I contacted Big Tex via e-mail regarding available puppies. I looked at pictures of the litter, and decided on one of the females. A Mr. Alcala contacted me at home to make the payment arrangements and to discuss the flights available wuth regard to my schedule. I wanted the puppy right away and wired him $535.00 via Western Union. Once the money was received, it became difficult to reach Mr. Alcala. He claimed that his phone was damaged and was waiting for a new phone, and that e-mail was the way to reach him. He had my money for a week before we finally heard from him.
He booked a flight on Continental Airlines but never showed up with the puppy. The only way we knew was to check the flight status, and we were told by the animal desk that he is known to be unreliable. He called us, gave us a new number to reach him, and blamed the transport company for not picking the puppy up.He said that the puppy would be on a flight the very next day, and gave us all the info. We checked the flight status the next day and were told that he cancelled that flight booking. he called that morning to say that there was a problem with the health certificate, and that he would have to see the vet again. I got a very bad feeling, didn't trust him, and demanded that I receive a full refund. After a few minutes of his excuses and promises, I still demanded the money back. He agreed, and I have yet to receive anything.
He does not answer e-mails or telephone messages. He is avoiding me, and the people at Continental mentioned that there are other people that have issues with him. I want the $535.00 back in addition to the day that I lost taking off from work that Friday waiting for a puppy that never arrived. I am a management consultant that is billed at $300.00 an hour, so I would like to sue for the maximum allowed in court.
Chris can sue in Small Claims Court for the $535 but any of those $300 hours that went astray are his problem. A management consultant should know better than to send money to an unknown person by Western Union.
