Pets Express Shipping

Dawn – Jun 12, 2020

Victim Location 92656

Total money lost $1,495

Type of a scam Online Purchase

I recently thought I was purchasing a puppy to be shipped to me. After being told by the breeder that the puppy had been delivered to the shipping company I began receiving emails from Pet Express Shipping. The cost of shipping the puppy was included in the fee paid to the breeder. The first email that I received from Pet Express Shipping stated that the crate that the breeder had provided for transport was not adequate but they would rent me a crate for the full price of the crate of which 95% would be refunded once the crate was returned. I paid them through Zelle. A few minutes later I received another email stating that I needed to purchase insurance for the puppy to fly. I was told to pay a large amount of money that was 100% refundable was the puppy was deemed safe and in my possession. At that point I started to suspect that something was not right. I contacted the breeder inquiring about why I was not informed of these additional charges prior to the puppy being dropped off for transport. The breeder assured me that the shipping company was legitimate and that they were unaware there would be additional costs. I googled Pet Express Shipping and got an 800 number to contact them. When I contacted them I was told that they only do international pet transportation and that they did not have any scheduled for that day. I emailed “Pet Express Shipping” inquiring about this and asked for the flight information to be able to confirm with the airlines. I received an email back stating that they were a reputable business who had been operating for 15 years and that the puppy would’ve flying on American Airlines. I contacted American Airlines to see if there was anyway to verify that the dog was actually booked on a flight that day. I am sure that the scammers counted on me to give up on getting a response from the airlines but after 2 hours on hold I was able to speak with someone in cargo transportation who was very kind and looked at all the flights leaving from all the airports nearby that were headed toward my home airport. She also informed me that she has never heard of a shipping company not providing flight information when asked. While she was looking at all the flights I emailed the shipping company and told them what the airlines had told me. I got an immediate response saying that they could not book the flight without the insurance papers. When I told the cargo attendant that she said that was absolutely untrue and that I should stop all communication, don’t send anymore money and report this to the BBB. Even after I responded with what I knew I received 2 more emails from the breeder. One asking why I was being so difficult and to just pay for the insurance as the puppy had been sitting at the shipping office all morning and the second one that was sent was telling me that they had “raised $500 and I should just pay the rest”. I responded one last time informing them that I would not be sending anymore money and that I had already contacted my bank to reverse the Zelle payments.

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