Hi All
I'm after some advice. I found a breeder through this site and paid quite a hefty deposit back in early February (£500). Sadly the bitch lost her puppies and when I was told in early March I was asked if I wanted to wait for a new litter or get my deposit back. I asked for my deposit back and was informed that it had gone into a deposit account and would take 60 days to return! Fine I thought, 75 days on I am still chasing for my deposit with the breeder bringing up personal issues as reasons why it has not been returned!
Any advice on what I can do? I appreciate people have issues, but 75 days with no return of funds is really not fair!

Oh dear - I do take deposits for my puppies but not until the prospective new owners have been to meet me, mum and the puppies and I am 100% certain they will take on the responsibility seriously.

I can't imagine why anyone would take such a large deposit without the puppies being born.

I would suggest if you don't get a satisfactory response very soon you make contact with Admin

I just assumed that it was normal to pay a deposit before they were born! The majority who I contacted were the same.

Agree, once pups are born, and doing well I ask for deposits of 10% so that I know which of my waiting list are seriously going ahead and can pass surplus enquiries onto fellow breeders, so people have a better chance of getting a pup eventually as numbers in my breed are low.

I would send a letter by recorded delivery asking for return of your funds direct into your account within 7 days, and if not you will be taking legal action to small claims court.

> I just assumed that it was normal to pay a deposit before they were born! The majority who I contacted were the same.

Things can vary by breed, from what you say, small deposits after birth, to never taking deposits. certainly with Gundogs where there may be a preference for not docking or wanting a pups doc ked a larger deposit would seem reasonable.

Certainly most people I know would think it unreasonable to take deposits before a litter is born, it is asking to Jinx things.

The majority of breeders don't take a deposit at all, I never have done and never would. 500 is totally outrageous. You might need to take it to small claims court.

I don't like to take deposits, and only ever do once I've met the prospective owners (no visits until the pups are at least 4 weeks old) and they insist on leaving a deposit (no more than £50-£100) to secure a particular puppy. If either of us change their mind I return the deposit by posting a cheque immediately. I would never make people pay just to be on a waiting list for something that (currently) doesn't exist!

How awful!  Agree with what others have said.  There is no way this is reasonable behaviour from the breeder.

I have never been asked for a deposit until I have visited to meet the puppies - usually when they are about 4 weeks old.  I've never been asked for such a huge deposit.  £100 is the most I have ever paid.

I would give them a short period to return your deposit and make it very clear that if you don't receive it  within the time you specify you will take legal action.  I hope this will make them realise you are serious and that they pay up.

Good luck.

For the most part, I didn't ever take deposits.  It was too tempting to use the money and not have it to pay back, if that situation arose.   It also meant I had the ability to back out if something didn't seem right with the new home!!

Taking a deposit BEFORE the birth of the litter?    Alarm bells would have been ringing big time, especially given how much!   And yes, I'd think it would jinx my litter too.   I didn't even advertise an expected litter which I see people doing these days too.   I'd take names and contact numbers to call once I had a litter on the ground - and even then not straight away.

I hope you can sort this out but this may end up being a lesson learnt - a very expensive one.

When I bought my Whippet, after 2 previous visits, I gave her a £100 deposit.   She didn't ask for one but it made a kind-of stage payment for the overall cost.

I would certainly question if you are in-fact being told the whole truth. Did you have any proof that the Bitch was in whelp and if so how many pups were expected. It may be that the Breeder pre-sold more than the amount of pups that may or may not have been born. I would certainly look at taking some legal advice or at least say that you feel that you have no choice but to do so and see if that gets any success. They have no right to spend your deposit until everything has been finalized.

Thanks all. I’ve sent a message asking for my deposit by the end of the week or I will be seeking legal advice!

Fingers crossed!

If you still don't get it, call Citizen's Advice - they are very good with free info and advice in situations like this.

Or you can call Trevor Cooper's team at Dog Law but will need to pay something like £50 for a phone consult.

Thank you for all your advice. After threatening with legal action I got my deposit back :)

Great news.

The breeder's behaviour was out of order and s/he apparently knew it by suddenly "finding" and returning your deposit when faced with the prospect of legal action.

Well done for refusing to be taken for a very expensive ride!

Thanks for the update.