Petland of Lewis Center - Franchise

To whom it may concern;The customer purchased a Akita puppy on 3/8/2015. On 3/11/2015 the customer called in wanting to return the puppy because it was not getting along with their other dog. Even though the store does not have a return policy, they agreed to allow an exchange for another puppy. The...

customer was granted a credit towards the purchase of a new puppy that would work better for them when they were ready. The customer agreed to this and asked for a different breed than the original one that was purchased. The store found the new breed, but the breed did cost more than the original breed. The customer was not required to purchase that puppy at anytime, but was given the opportunity to purchase the puppy if they paid the additional amount. The customer was also given the option for a payment plan to help them cover the additional amount.The customer did not accept that and requested a refund. The store cannot approve the refund, but did agree to let the customer have the new puppy at the same price. The customer picked up the puppy on 4/22/2015 and still has it. This matter has been resolved at the customer's request.

Consumer called and clarified the nature of his complaint and desired resolution. He stated that he paid for the puppy and they got him ready to leave before he was given any paperwork to sign or initial (including the warranty). It was too late for him to cancel the sale because of the no-returns policy. He said  if he had known about the requirement to spend approximately $100 every 3 months for food and vitamins to maintain the warranty, he never would have purchased the puppy. He said their store cameras would show that the paperwork was not presented to him until after the purchase. He would like the Lifetime Warranty without having to purchase anything since he presented a letter from Petland's own vet stating that the puppy should not be fed the food they recommend nor take the vitamins due to a failure to gain weight. The dog is now on Science Diet and has gained weight and is healthy. It was the consumer's impression that the letter from the vet would settle the matter, and he still wishes to have the Lifetime Warranty without purchasing their products.

I am rejecting this response because: on the paperwork that I signed there was no amount. The manager told me around $150 for both CC. In addition we were not told that the dogs were sick. When we have received calls from a company it was to do no more than tell us that we signed contracts on the dogs and they can't help what the manager told us.
Regards,
[redacted]

This letter is in response to the recent complaint filed by customer [redacted]. Ms. [redacted] purchased a male Chihuahua from the Lewis Center Petland location on 4/23/2017. At the time of purchase, Ms. [redacted] signed and agreed to the warranty terms including our 48 hr exchange policy.   On...

4/30/2017 Ms. [redacted] arrived at the Petland store seeking to return the dog for a refund.  At that time, Ms. [redacted] was beyond the limitations of the warranty to qualify for an exchange and/or return. The customer was offered free vet care at our two partner Veterinary clinics per the warranty contract. Our customer support team called and left a follow up voicemail for the customer on 5/2/2017 to which no return contact was received.   On 5/5/2017, Ms. [redacted] contacted our customer support team regarding her older pet in the home. On the date of 5/5/2017, Ms. [redacted] advised that she had only taken her new puppy to the veterinarian for one visit and expressed interest in medical coverage for her older pet as well. Ms. [redacted] was offered coverage for both pets at our partner veterinary clinics.   On 5/9/2017, our customer support teams reached back out to Ms. [redacted] to follow up on the conditions of both pets, that call was disconnected so our team attempted a 2nd call and left a voicemail for Ms. [redacted]. Ms. [redacted] returned the call and advised she no longer wished to use a contracted veterinary location due to distance. Ms. [redacted] was advised all warranty coverage is only guaranteed at one of our partner veterinary locations and any outside veterinary invoices would need to be submitted for possible reimbursement.   Messages were left with Ms. [redacted] on 5/12/20147, 5/18/2017, and 5/25/2017 to follow up on the pets however no return contact was ever received. To date, Petland has paid for all care at our partner veterinary locations directly and no other out of pocket costs have been submitted by the customer. Petland has followed the warranty obligations agreed to at the time of purchase.  We stand behind our pets 100% and strive to provide the utmost care to all pets both in store and after finding their forever homes.   We wish Ms. [redacted] well and ask that if any out of pocket costs were incurred she please contact our customer support team to submit invoices for those costs.   Sincerely, Petland Lewis Center

Petland Lewis Center is sorry to hear of the customer's frustrations. All paperwork is provided to our customer at the time of sale for them to review and sign off on signifying their understanding of the contract etc. Petland Lewis Center strives to provide the best experience for all customers and...

would like to resolve this with the customer. [redacted] has made multiple attempts to reach out to the customer on the following dates, and have had no success at contact; 2/13/2017, 2/15/2017, and again on 2/20/2017. Please have the customer reach out to [redacted] to work on resolving their claim at [redacted].

