i am in the middle of a nightmare! my pups are now 5 weeks old and i took deposits when they were born. i know most people on here dont approve and will say its my own fault but i didnt want time wasters.
two of the buyers visited for the first time yesterday.
one had a four year old child, they were very nice but as soon as i saw the child with pups i knew he was too young! i have since emailed them and offered them a refund asking them to think carefully if they can cope or not with young child/puppy. they havent replied yet.

the other couple came and i was a bit apprehensive because previously  when i explained about my puppy contract and the endorsements the woman got  a bit panicky and i offered her a refund then and there. then she thought about it and agreed my contract wasnt so bad so would come and view anyway. so they arrived and i didnt like them! she was a bit stuck up and had never had a dog before and he was just a bit bonkers. i cant explain why but he was and i didnt like either of them. they are returning tomorrow with their 8 year old son to view the pup.
HELP ME!!! is there anyway out of this situation??

I really don't know what to suggest other than return the deposits and hope for the best
As you say in your post you know people are going to say this :) but taking deposits without first vetting people is insane and not fair to them either, quite frankly, you don't want time wasters but you have been happy to waste their time and perhaps let other litters go that would have accepted them :rolleyes:  The only decent thing is to tell them as soon as possible and set them free in the hope that they appreciate hearing sooner rather than later, I certainly would not let it get so far as letting the son come and see the puppies.

I think you have to bite the bullet and admit to the prospective buyers that you're not prepared to let them have a puppy and have a cash refund immediately available to them.  I'd certainly put off them visiting tomorrow with their child - that, in my view, would be compounding the mistakes already made.

Hopefully you've learned from this error and wont go on to make it again.  Whether or not anyone is for or against deposits per se is immaterial - IMO it is how well a home should be vetted before agreeing to them having or not having a puppy that is of the utmost importance.

Thankfully the UK is not (yet) as litigious a society as some others so beyond annoying and disappointing these prospective owners hopefully no further damage will result.

Good luck, Teri

you seem to realise your error (albeit a bit late) which is a good thing & hopefuly it wonthappen next time. You could always be a bit "naughty" & tell them that the pup they were due to have isnt quite right so you are going to keep ityourself, & give them complete refund.

hi there, i too take deposits for the reason on not wanting timwasters, this situation you describe i have only been in once, i wasn't sure about a lady buyeer, but when she came she was lovely and has given the pu a great home. on the other side of the coin, i have had two things with deposits: one sent despoit, fine, then sent on balanc so chq would clear b4 he picked up puppy, he emailed to say they had to cancl due to personal reasons, and stopped their balance chq, but understood they wouldnt get deposit back, i could have sold that pup 3 x over and he is older now so wont b as easy to sell, a couple th other nite came, saw a left a deposit, rang next morning to say they'd thought about it and the male grown up result would b too big for them and changed their mind, looking for a bitch pup instead, both these instances in my mind show why you SHOULD take deposits to avoid timewasters and secure good homes for our babies.

I'd much rather have time wasters than the wrong homes.

I couldn't agree more.

My sentiments entirely!
I'd rather that the prospectives changed their minds (or I changed my mind about them) than they took a puppy for the sake of a few pounds.  A good home is priceless!

I remember having many telephone conversations with a man who was desperate to send me a deposit before even seeing Mum or the pups, which I refused.  When they came to visit, he was lovely, but his wife didn't want to touch the dogs and picked every hair from her clothes!  I politely told them that they weren't right for one of my pups - and was happy that I hadn't taken a deposit, but felt so sorry for the lovely man.  But he'd made his choice of a wife! ;)

I take deposits, but, only when the prospective new owners come and visit the litter, If they have any children (Ihave already explained I dont sell to anyone with children under 5), I watch how they react with the older dogs first, if they make a fuss of them, thats good, but if they push them away and start brushing their clothes then its probably not a good home, its hard to explain on the computer, but watch their body lanuage with the dogs and then with the pups and even if the children are over 5 watch how they handle the pups after you have shown them how to hold a young pup.  If they dont have too far to travel I offer to let them come every week once they have picked the pup so they can bond with it and get to know me and I get to know them as well. I endorse as well.

I only take deposits after I have viewed them and they have viewed the litter.  It isn't likely that I will get it wrong as I have been in contact with some buyers for over 12 months but it could  just be that a child or new boyfriend/girlfriend doesn't fit the bill and you can usually spot it when they come to view.  Always ask them to bring the other family members and make a day of it then you can get a real feel for them.

I used to take deposits until I was told by a solicitor that it was a binding contract ie the people could back out but not me as I had accepted the money. Be aware that they could take you to court and insist that you let them have the pup.Best to play safe and see the people first and get to know them and then have payment for the pup when they are old enough to go.
Fair enough you may lose a sale, better that than ending up in court and a pup going to an unsuitable home!!

