Question About Refund from A Fursuit Maker

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

I'm not going to post any names as to WHO I commissioned from to save them the drama, but I've been having issues with this particular fursuit maker and I've kept hearing excuses as to why my suit couldn't be finished and after speaking to several customers and people that know this person, i've heard nothing but bad news. I canceled my commission from this fursuit maker and said I would like the refund by the end of july if possible or end of august. I was wondering by anyone elses experience as to what you do if you don't get your refund from this person? Do I take it to court...I know that sounds silly but it's alot of money to just forget about. I do have documentation of the payments as I did it over paypal. So, in any case I don't get my refund what should I do? Thanks!

Comments

[papayafruit.livejournal.com]

I am currently having a issue sorta similar to this. I need the same advice so going to be checking back on this one. Hope its not the same person I'm having issues with haha.....

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

lolz i bet it is. xD

[sophie-manx.livejournal.com]

Can't you open a paypal dispute?

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

you think that would work? i didn't even know you could do that. thing is, when I sent the payment I sent it as 'personal' and under 'other' do you think that will still count?

[sophie-manx.livejournal.com]

Hmm perhaps not. Just a rule of thumb, never send it as "personal" always send it as paying for "goods". Its worth a shot though, check the site, and maybe call customer service they maybe able to help you.

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

all right. thanks for your input! :3

[sophie-manx.livejournal.com]

No prob, I just wish I could be of more help!

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

no worries. i think it was just fine ^_^

[spiffystuff.livejournal.com]

Yeah if a seller ever asks you to send money as a paypal personal payment or to add paypal fees to your order, stop right there. Paypal doesn't allow it and either the person doesn't really have a good grasp on their business or they're being shady (particularly if they want it sent as a personal gift)

You only have 45 days to dispute a paypal transaction even if it is labeled a business transaction, though :/
Small claims court might be the way to go if the person doesn't refund. Another is of course, tell them you will reveal their name here. :P

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

yea, bit late to try the paypal route. hm. very well, if things get sour ill settle this legally or reveal their business on here. thanks again

[leahtaur.livejournal.com]

How much time did you give them between the request for refund and the deadline? Have they replied? Maybe they'd be more willing to refund if you were open to a payment plan.

Even if they're terrible in every way, that's probably a lot of money to give back all at once. :P Plus, they may have already bought materials, so if they can prove that, you won't be getting 100% back.

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

i started paying for the suit back in FEB and completed the payment in May. The fursuit maker told me it will be done the week after Califur (which was the begining of June) then said it would be done for AC (never happened) So, probably a week after I got back from AC I canceled the order and asked for a full refund. told the person I'd like it by the end of the month or by the end of august as I didn't want to hear anymore excuses. And I just messaged the person today to ask about paying me in installments. We'll see if that works.

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

and i highly doubt this person bought the fur. this person kept telling me they would show me photos and when they did, all I got was a picture of the foam base of the head...that's it.

[koisnake.livejournal.com]

Keep pestering the person. Sometime saying that you will put their name on Artist_Beware or something usually gets them to act.

For me, whenever I need to give refunds for mascots, I offer to do it in monthly payment plans (usually in $50-100 increments), depending on the total cost of the costume. I try my best to give refunds as soon as I can, but without a job (only income from mascot commissions), refunds may be slow but I try my best to keep paying. This /may/ be the case with your commissioner, but I don't fully know your situation.

So try the payment plan thing IF the person doesn't have a steady income (however, if they do or appear to have one, ask them to refund you in full immediately). Get a response as soon as possible and specifically state that if they don't reply to you within a certain amount of time, whether or not they can pay now, you can post them here or take it legally.

Good luck.

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

hmmm all right. i appriciate you input alot. i did just ask the person if they will do installments, so we'll see what she says about that when she responds. thanks again!

[koisnake.livejournal.com]

No problem! Good luck! The installment plan should bring less stress onto you and the commissioner and have him/her reply. Again, be sure to give him the "Please reply within so-and-so time before I...". After that, be friendly, but don't walk all over you. :)

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

lol. thanks again. ill be sure to keep that also in mind if things do get sour and if i start to hear more endless excuses.

[chowderfiend.livejournal.com]

As much as I admire you for trying to save this person from drama, I believe you should post their name. If other people are also experiencing trouble with this fursuit maker and it's enough of an issue for you to post here, it's hardly fair to hold back information from the community. If someone is giving people bad business their name should be out in the open to warn their potential commissioners.

