Complaint Review: USHIP WORLD WIDE PROFESSIONAL PETS SHIPPERS

I found a Ragdoll cat on line that I was interested in so I emailed the owner Dominic Wiltord at dominicwiltord@gmail.com, phone # 1-408-800-1959. The add stated he was in NJ but when he emailed me back he said he was located at 120 South University Drive, Fargo, ND 58106 (only to learn later that this number is a land line in San Francisco, California). He said his job has become quite busy and he did not have time to care for his two cats and wanted to find good homes for them. On line he was asking $500.00 for the cat. He told me the cat would be shipped with papers, microchip, was registered with all cat clubs, had shots, and was potty trained. Like another person wrote “I know it sounded too good to be true but I threw all caution out the window because I really wanted this cat.” The following day he emailed me and said he was going to the shipper to make the arrangements and they would contact me. I received an email and call from USHIP WORLD WIDE PROFESSIONAL PETS SHIPPERS (INTERNATIONAL PET RELOCATION SERVICE) # 1-760-705-8888, info.ushippettransporters@aol.com and was informed to check my email regarding shipping and cost. To my surprise the cost was $420.00 instead of the $500.00. The receivers name was Assam Collins Obassi from Dallas Texas zip code 75231. He waited on the line while I transferred the money via Western Union, with a service charge of $45.00, total cost out of my pocket $465.00. In the back of my mind something was telling me “caution” but I really wanted the cat. That evening I received an email and call from the shippers stating that the cat could not be shipped without insurance, than a BIG RED FLAG went off. They were asking for $980.00 which would be refundable after the cat was received. I told them NO WAY! I immediately called the seller, who did call me back and said he was upset too and would find out what happened, needless to say no one called me back that evening. I left several messages for the seller who did call me back in the morning. He said he was sorry and very upset last night after speaking with them, that’s why he did not call me back. He said he would help me pay the insurance fee so I could get the cat. I told him NO WAY! He tried to make me feel like it was my fault by saying “how could you do this to a poor kitty”? I replied “how could you leave a kitty at a place that is not reputable? Why didn’t you bring him home if you were so concerned? I made it clear to him that I believe I was scammed. The phone number for the company is useless, the message you get when you call is “we are unable to complete your call, please try again later.” No one ever called me back, which is no surprise, and I feel so embarrassed that I did such a stupid thing. My advice is, go to a shelter and get a cat, this is what I always did in the past.