Janet Taylor is perfectly correct. A contract is an offer and an acceptance. You offer them a puppy, they accept. They offer you a deposit, you accept. So you have actually made 2 contracts. The only time a contract has to be in writing to make it legally binding is when buying a property. I always meet people before I decide if they can have one of my puppies. If possible, I also do a home visit. I would be terrified that people would end up having a puppy they didn't really want just because they don't want to lose their deposit and possibly try to sell it on. If they offer me a deposit, I always give them a reciept which states that the deposit doesn't guarantee them a puppy, and will be returned if I am unable to fulfil my obligation. If they question this I tell them that I like to cover myself in case anything were to happen to their puppy, (let's face it, if somebody is giving you a deposit when a puppy is a week or two old, the puppy could die).

did i speak out of turn here - seem to have taken a bashing for my input!!!
my priority is has been and always will be the puppys welbeing. my deposits also state that deposits not returnable unless i cant provide pup, and i have lots of contact with prospective owners first, one couple spent an hour one evening here, i suggested they went away as i wasnt sure they were right for a dog of my breed, which they did and decided against it, if they had of come back wanting one,  i would have declined for the reason above. just thought i'd put things straight, and was only offering my experiences as i thought was the whole idea:rolleyes:

>i wasn't sure about a lady buyeer, but when she came she was lovely and has given the pu a great home. on the other side of the coin,
>one sent despoit, fine, then sent on balanc so chq would clear b4 he picked up puppy, he emailed to say they had to cancl due to personal reasons, and stopped their balance chq,

Sorry, but that really sounded like you had not met them prior to accepting the deposits you were not sure of the first one even, presumably following phone conversations.

Sorry to nit pick :-)

I just hate the thought of someone reading something on line and thinking it is 100% correct and acting based on this information.

Janet and Saxons comments are neither 100% ..

Janet wrote:

used to take deposits until I was told by a solicitor that it was a binding contract ie the people could back out but not me as I had accepted the money.

If a solicitor told you this , you either misunderstood or he was having a bad day :-) A contract is an agreement between 2 parties. Neither can back out unless they have reasonable cause. This means both have entered and both can back out if reasonable cause is found. 

Reasonable cause can be deemed as many things. Misinterpretation would be a useful reasonable cause to back out of a puppy sale.

Saxon wrote :

Janet Taylor is perfectly correct. A contract is an offer and an acceptance. You offer them a puppy, they accept. They offer you a deposit, you accept. So you have actually made 2 contracts.

You right about a contract being based on offer and acceptance BUT your comments are incorrect about the offer of a puppy or their acceptance. That is back to front. You don't make 2 contracts either. There is only 1 contract taking place.

In correct mercantile terms.  A breeder or anyone selling something lets the item/puppy be viewed this is called " Invitation to treat" , the potential buyer then makes "the offer",  the "Acceptance" is then declined or made only by the seller.

As I say sorry to nit pick.  Anyone in any doubt should, if confident in themselves, read in detail how and when a contract is made till the fully understand it or take legal advice.

So would you say if a breeder took a deposit, but later found the owner unsuitable, or even the pup unsuitable for them and refunded the deposit, then they would not be in any bother?

I have only ever done this once, the owners would have been lovely, but I just felt that they would have been biting off more than they could chew with two youngsters less than a year apart with the level of inexperience I became aware of, over the time I had contact with them.

As I couched it in terms that showed I was thinking of their wellbeing as well as the pups they were not too upset.

THi Brainless , sorry for lateness in reply.

There shouldn't be any bother if there was a genuine reason. ME! I would always go down the misrepresentation route if I had to.  Most of these woudl rarely go to court, perhaps a really expensive show dog or something that couldn't really be replaced but for everyday puppy sales they are not likely.  

Although in life I think I am quite legally careful, if I had the slightest doubt ever I would go with my guts and withold any puppy. I would take my chance in the legal system.

Me too

I have a litter that was booked ,people had visited the pups at 5 weeks I did not take a deposit, all of the prospective owners seemed really nIce some having travelled 4 hours to view pups, then two cancellations the night before collection, one person left a message on the anwsering machine, the other just did not turn up and phone line is dead. In future I would take deposits as I now have two 8 week old pups that I could have sold three times over who need to be in their new homes...

You have reserected an old post BUT if you had all the enquiries I am sure another 2 will come along in a few days. I wouldn't be panicking.. ;-)

maybe you could ring back some of the other people, see if they are still interested and explain you have been let down?

Please don't resurrect old threads. If you have a question, please start another thread

Thanks