WARNING!!! Don't Place an Order with these guys...

[poormansdream]

So this is what I got after diputing their charges a few days ago,

Sorry for the delay in response I have just heard back from that department, they stated since replacements are usually not guaranteed they will make an exception for you this one time. They will provide you with a store credit for the Blue Dot, Royal Gramma, and Blue Sided Fairy Wrasse. However whatever you choose in the event that it arrives DOA it will not be covered. Your credit with us is in the amount of $88.97. All of this information has been noted on your account. We appreciate your business! Have a good day!

Crystal
Aquatic Connection Live

So I replyed this,
Crystal,

I will not play these games with you guy's. First of all I paid for red mangroves and they weren't even in the box second of all I tried calling you guys for days and you didn't answer on me or return my calls and now that I put in a dispute with my credit card you send me this email as proof you agreed to return my money.


You guys are a bunch of scam artist you charged my card more then my receipt said and an additional $20, WHY?

I know why, there is a bad review about aquaCON.com everywhere and 64 complaints with the BBB and my stupid ass trusted you guys. You could care less about your live stock or your customers doing bad business like you do. Your fish are all sick and die or arrive DOA. I lost almost every fish and invertebrate you sent me, you charge me for an item and don't send it, you charge one price and use my credit card with out my consent and charge more money on it which by the way is very illegal in this wonderful country we live in.

Thanks for screwing me, by the way i posted this on a very big reef forum in NY and look what people in the world have to say about your business ethics.

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/reefs-beginners/98303-warning-dont-place-order-these-guys.html

 

[dherrera83]

pooormansdream, very well said. Hope you get every penny back. I have never ordered fish online and dont think i will ever. I would rather see it myself in person, atleast i know then i could just walk away. But online your kinda stuck and need to rely on their over all business ethics.

Once again good luck. Hope that everyone in the reef world reads your post!

 

[marrone]

Don't paint all the on-line places bad just because of Aquacon, as there are a lot of on-line places that are very good. They take very good care in packing and the well being of the fish before they ship them, some place wouldn't even ship a fish if it has a ripped fin.

Moral of the story, you need to do some research before ordering from any on-line place, than also includes researching their refund policy, especially if there is a problem with Fedex, UPS or USPS.

 

[Kendall]

When you dispute with your credit card company include links to threads on forums about aquacon. I did this with another company and had no problem getting all my money back!!

 

[dherrera83]

Marrone, Your correct on that. I just expressed my preference. Sorry i should have been clearer on that. I am sure there are many online businesses with great customer service.

 

[DCG1286]

don't paint all the on-line places bad just because of aquacon, as there are a lot of on-line places that are very good. They take very good care in packing and the well being of the fish before they ship them, some place wouldn't even ship a fish if it has a ripped fin.

Moral of the story, you need to do some research before ordering from any on-line place, than also includes researching their refund policy, especially if there is a problem with fedex, ups or usps.

+1

Hopefully you get your money back Poorman!

 

[albano]

Don't paint all the on-line places bad just because of Aquacon, as there are a lot of on-line places that are very good. They take very good care in packing and the well being of the fish before they ship them, some place wouldn't even ship a fish if it has a ripped fin.

+2

Moral of the story, you need to do some research before ordering from any on-line place.

Amazingly, everyone was able to find bad reviews AFTER they ordered...so no matter how many forums 'know' about the problem, the information is USELESS, unless, you look it up and read it!


.

 

[DCG1286]

Should price be the only factor in making your decision purchasing livestock? Why not just take your business to good local vendors or LFS. Not everyone in the business is in it for the $$. The prices are higher at responsible retailers because some take extra care of the livestock with proper acclimation, making sure the fish is eating and disease/parasite free, etc. They also pay more for better quality and not do a quick turn around for fast money.

I'll stick to the MR vendors and local fish stores from now on, I just hate that people still charge $70-$100 for a mystery wrasse and $79-$89 for a blue dot jaw fish most of us can't afford them at those prices so I was tempted and wanted 1 of each and only pay less then half that amount online.

It seems like price plays a pretty big role lately. Everyone loves a bargain (WHY NOT?! ) ... but not when you pay for the same fish twice (sometimes more).

