I am in no way satisfied with Kelli & James Swinney, of Swinney Homeland Kennels. I still believe that Kelli Swinney scammed me and should refund my $450.00 in payments. The facts do not add up. I can provide countless email, website references, and payment receipts that correspond to my case. I hope that other people can see that the services provided by Kelli & James Swinney and Swinney Homeland Kennels are those of scam artists.
I have been contacted by several ex-customers of theirs who are completely dissatisfied with Swinney Homeland Kennels. The treatment and service "other people" seem to rate top-notch high quality and boast about Swinney Homeland Kennels five star puppies and service on the Puppyfind website (http://www.puppyfind.com/l/? Acct_id=2926) just do not add up.
I had spent weeks trying to find a breeder of sleeve Pekingese puppies. When I found Kelli Swinney on Puppyfind.com I thought it was too good to be true... in fact, it was, because I've been going through all of this aggravation and stress ever since!
My case first took place almost nine months ago. I have filed a case with the Fort Worth BBB, but I still have not heard anything, so in the meantime, I want other people to know what I know. Please don't be fooled like I was and several other people have been!
* This is my response to her comments back through my BBB case, I have since added countless other documents to help my case however. *
On Puppyfind.com she had listed a beautiful little female sleeve Pekingese wearing a pink bow. I knew from that moment that she was the only dog I wanted. Kelli Swinney, of Swinney Homeland Kennels, had listed her as Bit-A-Lovin and was priced at $850.00. Like all of the dogs Swinney Homeland Kennels lists, this includes the price of registration (AKC, NKC, etc.), current vaccinations, a veterinarian examination, health certificate, a health guarantee, pedigree, a travel crate, and shipping. Now believing that she was the breeder of the dog that I looked long and hard to find, I decided to contact her via email.
I first contacted Kelli Swinney on December 8th which was two weeks before Christmas and well after Thanksgiving. Yes, I did explain to her that I would need to make payments gradually until I could pay only that puppy, listed as Bit-A-Lovin, off. Now how could Kelli Swinney even insist in her comments back to me that,? At first I told her no? Her statement is a complete lie. As you can see, Kelli Swinney responded, on December 8th, without hesitation twenty minutes later. She stated,? So my answer is yes, I would work with you on paying her off? I would much rather do this and see her go to a home where she is really wanted. If you use Paypal just go to their website: www.paypal.com and use my email address to access my account: [email protected] As soon as you can make a deposit I will mare her as pending on puppy find.? As you can see, from the beginning and without question, she allowed me to make payments on Bit-A-Lovin.
I was always upfront with her. I let her know that I would be happy to answer any questions she had and I could provide references, so she could make a more informed decision regarding the care of the puppy. I told her about the kind of home the puppy would go to live in and told her about the other pets I had, even when she never asked me to do any of these things in the first place. No questions of care were ever asked and no policies, that Swinney Homeland Kennels had, were ever given to me before/while I was making payments. I also asked her several questions and asked her for updated pictures of the puppy several times. Most of these things were denied me as well. I only things that I was ever told about the puppy, were that? She stays in a puppy play pen at night? She's doing fine with housetraining? And I should? Buy her a size small sweater.?
Never the less, with the old reviews I read regarding puppies that were shipped by Swinney Homeland Kennels (believing they were true), and not being able to find another puppy quite like Bit-A-Lovin, I decided to go ahead and make payments to Kelli Swinney weekly. The first payment of $200.00 was made on December 10th, and this deposit would hold her for me. Kelli Swinney even stated in her very first email on December 8th, that? As soon as you make a deposit I will mare her as pending on puppy find.? Each payment was received by Swinney Homeland Kennels on December 10th, December 17th, December 24th, and December 31st. The entire payments totaled $450.00.
After Christmas however, I had learned that I did not get financial aid for school, so I would be responsible for trying to paying for my spring semester by myself. This meant that I would have to give-up the puppy that I wanted to purchase for my Mum. I emailed Kelli and informed her that the weekly payments would be too much, at this time, for me to handle. I would have to try and pay for my spring semester of school on my own and it would just be too expensive.
Ten days later, on January 13th, I really began to worry. I still had not heard any word back from Kelli Swinney regarding the email I had sent her on January 4th. So I tried resending the email, first replying to the old address I had used from the beginning ([email protected]), next through the Swinney Homeland Kennel website, which at that time had not changed to her new email address, and lastly through the Puppyfind.com website.
The email through Puppyfind.com was the one that got through. I had to wait five days though until I heard back from Kelli. January 18th, I received a nasty email from Kelli Swinney. Here she informed me,? She could have been sold 10 times over for a Christmas present and now that the holidays are over you want your money back??? No,, deposits are non - refundable? You have 2 choices 1. Finish paying her out or 2. Lose the money you have paid so far.? As you can further see, this was the only time I knew of this policy. To this day, not even her website informs customers of her policies. On her website, there is only one link concerning paying for a puppy. On the Swinney Homeland Kennel link entitled: Pay for Your Puppy, customers are shown that they can pay through Alert Pay, or you can also mail money orders or cashiers checks to Kelli Swinney. Nothing about deposits and payments being non-refundable are shown on the website for the customer.
