Angela M. Collier is an independent seller and maker of cages and accessories from http://www.chinsource.com. I started talking to her on 5/18 about building a cage and carriers for my two boys that moved with me very recently to Columbia, Missouri. At first the communication was great. She'd answer my emails several times a day. I even talked to her on the phone a bunch. I felt very confident. The cage is going to be big, melamine material, and sounded very nice. The carriers I was going to order for travel were wire. We talked about dimensions and paneling, etc. She contacted me actually from seeing me inquire on http://www.chins-n-quills.com/forums/showthread.php? P=687535#post687535. Her name there is fuzzychins_okc
ChinSource
Then I sent her the payment for the carriers. She told me she shipped them. She requests payment of materials beforehand then payment of shipping just before shipping. I wanted them early because my move date was August 5th and I wanted the cage and the carriers setup before I left. I waited 2 weeks after she said she shipped them, and received nothing. She had my money. I told her I never got them and she told me she would make them and ship them again. She said she tried printing out shipping labels twice and had to wait until the post office would credit her. She said she lost all the orders from before too. This was 7/20 already. I paid for them on 6/25 and even had to threaten about filing a dispute. I said I already paid for them then she gave me a story about having to borrow money from her mother (keep in mind she is engaged with two kids so she isn't a child) to ship them. Then she said she found a post office and after my persistence she included insurance and tracking. Finally they arrived, but without the promised handles or clips. They also were extremely jagged, but on the door and the outsides, not the insides. Every time I put my arms in the carrier I got cut up as if a cat clawed me. I ended up having to get a metal file to smooth out the edges. It was a very dangerous item. I told her I never got the clips or handles. She gave me a story about how she was in such a rush to ship the carriers she forgot. She told me she sent them out and they'd arrive in 2 days but they never did. This was 7/25. Whenever I tried emailing about it she never got back to me.
Now typically I wouldn't go ahead with the cage payment at that point. But what happened was that I ordered two flying saucer wheels and had them shipped to her so she could install them in the cage on 7/7 from Amanda Collier at Meadowbrook Chinchillas http://www.chin-chillas.com/exercisewheels.htm - the maker of this fantastic wheel. So she has $133.20 worth of my 2 wheels.
We agreed on the payment of the cage and I PayPaled her on 7/22 for the cage order. I tried asking her for status updates as my move date was 8/5 but I only received an auto-email about her having to be in the hospital for epilepsy. My dad is a physician and said those cases usually are only there for a couple days; usually one to two days max. On 8/5 she finally answered my phone call and acted very dazed and told me she got back from the hospital on 8/4 and the cages should be done by the end of the weekend (which would be 8/7). I told her I would call her then and she never picked up.
Once the order was processed for the carriers her communication with me got very short. She never answers my calls anymore. I had someone call asking on my behalf (being from a different phone number) and Angela's fianc responded saying that Angela wasn't home and she would call back later tonight (being this around 9:30 PM her time). As expected, she never did.
Even Amanda at Meadowbrook Chinchillas called and attempted to retrieve the wheels back from Angela because of a bearing defect. Angela never responded back to Amanda's call either. Basically Amanda said she can't do anything without Angela's cooperation, understandably.
What ended up happening was that I filed a dispute with PayPal to retrieve my money back for the carriers and the cage. After I filed the dispute she wrote to me complaining. I wrote her that I would give her until 7/20 to have the cage ready and then I'd drop the dispute. She never responded. The carrier dispute was rejected because I received the carriers and the fact I didn't recieve the promised clips or handles wouldn't hold the case. PayPal credited me $82.90 out of the $130 the cage cost because that is the only amount of money they could retrieve from her account. Angela said she would send the rest back to me once her account would receive money. I don't know how PayPal is penalizing her on her end.
As for the wheels that I paid $133.20 Angela said she will keep them until I send her $103.82 for the supplies of the cage I never received. I tried to file a complaint with the local police department but they told me this is a civil matter. I will call the consumer affairs office tomorrow. I don't believe she is registered with the Better Business Bureau but I will file a complaint with them too.
Now my boys are in 12"x12"x12" metal square crates and get their daily free run but I was really expecting to have the cage by now and the only time this seller started contacting me was when I filed a dispute with PayPal. She has my flying saucer wheels hostage and $47.10 of the remaining money left. A cage for my boys is in construction from directions by Kindra at http://www.spoiledchins.net/. The cage will be wonderful and hopefully will be complete by this weekend.
I've been a seller and a buyer for many years now and hardly have I ever come across such incompetence. I feel very upset for my boys but they will have their new home soon.
This is a horrible transaction and I highly recommend not doing business with Angela M. Collier from ChinSource http://www.chinsource.
Other people have complained about her unethical practices as well http://www.chins-n-quills.com/forums/showthread.php? T=83588
Jennifer
Columbia, Missouri
U.S.A.
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