Amazingly, everyone was able to find bad reviews AFTER they ordered...so no matter how many forums 'know' about the problem, the information is USELESS, unless, you look it up and read it!
.

LOL... Alfie, you know this isn't the last of AquaCON!

 

[Breakin Newz]

I feel bad for the fish, what a waste!

I wonder if they even use oxygen with the fish....

 

[jr973]

It sucks you had to go through that but is it worth the hassle of all that when MR has great vendors with great prices I can name 3 off the top with good prices and I'm sure they can negotiate with you if you have a 400 dollar order next time try blue star aqua or dombaski great people to deal with

 

[poormansdream]

Once again thanks guys, I will only buy from local people and Vendors from now on.
I should of did more research before buying any thing online.

Let's see what happens next, I will keep you all up to speed.

Thanks
Poormansdream

 

[poormansdream]

This is what I got from them today,


Did you leave a voice-mail? If you do not leave a voice-mail I have no way of knowing that you were trying to contact us. The red mangroves were not in the box included because we were currently out of stock on that item. Your refund request for $9.99 was already submitted to our billing department on May 4th. I was unaware that you had disputed this charge with your credit card company. We have agreed to provide you with a store credit in the amount of $88.97 not to refund that amount to your credit card.

The reason why you were charged the $20.00 extra to your credit card is because for the Blue-Dot Jaw-fish and the Mystery Wrasse their is an extra $10.00 associated with each of those fish for shipping and handling. Per our guarantee that you agreed to at the time of purchase Aquatic Connection DOES NOT cover shipping and handing on any replacements.

I can assure you that when your fish were sent out they were ALIVE and healthy. We acclimate all of our fish for 14 days prior to be sent out on a order. However we can not control if a fish dies during shipping. If your fish have died after the 48 hours than most likely the reason why they died is because of the condition of your tank. We are doing everything we can to accommodate you, they are willing to provide you with a store credit on replacements which they never do because they never guarantee a replacement.

Have a nice day!

Crystal
Aquatic Connection Live


So they sent me 3 more DOA replacement fish so why the $20 charge? If they charge $10 per each fish extra why only charge me $20 when it should of been $30?
My final bill was $99.96 but I was charged 105.xx and a separate $20 charge.

This is BS, she new when I called her by my caller id because she answered the phone and said my name before I said a word to her so that's another line of BS.

Bottom line is I got aquaCONned

 

[xxxAngeloxxx]

This is what I got from them today,


Did you leave a voice-mail? If you do not leave a voice-mail I have no way of knowing that you were trying to contact us. The red mangroves were not in the box included because we were currently out of stock on that item. Your refund request for $9.99 was already submitted to our billing department on May 4th. I was unaware that you had disputed this charge with your credit card company. We have agreed to provide you with a store credit in the amount of $88.97 not to refund that amount to your credit card.

The reason why you were charged the $20.00 extra to your credit card is because for the Blue-Dot Jaw-fish and the Mystery Wrasse their is an extra $10.00 associated with each of those fish for shipping and handling. Per our guarantee that you agreed to at the time of purchase Aquatic Connection DOES NOT cover shipping and handing on any replacements.

I can assure you that when your fish were sent out they were ALIVE and healthy. We acclimate all of our fish for 14 days prior to be sent out on a order. However we can not control if a fish dies during shipping. If your fish have died after the 48 hours than most likely the reason why they died is because of the condition of your tank. We are doing everything we can to accommodate you, they are willing to provide you with a store credit on replacements which they never do because they never guarantee a replacement.

Have a nice day!

Crystal
Aquatic Connection Live


So they sent me 3 more DOA replacement fish so why the $20 charge? If they charge $10 per each fish extra why only charge me $20 when it should of been $30?
My final bill was $99.96 but I was charged 105.xx and a separate $20 charge.

This is BS, she new when I called her by my caller id because she answered the phone and said my name before I said a word to her so that's another line of BS.

Bottom line is I got aquaCONned

Damn!!!!

 

[The_Robert_Loo]

Wow, sorry to hear..I was about to place an order with them within the next few days. I guess I'm going to cancel those plans =/ . Sucks cuz they seem to have some pretty good stuff on their website as well as good prices.

 

[JBL]

Have a nice day!

