Puppy Deposit Refund Refused

[llroberts]

I recent answered an ad on a site called mlive.com in which a breeder was advertising german shepherd puppies for sale for $450.00. They would be ready March 6th. It said they are taking deposits which when I called they said $150.00. So I came over picked one and gave them $160.00. The person there and myself signed a paper that says the following....

"I recieved a deposit of $160.00 for a male AKC registered puppy. A balance of $290.00 is due when the puppy is picked up on March 6, 2010. Puppy comes with first shots.".

This was around 4:00pm. That night I went home and to my suprise my mother in law had come back from a business trip out of state and purchased a puppy for me. Being the fact that it was late I waited and made a phone call to the breeder in the morning at around 9:30am. They refused to refund any part of my deposit. They claimed that the ad said non-refundable which I clearly pointed out that this was not true. I figured they would try to update it so I took screen shots of all their ads where none of them mention any non-refundable deposit. They only say we are taking deposits. Now today they updated their ads to say they are non-refundable.

So no place in the contract does it say non-refundable and I have the ads that I answered that say nothing on non-refundable.

Do I have a case for small claims?

Thank you.

 

[FlaRiptide]

Suing for such a small amount is not equitable. The filing fee alone in my area is $90. Even if you win, you are not guaranteed payment. It would be totally up to you to collect on the judgement.

My advise would be to do your best to mediate with the breeder. Should the breeder be able to sell the entire litter including the one you picked out, he or she should then have no problem with refunding your deposit. You might even wish to offer $25 - $35 for additional advertising expenses.

If this doesn't work, then consider finding a buyer for the 2nd puppy yourself. (Providing you can part with either after bringing them home!).

I was hoping to offer some other advise, but unfortunately Michigan is one of the 31 states that do not have laws protecting consumers when purchasing pets.

 

[mightymoose]

Do your part to find another interested buyer to take the puppy instead of you. Once a new buyer is found then the breeder is not out anything and can refund your deposit. The breeder also has a responsibility to try to sell the dog, and if the dog does sell, should refund your money.
You have a reasonable argument to make in court and probably a good chance of winning, but as said, the court costs and difficulties of collecting make suing impractical.