Cuddle Pups

Sara – Jun 06, 2020

Victim Location 68105

Total money lost $10.34

Type of a scam Online Purchase

On December 24, 2019 I purchased a product from a company called Hype Online, who has now changed their name to Cuddle Pups. I have sent multiple emails to the company asking for a tracking number, estimated delivery time, or a refund, and they could give me no answer. At the end of the day I spent money and have nothing to show for it. They scammed me.

Lindsey –

Victim Location 61107

Type of a scam Online Purchase

On February 28, 2018 I began communication with Cuddle Pups. They claim to be a Pomeranian breeder out of Wellington, OH. My parents had seen a puppy on their website that they were interested in and had already made contact with Cuddle Pups. I thought that it would be nice to get a brother and sister from the same litter. I reached out to them to express interest. They notified me that they had a male Pomeranian still available. We exchanged information and they stated they would need a down payment of $400. They gave me specific direction to send them the money via Pay Pal, Friends and Family to a different email address than the one we using to communicate, [email protected]

I started to think something was wrong when they provided an overseas email address, [email protected] I talked to them at 6pm on the 28th, via email, to verify I would be sending the money. They contacted me several times asking for the money between 6pm and 5am the next morning. I starting getting an unsettled feeling about that.

I called my Dad and asked him to please not pay Cuddle Pups until I was able to do more research on the company. I had several more communication with the owner named “Tim”. More red flags started popping up for me.

• One, I asked for more pictures and a video of the puppy/puppies. I never received any.

• Two, I asked for “Tim’s” last name three times. He finally gave it to me Tim Brennon.

• Three, I asked for the full address of his establishment. He gave me an address that was not in the same font as the rest of the email, it looked copy and pasted from somewhere else. 26814 OH-58, Wellington, OH 44090

• Four, I asked him about a contract. He said he would get it to me as soon as he received the down payment.

• Five, I asked him if he had any references I could contact and the name and number of his Vet. He never gave me anyone to contact and his vet was “out of town”.

• Six, I had asked about the puppies’ hips and papers. He said they had papers and ignored my hip question.

• Seven, all of “Tim Brennon” communications kept telling me that he was getting a new PayPal address so that we could proceed with payment.

• Eight, pictures of the Pomeranian my parents were interested in showed up on the website again, while we were supposedly still in negations to purchase it.

• Nine, via email, “Tim Brennon” stated the puppies were $750, but on the website, they are listed at $700.

• Ten, when my parents were first talking to Cuddle Pups, the puppy they were looking at was the only one they had available, but there were several on the site. Then when I contacted them, they suddenly had another one. I thought this was a stroke of luck at the time we first started communicating, now, I realize it was just more dollar signs these people thought they could swindle.

• Eleven, I had had my fill of communication via email and I was feeling more and more like this was a scam. So, I attempted to put him on the spot. I called him, 614-896-5938, and let him know that my parents and I were going to drive to his establishment and view the puppies. If we decided to take any home we would pay for them and not have to worry about his PayPal issue. I followed up with an email stating the same thing, asking what time would be good for them. I never heard anything back. I called and emailed leaving the same message again. Nothing.

Last week we put my 14-year-old Pomeranian down. It broke our hearts. She was not just a dog, but a furry part of the family. For people to troll on good people’s trust and love is abominable.

SCAM!