How to Pay a Deposit for a Puppy Safely (Our Deposit Scheme With Trustap)
Introducing Trustap Deposits
We've been paying close attention to feedback from our valued breeders and buyers, and as a result, we have partnered with Trustap to offer safe deposits.
What Is Trustap & How Does It Protect Puppy Deposits?
Trustap is a financial transaction platform that provides extra safety for those who advertise online and can bring both breeders and buyers peace of mind on puppies.co.uk.
Trustap works by providing an intermediary account (called "escrow") and holds the money between the breeder and the buyer until both parties are happy. Trustap also offers a complementary independent review process to handle the unlikely event that a dispute arises.
Once you've found a litter you're interested in, contact the breeder to get started.
Above: Example of a contact breeder button.
How the Puppy Deposit Scheme Works
Trustap holds the deposit on behalf of the buyer and breeder, only releasing it after the buyer has seen the litter and visited your premises. This creates a safer environment for everyone involved and helps our breeders sell their litters faster and more safely.
Benefits of a Safe Puppy Deposit
Unfortunately, there are many pet-related scams, and buyers often fall victim to them. The puppies.co.uk deposit scheme is the next step in our quest to become the platform for only the most responsible breeders.
The scheme allows breeders to show buyers that they are among the most responsible breeders and ensures that puppies.co.uk will keep your deposits safe (if using the Trustap scheme).
Puppy Deposit Costs & Fees
For buyers, you must pay a buyer protection fee to ensure that your deposit is secured safely. This is set at 2% of the total price of the puppy.
E.g., the breeder is requesting a 10% deposit on a £1,000 puppy. Your total payment will be £100 deposit + £20 buyer protection fee = £120.
For breeders, the scheme is free, and you will receive 100% of the deposit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens when the breeder doesn’t accept the deposit?
The transaction ends, and the deposit is refunded.
What happens if one party doesn’t show up to view the litter?
The buyer or breeder can cancel the transaction and be refunded.
What happens if the buyer and seller aren't able to agree on a final price?
The buyer or breeder cancels the transaction, and the buyer is refunded their deposit.
Is their a process if the seller disputes a complaint?
Yes. The Arbitration Process begins, led by the Trustap Customer Service Team and the money is released to either the buyer or breeder.
Will I get my protection fee back?
No. In my cases, the protection fee is paid to puppies.co.uk and Trustap to allow us to run the service. In some cases, we may be able to offer a refund, but once it is paid, you should see this as a forfeited fee for protecting your deposit.
Do breeders have to use the service?
Breeders have the option to request "no deposit". If a breeder does not have Trustap enabled but is still requesting a deposit through other means, you can report them to puppies.co.uk, and they will receive an immediate ban. Now that the new scheme is available, we will be operating a zero-tolerance policy to those breeders requesting deposits outside of the scheme.
If you need additional assistance or help, you can reach puppies.co.uk support at info@puppies.co.uk
Breeders: How to Use
Step 1: When you are uploading your new listing, you can select the deposit percentage you wish to collect. This field is shown next to the price field. You can only enable deposits on "for sale" listings, not "stud" or "rescue" listings.
Beware: If you select no deposit, you will not be able to request deposits from your buyers in any other way, or you may risk being removed from puppies.co.uk.
Above: Example of the field on the listings part of your account.
Step 2: During your conversation with a potential buyer within your inbox, you can request a deposit at any time using the "Request a Deposit" button. You can also view which deposits have been placed by buyers within your "Deposits" page. Once a buyer places a deposit, you will be notified and have the option to accept or decline and return the deposit to the buyer.
Above: Requesting a deposit from within the breeder inbox.
Above: Tracking active, awaiting, and completed deposits from your Deposits page.
Step 3: Once the buyer has visited your premises to see the puppy, they will agree to "release the deposit". At this point, a 24-hour complaints window will open for the buyer. At the end of this window, you will be able to withdraw the deposit to your bank account. At this point, you will be directed to Trustap (our partner) to enter your bank details and withdraw.
Above: The transaction timeline showing a deposit ready to withdraw.
Buyers: How to Use
Step 1: You should always message the breeder first and ensure they are happy for you to place a deposit. If you want to know what to ask, you can follow our puppy buying guide.
Step 2: In your messages with the breeder, you'll find the option to place a deposit once they're happy to proceed. You can also place the deposit on the Deposits page in your account.
Above: Placing a deposit directly within your conversation with the breeder.
Step 3: Create the payment. You can cancel the deposit in the future if you have any issues and will receive 100% of your deposit back. However, you will lose your buyer protection fee.
Above: Make your payment
Step 4: After the breeder has accepted your deposit, you can go back to your Deposits page in your account, where you can now release funds to the breeder. You can also do this within your inbox during the conversation.
Above: Confirming your visit before releasing the deposit to the breeder.
You should only do this once you have visited the puppies at the breeder's premises and have confirmed this within your Deposits page.
Step 5: After this, a 24-hour complaints period opens, during which you should contact info@puppies.co.uk if you wish to open a dispute or talk to the Trustap Customer Service Team.
