Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased some snakes last year from the states to be shipped over to the UK, but the seller has now backed out of the deal, and says the snakes are no longer available and he can't afford to give our money back.

There is quite a bit of money involved and I was wondering if anybody could give me any advice for what I can do?

One thing you could try is approaching the US Postal Service. If part of the deal was conducted using the USPS, you may be entitled to pursue this as a form of mail fraud.

Of course, with you as a resident of another country, there may not be any recourse within US laws. You should look at any recourse within UK laws, although the best they could do is possibly prevent the person from conducting business in the UK in the future.

I guess you could sue the person in the court of jurisdiction where they live, but the cost of the litigation and representing yourself or having someone else represent you (even in small claims court) would probably exceed the moneys you could recover. And if they really don't have the money, how do you intend to force them to give it back?

To be honest, I think you got ripped off and you have to write it off to experience.

There is an online board of inquiry site that allows you to post specifics of a case such as this so that others don't fall into the same trap. I can't give the URL here on KS.com because it will get bleeped out, but if you do a google search, you should be able to find it.
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Chris Harrison

Thanks for your help.

I've got reciepts from him stating how much I've given him, and even reciepts from wire transfers I've done into his account. It's just a lot of money to write off. I should have really been more careful in the first place. I'll have a look on other legal site for more info.

I'd suggest saving every bit of information that you can. Save all email correspondence, those receipts, anything and everything no matter how insignificant it might seem. Heck, try to get him to admit to it on paper if you can.

I'd imagine there has to be something you can do from over there. Perhaps call the local police near him? Shrug.

Good luck is all I can really say. Also, if he does get away with it, get back to me (I'm always cruising these forums somewhere). I'll show you some pranks you might try to annoy him so you get SOME satisfaction

I've saved everything from emails to reciepts.

I just hope I can do something to resolve this soon. I'll try calling the police like you suggested.

Thanks for your help.

Sorry for sounding violent or something, i just hate people who do that sort of B-- S---

Thats what I should do but the thing is I can't afford it, and I live in the UK.

I have details of the accounts I transfered money into and some adresses. He claims now that he is bankrupt and can't give a refund, and that he no longer has the snakes. He blames me for this as the export permits took too long.

Aren't there any laws against this from happening?

Do you know a lawyer? I'm asking you that because legal advice can be expensive. Some lawyers in the USA work on a contingency basis. Maybe you can find one there that does.

A lot of this has to do with international law regarding Mail Fraud so you need to get sound advice about what your rights are and what can be inforced. You can also possibly go after him for Internet fraud.

The bad news is that any effort you make to reclaim your money is going to be expensive, prolonged and probably unsuccessful. That is what this kind of con artist counts on.

Sorry to hear you got burned. Lovely world we live in....

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Thanks for your opinion. I'm going to look into legal help.