Victim Location 20710
Total money lost $800
Type of a scam Online Purchase
I went online (http://dogs.oodle.com/yorkshire_terrier/baltimore-area/) to find a Yorkie puppy for my son. I came across a listing in Baltimore, MD for a male puppy for $500. I immediately contacted the seller who then sent me an email stating that they moved to Georgia and the puppy would have to be sent through a courier. The seller then "registers the dog" at a company called US-Shipping International and a representative by the name of Anthony (240-560-2376) called me to schedule the payment arrangements. He told me to send the fee of $500 through Money Gram to a man named Oren Lesley (located in TX) which I did on the evening of 04/26. I then get a phone call from Anthony stating that due to poor weather conditions in Georgia, I would need to send more money for a special crate to have the dog properly shipped via plane. He sends me an email and the prices ranged from $480 to $870 for a small crate which in my opinion, is ridiculous. I contacted the seller about this issue and they offered to pay $200 if I could come up with $280 to pay for the smallest crate. Sadly, I agreed to this and sent an additional $280 via Money Gram to Oren Lesley again on the morning on 04/27. About an hour later I received a phone call from Anthony stating that now the dog doesn’t have proper insurance to fly which would cost me an additional $300. At that point, I became irate and demanded a refund. Of course, the seller began putting pressure on me to pay for the insurance and the representative was very rude to me. I have reported this issue with Money Gram and also seller through the initiate site where I located the ad (http://dogs.oodle.com/yorkshire_terrier/baltimore-area/) but have been unable to request a refund due to the lack of credibility for this company.