hi all,
i would like your advice more to settle a disagreement between myself and OH
I have taken a £50 deposit on all of my pups from their prospective owners, yesterday i recieved a call from one of my buyers saying he had changed his mind about the pup as he has been told this week he is being made redundant from his job and asked for his deposit back. Im not sure i fully believe his story as when he phoned me he got my name wrong and called me by the name of a breeder we know who currently has a litter of the same breed yet alot cheaper  ( i will say no more ), So out of good will and giving him the benefit of the doubt i returned his deposit to him this morning, but my OH says i was wrong to do so as we have explained to all of our buyers that the deposit is non refundable other than in exceptional circumstances i.e if their is something wrong with the pup or if god forbids the puppy should get ill and die etc as we understand sometimes force of nature causes these things to happen and cant be helped and its no fault of the person who is expecting a happy healthy puppy.
should i have stuck to my guns and not returned the deposit or did i do the right thing ?

If you had kept the deposit he might well have decided to take the pup anyway so it would really boil down to whether you thought his desire for a bargain would have made him an unsuitable home for your pup in other ways.  Not necessary of course but you are the one who vetted him so will perhaps have a clearer view whether that was likely to be the case.

I think that you should have stuck to your guns.  Especially with the extra bit that you said!  Though I don't take deposits as I couldn't be bothered with this kind of hassle.  It's hard enough as it is finding the right people for your pups.

Thats a very good point Isobel. When I take a deposit, I give a receipt that states, should the puppy die or suffer illness or injury such that the purchaser no longer wishes to proceed, then I will give a refund. If the purchaser changes their mind, or their circumstances change, provided they let me know no later than seven days before the puppy is due to be collected, I will give a refund but I reserve the right to deduct £25 if I have to re-advertise the puppy. If they don't let me know before the seven day deadline, then I reserve the right to keep the deposit. By reserving the right, you are able to adjust your policy to suit the circumstances.

I like that.  I gives a bit of flexibility while retaining the point of a deposit in the first place.