Petland Lewis Center is sorry to hear of the negative experience as this was never anticipated by any of the staff at the Petland Lewis Center. Petland Lewis Center allows all customers to apply for financing which all have different requirements that need to be met for approval. The approval is of...

no control of the Petland Lewis Center and is decided 100% by the financing companies the customer is applying for. Petland will also never discriminate against customers for any reason. This customer was of legal age to purchase a puppy (atleast 18 years of age) and was completely aware of the terms and conditions of the financing contract as well as the store warranty.  In light of the situation, the Petland Lewis Center is willing to cancel the IGW financing the customer has previously initiated relieving the customer of any further financial obligations for payment to IGW financing. The amount that will be cancelled is a total of $2449.06. Petland is sorry to hear of the negative experience and hopes that this will assist the customer.

To whom I may concern;
The customer purchased a Pomeranian from Petland on April 8th,
2015. The store provides a health contract that would have covered all medical
costs at the store’s contracted veterinarian.  The customer is explained this on the day of
purchase and signs a contract in...

which they agree that only the store’s
contracted veterinarian is covered.
In addition to the signed contract that outlines all store
coverage, the customer is called within 24 hours after purchase to remind them
of their vet requirements and to ask about their store experience. Unfortunately,
the customer did not answer this call, but PAWSitive Solutions sends multiple
emails in the event the customer does not answer the calls so that this message
is still given to the customers. The customer did receive and open these
emails.
The customer states that the puppy became ill a few days
after purchase, but did not contact PAWSitive Solutions until April 15, 2015.
At that point, the customer explained the puppy was being treated for kennel
cough, but she went to her own vet for treatment. The customer was instructed
from the first call that all treatment can be covered if they follow up with
the store’s veterinarian.  It was
explained that no coverage can be provided through the customer’s personal veterinarian.
The customer was not happy with that answer, but they signed and agreed to coverage
on the day of purchase.
PAWSitive Solutions did not hear back from the customer so
they reached out on April 19th, 2015 to see how the puppy was doing.
The customer did not want to tell the PAWSitive Solutions employee about the
progress and claimed that the puppy is ok. PAWSitive Solutions started to
explain that they could provide full coverage at no expense at the contracted veterinarian,
but the customer hung up.
The store provides a health contract that provides full
coverage at the contracted veterinarian. The customer elected on multiple
accounts to not take advantage of the coverage and use their own veterinarian.
Per the contract, no other veterinarian will be covered.  The store will not issue a refund at any
time.  If the puppy has been under
consistent veterinarian care, they may continue treatment at the store’s
contracted veterinarian at any time. If you should have any further questions
please contact PAWSitive Solutions at ###-###-####.

Dear Valued Customer,We are so sorry to hear about the negative experience you have incurred at our location. We strive to provide quality pets to all of our customers, which is why we stand behind our puppies 100% and offer the health warranties. The lifetime program is a fantastic program in which...

covers your puppy for three different scenarios, 1. Passing of old age, 2. Accidental passing, 3. Major Hereditary/Congenital diagnosis that is interfering with the puppy's ability to lead a normal life. In order to keep this program the requirements are that the customer purchase 1 bag of Healthy extensions dog food, 1 vitamin, and 1 supplement every 90 days. All veterinarians are going to have an opinion on the program, and if your veterinarian would not mind writing a letter to be submitted to Pawsitive Solutions, they would surely work on a resolution to your concerns. Going to the statement of our puppies coming from puppy mills, this is completely incorrect. All of our puppies come from USDA licensed breeders or local Hobby breeders in which are inspected annually. We pride ourselves on getting beautiful puppies from reputable breeders and do not associate ourselves with puppy mills which is a common misconception that can be found online. Petland provides all of the puppy information on the origin of the puppy etc. to show the customer where their puppy came from. Also with the purchase, you would have been given the medical sheet for the puppy showing if any medications were given for treatment during the puppy's stay at the store. The Petlands use preventative medications for kennel cough as it is a common cold found in all kenneled environments. You would have signed the medical sheet for your puppy during the end of the sale which would have had all of this information on it. Petland provides warranty coverage at Bethel Animal Hospital as stated in the store contract. The customer should contact PAWsitive Solutions with any additional concerns and they will gladly answer any and all questions the customer may have. Thanks for taking time to voice your concerns and we look forward to hearing from you! Have a wonderful day!

we did not say the puppy was okay when called(I answered the call and was too emotional to talk.   We responded to an email sent on
5/15/15 indicating that [redacted] was very sick and was unable to eat any of the PetLand products.  I have a copy of that email if needed.My next step will be to post our experience on FB.