-615-4772 Allen Belcher Thanks


2/28/05

please call me! I have emailed you regularly with no response. I have the money and want to do business with you . please call me Allen Belcher@ 706-615-4772

At this point we emailed him and stated we refused to do business with him when it was quite apparent he owed someone money and we reserved the right to refuse business to anyone we see fit. We also linked him here to this thread. He then responded.......

2/28/05

please tell me what this is about Who do I owe money to?

2/28/05

I have purchased several snakes recently from people such as rich macias and even some of your own line from a vince santonastaso. I ask you to verify these and please rethink your position with me.



We then emailed him stating we would always verify our specimens but still refused to sell to him at this time. This time he responds with an attached email, not very sure who it was originally directed too.

2/28/05

This guy bought three snakes from me last week. The day I sent them he called and wanted to cancel his order, but it was to late they had already been shipped. Upon receiving the snakes he sent me an email saying that he loved the snakes. Then two days later called me wanting his money back. He also wanted me to send him $95 extra so he could send the snakes back. I was trying to come up with some kind of solution to this problem, but the more I talked to this guy the more he cursed me and told me all of his problems. It got to the point that I realized that the problem was not the snakes but that the problem was money. He spent money that he did not need to spend. Your snake is in great health fed Saturday and you will be very pleased with her. Thanks Allen
 
Chris,

Thanks for the update. This guy is lying big time. It amazes me how people like this can believe there own lies. My problems derived from his lack of competancy. I wanted my money back because he charged me $400 for three wild caught specimens that were nearly half my requested weight with parasites. The order was supposed to be for three 1500g minimum, LTC, raised since hatchlings, and treated for internal and external parasites. Who wouldn't want their money back? I would not be surprised in the least if some or all the animals prove to be males. BTW, I specifically told Allen I could spend no more than $400, so I do not NEED the money. I wanted what I paid for and he refused. Please, those reading think twice before purchasing from Allen Belcher.

Thanks again for the update Chris. After dealing with this fool and reading stories of how others have been burned, I see why you run such a tight ship. Keep up the good work! This site is invaluable.

Todd
 
This is why I will never, ever, EVER make a deal verbally with someone I don't know well. Too difficult to back up your claim if something goes wrong. It doesn't even have to be a "bad guy" so to speak, because even the best of people miscommunicate every day.

Sorry you had such an expensive lesson. :( I hope they turn out to be female at least. Good luck!
 
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