Pets4homes - yay or nay

[SurreyisSunny]

What are your experiences of pets4homes. I’m looking for a miniature poodle and lots are advertised on there. Some seem legit with kennel names I can research. I’m only interested in KC registered. But equally it’s likely some are puppy farmed (albeit seems less possible with poodles as it seems the cross breeds such as cavapoos that are badly farmed)

My preference is a litter though Champdogs but there aren’t many!

I got both my SBTs from there BUT both were registered with UKKC and parents health tested. You can generally tell a good breeder on there because they tend to do a comprehensive write up including what health checks the parents had and whether the pups will be hereditary clear.

Like the small ads in the local paper , do due diligence. Any uneasiness, say no. It's buyer beware. My spaniel was from an advert on the site but that was ten years ago. My recent puppy was from a breeder on Champdogs.

dont use pets4homes unless you accept that nothing said in listings can be relied on and nothing will be done if flag up a scam with concrete evidence. My puppy with “vaccinations up to date” is unvaccinated. Unbelievable reckless breeder Atlanta Wilshire, but she’s an ex hero in addiction so true to type, but you expect some responsibility from a site like this.

@Frazerstreames i ended up buying my dog from there. The breeder also advertised on the KC website. He said he’d never been grilled by anyone as much as me as I asked so many questions. I visited him and met the pups and mum. My pup is KC registered. I have the health testing info of the Mum.

My pups brother has gone on to win lots of shows.

I couldn’t have got a better bred dog

So pets4homes isn’t all bad

What about the sires health test info?

@Frazerstreames that was all on the KC stud book.

Yes not all bad, but my puppy was kc registered, microchipped, had vaccine record…but breeder didn’t want to pay for second vaccine and just ignored it leaving it to buyer- but you can’t do that, it has to be at 4 weeks max. So in effect it lapsed. The breeder Atlanta Wilshire, a self confessed heroine addict, lied in listing, lied on phone, lied in messages, but let’s 4 homes refused to take any responsibility.so if it goes well fine, if not your on your own. My point is that’s the same as not using pets4homes, only worse because without them you’d be much more vigilant. Just like eBay, if it says something in listing you expect that to be true, you don’t expect eBay and seller to,say ‘well what do you expect you shouldn’t trust us you should have inspected and verified in person first. The whole industry, pets4homes, eBay, Etsy etc is built on trust. You can’t trust pets4homes, that doesn’t mean they are always corrupt, just like not all puppies or cars etc sold privately are dodgy.

I have purchased 3 dogs from this website, all a very good experience. But you need to ask the right questions and do your research well.

I nearly got it wrong once. I asked to see the paperwork for the health testing that was apparently done. She cut me off dead and I didn’t hear from them again, I actually reported her to pets4homes website. They were very good and took her advert down straight away. Never seen it again - and I did check.

Good luck with your search, but do your research!

There are two different themes here, unfortunate crooked breeders like Atlanta Wilshire who just outright lie and are a menace to animals and people, and what exactly Pets4homes offers for its £150 fee and site. It’s not just gumtree for animals, it makes claims about providing security and offering a service, and charges £150 in addition to breeders fee just for their guarantees.

Buy from gumtree, you do your diligence.

Buy from amazon, eBay, Etsy etc and you expect - and in my direct experience get- a real guarantee where they either force the seller to refund it their refusing, or just make refund themselves regardless of seller. I assume they then recover their money, they’re not charities.

So the issue is not due diligence and corrupt breeders here, it’s pets4homes and what exactly their website in reality offers in the way of verification, guarantee, redress and oversight. Frankly so far I can’t see any benefit from using pets4homes and a lot of disadvantages. I paid pets4homes so I don’t know Atlanta Wilshire bank details for legal recovery via chargeback, and S.75 is complicated as they act as intermediary clouding the water on liability- they refuse to accept they were paid despite them being paid, Atlanta used her mums address to collect so I don’t know her address to serve county court papers. I can’t contact trading standards in her local authority or have her breeder registration removed without an address, or have her banned from KC. If I use mothers address even if I get judgement can’t send a sherif or bailif once I have judgement as the goods at her mothers are not provably Atlanta Wilshires. Pets4 homes both say their only a listing site and did not sell the puppy or have responsibility but also they refuse to provide the exact details I would have if I had bought direct. So you are worse off using pets4homes not just not better off. It’s a scandal they can get away with this.

Can you join a breed specific group on FB?