It all began in late October. I contacted www.siberian-cat-breeder.com about retired breeders. I was interested in older cats and these were supposed to be hypoallergenic cats which would be great since I have allergies. It took a little while to hear back from them, but when "Jennifer Petruzzi" e-mailed me, she told me they had two lovely older cats. We sent e-mails back and forth, but it always took quite some time to hear back from Jennifer or husband "Brian". I got excuses like "we were at Disney" or "we were sick" or whatever and it didn't seem like anything but a bunch of busy people who were maybe not such great business people. I was understanding at that point.
I had spoken to Brian on the telephone to arrange for my family to go from Michigan to New Jersey to meet/purchase/pick-up the cats. I asked him what city he was in and he gave me a strange answer that sounded like something you'd give a local. He said he was by someplace and someplace - both completely unintelligable and upon asking him to repeat himself, he remained unclear. He told me that in order to hold the cats I'd just have to make a $400 refundable deposit on their website and that we could come out the weekend after Thanksgiving to pick them up. He said he'd send me an e-mail the weekend I made the deposit and it would have all of the details of what they ate, their favorite toys, and where exactly we'd be coming to pick them up... We were elated.
But the email never came. I sent e-mails and left voicemails asking for a reply, but nothing happened. A week passed, then another, and then suddenly it was the weekend we were supposed to visit and we still had heard nothing, and didn't know where we needed to go.
I called after the fact and e-mailed as well. Still, I heard nothing. Then I got the idea to call from a phone with a different area code and it worked! Brian actually answered his phone! But he started off with extremely lame excuses about how he was sick for the past 6 days (I told him I'd been trying to contact him for weeks and he didn't respond at all to that). Then he said he never saw my deposit and I said "well, I have a receipt print out and a ding on my account that shows I paid" and he said "hmmm... Must be some system glitch. I'll have to look at it." Then he said the cats were still available and that we could plan another time, but at that point I told him I wasn't interested in doing business and that I wanted a refund. He said that would be fine and I'd get a refund right away.
But I didn't get a refund. I still haven't gotten a refund, even after a few e-mail reminders (it is now the end of January). I haven't heard back and they haven't answered my calls. I was totally scammed by these people. I want to help others avoid the same fate! Avoid "Russian Treasures" Siberian Cattery at all costs. They will just take your money and run. They are NOT a legitimate business.
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