Kelli Swinney insisted in her comments back to me however,? She then began to Email me daily so I agreed that she could use the deposit toward the purchase of another puppy in the future.? This statement again is a complete lie. I responded back to her January 18th pleading my case to her and I never heard a single word back after January 18th. After this, I tired just one last time on January 31st, and emailed her to see if she could be compassionate about the situation, but she continued to ignore me. As you can see, I never emailed her daily? This would not even have been possible because I was going to school and working 25 hours a week. Kelli Swinney never even gave me the choice of holding my payments for the future purchase of another one of her puppies. I never would have agreed to that anyway? Not after being made to feel like the entire situation was my fault and told that I was? Playing a game with her.? I had to give-up the puppy I wanted to purchase in the first place, so none of what she said makes any sense. My responsibility was, and still is, on my education and I could not have possibly tried to pay for anything else.
Further more, there have been two people who contacted me regarding business dealings with Kelli Swinney of Swinney Homeland Kennels. The first being from a lady named Holly, who was able to contact me after viewing the review I posted on Puppyfind.com about Swinney Homeland Kennels. Holly had first contacted Kelli about the same puppy I had originally wanted. She stated,? So I Emailed her on the one that was on hold, and I asked her if she had sold the puppy yet, she finally got back to me and said, that she had another white Pek that she was going to be listing the next day.? She also stated that,? She sent me a picture of a beautiful little white Pek named Ivory. She was asking $1000 firm for her and I Emailed her back saying that I wanted her and was planning on wiring the money to her tomorrow. I decided to take one more look on the web site Puppyfind.com and I seen the same puppy, same name Ivory same picture but a different seller and this seller only wanted $500 for the same puppy.? Holly, like me, was trying to find out if she was being scammed into believing the Pekingese puppies, Kelli Swinney had listed, were truly even bred by Swinney Homeland Kennels and belonged to them to begin with. After explaining my side to Holly, she also informed me that,? I found out that Kelli does not even own these puppies. I got a hold of the other breeder and she Emailed me telling me that the puppy was her's and that Kelli had bought a litter from her a month before. And that she inquired about little Ivory the day before.? Holly was also able to tell me that,? Kelli never even owned the puppy that you gave $450 for.? So, in fact Kelli Swinney was scamming me right from the beginning.
Another woman who contacted me was Darcy Frank of Rancho Santa Margarita, Ca. Darcy's review is also listed on the Puppyfind.com website regarding Swinney Homeland Kennels. Darcy told me of her experience and stated,? I had a terrible experience getting my dog from Kelli Swinney. As a matter of fact I didn't even get the dog she sent me pictures of? She was rude, wouldn't answer any questions I had, and when I E-mailed her and told her I was getting frustrated, she sent me a blasting E-mail back telling me it was all my fault as well? It is such a shame that people like her are allowed to sell dogs.?
I have also included a post from the site http://www.inetgiant.com/. Here you can see Kelli Swinney posted this May 23rd, with the subject: Attention Breeders. On the site, she states,? Let me sell your puppies for you. No cost to you. Top dollar paid. Not a broker. Contact for info? Kelli Swinney Texas, USA 817-269-7912.? Also, if you further review the Puppyfind.com reviews of Swinney Homeland Kennels you will see a post from a reviewer named Andrea. Andrea, who posted regarding purchasing a puppy from Kelli Swinney stated,? There are an awful lot of puppies being sold at the same time? Makes you wonder.? I would have to agree with this statement as well. Things that Kelli Swinney insists to be fact and policy just do not add up.
This is why I would like the Better Business Bureau to investigate Kelli Swinney further. I would like to see all documentation that can prove me wrong. If, in fact, Swinney Homeland Kennels did breed Pekingese puppies in and around the time I had inquired about Bit-A-Lovin. I want documentation that further shows that Bit-A-Lovin was in fact owned by Swinney Homeland Kennels through all vet records, registration by (AKC, NKC, etc.), records of where the puppy was finally sold/shipped to, a dog license, and any other record which can provide further proof of care and ownership.
I hope you are now able to see the misrepresentation of goods and services by Kelli Swinney of Swinney Homeland Kennels. Kelli Swinney had stated in her comments back to me that,? I have tried everything to please this woman,? But in fact, she has done absolutely nothing but ignore me and blame me. I really hope this whole situation can be put in the past and I am able to finally receive the $450.00 that is owed to me. I would not have gone to such lengths and put myself through this amount of stress and aggravation if this was not the case.
I just want other people out there to be informed and know what they are potencially getting into. I would never want anyone to go through what I have gone through. I do not want other people to spend their hard earned money on these people. What they do to their customers is terrible, but I feel even worse for the dogs. Kelli and James Swinney of Swinney Homeland Kennels must be stopped. I would be glad to assist anyone or be of assistance in putting a case together and gathering more information on their fraudulent claims and business dealings. I will be updating this page as well. Thank you for reading!
Sarah
Richmond, Virginia
U.S.A.
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