Crystal
Aquatic Connection Live

:lol2::lol2::lol2::lol2: "Have a nice day!" That is too funny! I was goin to order a few things a few weeks ago, until I did a google search on them and came back with ALL negative reviews. It seems all they stock is dead fish! If I wanted dead fish, i'll goto the supermarket and play house with a Herring or two.....

 

[LatinP]

I thought everyone knew about these people already? Oh well you live and learn. Just a fyi about this company, the reason their fish are so cheap is because they get their fish in bulk from the only cyanide fishery left on the planet still legally operating that I know of (Cebu Aquatics). It really doesn't matter how long you accolate or how well shipped these fish are they're caught in giant quantities overseas and are all poisoned caught. Not a damn thing you buy from that company will be healthy aside from maybe chaeto or mangroves but even that I wouldn't take a chance on.

 

[albano]

Just a fyi about this company, the reason their fish are so cheap is because they get their fish in bulk from the only cyanide fishery left on the planet still legally operating that I know of (Cebu Aquatics). It really doesn't matter how long you accolate or how well shipped these fish are they're caught in giant quantities overseas and are all poisoned caught.

While this MAY be MOSTLY true (and I'm NOT trying to say anything good about Aquacon)... royal grammas are caribbean fish, so the supplier can't be the ONLY problem!


.

 

[poormansdream]

The only fish still alive is the second mystery wrasse and the midas blenny, everything is dead. Almost $600 spent and this is what I get. The saddest part is I have a fish cemetery in my freezer. Mystery is eating like a pig but the midas is not.

 

[poormansdream]

This is today's BS,


I am well aware that you received 3 replacements. The Blue-Sided Fairy Wrasse and the Blue- Dot Jaw-fish each require an additional$10.00 charge for shipping and handling. You invoice shows $99.96 which is for your items purchased and our website it states you will be charged an extra $5.00 for the credit card processing fee which would be a total of $104.63 plus the $20.00 for the shipping of your replacements.

I am well aware that we have caller id however if you do not leave a voice-mail we don't know the reason why you are calling resulting in the reason why you never received a phone call back. If you are trying to insinuate that we were ignoring your calls that is not the case we were either on the other line with a customer or were closed.

If you lost more fish within the 48 hour guarantee why did you not send pictures? We have no way of knowing what survived and what died within that 48 hours unless you send pictures.

No one lied to you or coned you. Our guarantee is very simple and clear if read. Have a good day.

Crystal
Aquatic Connection Live

On Wed, May 11, 2011 at 1:50 AM,

 

[Fishluva513]

Hello,

I thought I'll share my miserable experience with all you guys and gals on how I got screwed by aquatic connection or aquacon.com.
I placed a $300 plus $100 for shipping order last week from them.
They had a great sale on Mystery wrasses and blue dot jaw fish and more.
Anyway long story short I received 4 DOA (Dead on arrivals) fish from them which they said they will replace when I place another order no matter the mount and pay $40 minimum shipping for it and they will throw the DOA fish in with that second order. Guess what I spent another $99.96 and recieved the same fish DOA, there warrenty does not replace the second DOA and I kept the orignal fish in the freezer, I guess they thought I would throw them away and they can make up some BS and say there the same fish from before. This time the blue dot smelled like it was dead for 1 week not 23 hours and it was deteriorating already.
I called and they new it was me from caller ID because the girl crystal called me by my first name when she answered and she said send over a picture of the dead fish and I'll talk with the boss. Guess what they haven't answered on me since or returned any of my calls.
They have my credit card info and charged me $105.99 plus a separate charge of $20 the second time which is illegal considering the bill I printed out was for $99.96 in total.

I went ahead and checked BBB and their obviously not BBB accredited but they have 64 complaints on them even though.

They are scam artist and thieves and made my week a living hell.
I'm disputing all the charges and I had to cancel my Bank card because who knows what they will try next if they went ahead and charged me more with out saying anything to me.

I'll stick to the MR vendors and local fish stores from now on, I just hate that people still charge $70-$100 for a mystery wrasse and $79-$89 for a blue dot jaw fish most of us can't afford them at those prices so I was tempted and wanted 1 of each and only pay less then half that amount online.

Don't fall for their 40% off sale because they will screw you.

Another lesson learned I guess.

Buy local !