Also, you might want to elaborate on your situation a little. "Hearing nothing but bad news" doesn't give much insight into what you're dealing with. Does bad news mean they've been in poor health, financial trouble, or real life drama, or does just mean that they keep giving you excuses?

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

ill post the name of the fursuit maker if I don't hear something from them soon or if I don't get my refund at the end of august like I want.

as for the bad news, I've been hearing from other customers that they keep hearing the same excuses, examples: the dogs ripped up the suit when I hung it out to dry, I don't have a car so I can't buy supplies, my car got repoed, my email was down, etc. i've also heard from another source that used to be friends with this fursuit maker that this person blows the money as soon as they get it for either buying fur for personal suits to sell, on junk food, own personal things, etc. and that this person also hangs out with friends all the time and is just plain lazy in general. i don't know if it's true or not but hearing it isn't reassuring to me in the least. oh like your icon btw ^_^

[chowderfiend.livejournal.com]

Dang, what a bunch of crap. If/when you do post the name, be sure to put all of that info in the post as well.

Why thanks. Are you a Doctor Who fan? :D

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

Oh I will. It will be in more detail too. ^_^ I've seen a few shows, so yes.

[uozlulu.livejournal.com]

Ah here are the details XD I wasn't sure what to say until I saw more of the situation.

It sounds like they're stalling and you might be taken for a ride. I agree with the people that suggested a repayment plan so maybe the person will be more willing to refund you. It seems when people get myriads of weird excuses that it never ends well.

I think if you last paid in May you might want to check on it since Paypal has a time limit for disputes and you might be close to running out on a chance to dispute the last payment you made if you don't hear back from them on a refund.

If you feel you have to get legal action, it'll probably be small claims courts and will probably come down to state laws provided the fursuit maker lives in the US.

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

lol thanks for being patient while i explained more ^-^ i tried doing something like that on paypal today but it says it was already past 45 days and I couldn't automatically get a refund so I need to settle it with the person themself. and yes the fursuit maker does live in the states so that's a good thing lol.

[silverfalln.livejournal.com]

If it's who I think it is, then it may not to be to save the creator from drama, but the OP...

[takshadowing.livejournal.com]

Woah, wait...how so?

[silverfalln.livejournal.com]

I don't want to comment, until I know who the creator is for certain.

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

if OP means original purchaser then are you saying im trying to save myself drama? -scratches head- im so confused.

[silverfalln.livejournal.com]

OP meaning "original poster."

If this is the creator I think it is, and I REALLY hope it isn't, then yes, you could be not dropping their name to save yourself from drama, based on their past history.

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

OP?

[bunnyrabbit29.livejournal.com]

Faye -- I had a similar experience some years ago with a Famous Fursuit Maker who [long story short] did not do as promised, and I demanded a refund. Unfortunately, the fursuit maker was in another country, and it took my contacting representatives of that country's government [fortunately one friendly to my home country of the US] and the threat of court action to get the refund on its way [and the artist still didn't give a full refund, but enough to get me to let the potentially exhausting situation come to a close].

Hopefully your situation isn't as tangled as that, but it cannot hurt to contact the local Department of Commerce [ if in the US, the artist's local county or state] and to also send the artist a certified letter stating what you're doing. It's great that you have the PayPal documentation as well, as that's a good weapon in your favor. If the artist is stubborn or won't respond to you, it can get a little tiring. Don't give up, though.

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

oh wow. i bet your struggle was pretty tedious with it being overseas. sheesh. you still can't fight to get a full refund? i mean hell, that's bullshit.

anyways, depending on what this fursuit maker says to me in her next response, I might bring up legal action and posting her name here if she doesn't tell me something positive or gives me another excuse. my dad is in the legal business so im set. :3

[skanrashke.livejournal.com]

Just be like, "Hey, you've got til X day(give them at least 5 days so they can start your project and not have it be rushed- lol), to show me decent progress pix or else I'm demanding a full refund immediately. I'll drop your name as being a terrible businessperson, blahblahblah..", you know. Threaten to destroy their rep.

[faye-88.livejournal.com]

thing is, she kept telling me she will post pictures up and every time...she never did until I finally told her I want to see pictures. this needed to be done for AC and she told me it would be done a week after califur. didn't happen, so when she sent me a picture finally...she sent me a picture of the head barely foamed. she also said the next day she will show me pictures of the hands...never happened. so after a few days i canceled my order cause i was sick of the excuses.