After Anthony and Françoise Claessens from San Diego picked out a
purebred bichon frise puppy and got it home, they were more than a
little surprised as they looked closely at the paperwork. They had
leased a dog.
The contract required regular service and maintenance and allowed the
finance company to “inspect the pet at any reasonable time.” At the end
of 27 months of $95.99 payments, they would still not own the dog, which
they named Tresor II.
“I have never heard of leasing a dog in my life,” Anthony Claessens, 80,
said. “We were under the understanding we were purchasing a dog… I feel
that we were swindled.”
The store, Oceanside Puppy, and finance company WAGS Financing of Reno,
Nevada, say that’s not the case.
“We call it puppy payments, and you can make payments via lease or via
traditional loan program,” said David Salinas, who owns the shop on
Oceanside Boulevard. “Just like any other transaction, whether you buy a car or a puppy, or jewellery, the transaction is the same when
you make a payment.”
Salinas’s Oceanside store, and another in National City, offer four
financing options. WAGS is just one of them.
Salinas said 90 percent of his customers choose to finance the cost of
their new pet, allowing them to take home a dog they otherwise wouldn’t
be able to afford.
“I think that’s very unfair that they are saying we are being
fraudulent,” he said.
The Claessens were in the market for a dog because their previous bichon frise, which they had for seven years, had died. They could not afford to pay the $495 asking price for the dog at Oceanside Puppy, so they chose the financing option. After 27 months of payments, they could pay a $93.52 fee to end the lease or $187.04 to purchase the pet - “plus official fees and taxes.” According to the couple, no store employee mentioned that they were signing up for a lease rather than a purchase. Salinas said his employees do the best they can to explain the financing packages, but it’s the customer’s responsibility to read the terms. Claessens found himself back at the store less than 24 hours after taking the dog home on Nov. 13. He cancelled the contract.
The Claessens were in the market for a dog because their previous bichon frise, which they had for seven years, had died. They could not afford to pay the $495 asking price for the dog at Oceanside Puppy, so they chose the financing option. After 27 months of payments, they could pay a $93.52 fee to end the lease or $187.04 to purchase the pet - “plus official fees and taxes.” According to the couple, no store employee mentioned that they were signing up for a lease rather than a purchase. Salinas said his employees do the best they can to explain the financing packages, but it’s the customer’s responsibility to read the terms. Claessens found himself back at the store less than 24 hours after taking the dog home on Nov. 13. He cancelled the contract.
Salinas said, “We will make it a point to educate our customers a little
bit more about the financing options so there is no confusion.
We are actually a very legitimate moral company. We knew there was a
need for purebred puppies in the store. We do a wonderful job at being
able to help customers afford puppies. We provide amazing puppies, not
from puppy mills.”
Claessens’ wife, Françoise, said she hopes no one else has to go through
what the couple did.
“It’s a lot of trauma. When you don’t have children at home, you look at
that pet as a child. This is a bad, bad disappointment, and they hurt
your emotions,” she said. “What they are doing is irresponsible.”
The Claessens later went to a dog shelter and obtained another bichon
frise, this one for free.
There's a copy of the leasing agreement here. (PDF doc.)
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