Aquatic connection

[The River Reef]

Has anyone used these guys. I placed an order at 11am on wed... I receive confirmation right away that states when the order ships they will provide an email with the shipping confirmation. @ days have passed nothing. I have sent 3 emails, no response. I have called 4 times twice each day, voice mail every time... terrible! $49.99 for shipping and handling, never again!!!

 

[Owen386]

If this is Aquacon.com I hope the beest for you and your livestock!

They have the worst reviews I have ever seen Of any company.

Just do a google search of aquaCON.com reviews. It will not set your stomach at ease but you will know the truth......
Lot of people have to go through the CC company to get a refund.

They have been reported to the BBB numerous times. Think they have like an F rating

Good luck! Hope all works out but from those reviews I would not hold your breathe

 

[Owen386]

Correction they do have an "F" Rating


http://www.bbb.org/south-east-flori...onnection-live-in-fort-lauderdale-fl-27001077

 

[The River Reef]

I have requested a refund myself... What does go through CC for refund mean. My order totals 179 with shipping, what a bummer. Shame on me for not researching first. I was ordering 2 tree sponges and they were the first to come up on a search for them... lesson learned. I hope I can get my money back!

 

[FinsUp!]

To file a dispute with your credit card company or bank, you have to call them and file a claim stating that you never received the merchandise you paid for and it's unlikely you will as the vendor isn't cooperating. They'll take the necessary steps from there to try to get you your money back.

I've heard really bad things about aquacon. Did you check liveaquaria? They probably have tree sponges and the service is great.

 

[Owen386]

sorry CC= Credit card

Sorry man. Sucks! But you should be able to get your money back no problem. As when the CC company investigates the company/transaction Etc... I`m sure something will indicate to them that they should refund our customers money because this aquaCON.com Sucks!

Good luck!

+1 on Liveaquaria in my most recent order I had ordered some mangroves they came damaged. Well All I did is e-mail them and within a day they e-mailed me back saying we are sorry and a refund as been added to your CC that`s it ! No need for proof or anything. Thinking about throwing together another group order soon......

-Owen

 

[The River Reef]

sorry CC= Credit card

Sorry man. Sucks! But you should be able to get your money back no problem. As when the CC company investigates the company/transaction Etc... I`m sure something will indicate to them that they should refund our customers money because this aquaCON.com Sucks!

Good luck!

+1 on Liveaquaria in my most recent order I had ordered some mangroves they came damaged. Well All I did is e-mail them and within a day they e-mailed me back saying we are sorry and a refund as been added to your CC that`s it ! No need for proof or anything. Thinking about throwing together another group order soon......

-Owen

Let me know... My order was for 3 Bangai Cardinals 2 Tree sponges... I am in no rush for the stuff...

 

[The River Reef]

So this was on my debit card... I have to close my card and file a merchant grievance claim. It takes up to 60 days... I need to gather all supporting documents then head to my bank and file the claim which has a processing charge. Plus my debit card number will be changed... What a PITA!!! Now I will have $179 tied up.

How can this place stay in business? After reading the reviews... insanity!

 

[Owen386]

I would wait it out maybe a couple days... see if your 1 in 100 to get A good order and prompt delivery? Sounds like its going to be a hassle going to the bank and all.

On a side note if It does not work out I would recommend Oceans in Glass in Salem N.H (Sponsor on BRS) have seen some nice looking Bangaii Cardinals in there Nice size too also Very nice sponges.

 

[The River Reef]

I filled a complaint with the BBB in Florida. I also filled out a negative review on trustlink... We need to stop this from happening, it is unacceptable business and I am not taking it lightly...

 

[FinsUp!]

Sucks that this is happening to you. When you pay $50 for shipping of live animals, it shouldn't take more than 3 or 4 days for it to ship and arrive. When we ordered from liveaquaria, I believe it was ordered on Tuesday afternoon and arrived Thursday morning.

At any rate, I'm stopping by KCA tonight. if I spot any nice sponges, I'll let you know.

 

[The River Reef]

I would wait it out maybe a couple days... see if your 1 in 100 to get A good order and prompt delivery? Sounds like its going to be a hassle going to the bank and all.

On a side note if It does not work out I would recommend Oceans in Glass in Salem N.H (Sponsor on BRS) have seen some nice looking Bangaii Cardinals in there Nice size too also Very nice sponges.

I am fine with a short delay in the order... that happens. What alarms me is the fact that they avoid contact. No reply to emails, no answering their phone... A simple email that takes 5 minutes is all it takes. It is the lack of response that makes me feel ripped off and worried...

 

[JohnK]

I'd start pursuing this with your CC company right away, and possibly forward them some of the info from the BBB.

Aquacon does this all the time, they have the worst reputation of any online fish supplier in existence. Don't waste your time trying to play nice.

http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums...Lauderdale-FL)-Buyer-Beware&highlight=aquacon

http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums/showthread.php?71809-aquatic-connection&highlight=aquacon

 

[The River Reef]

Man I wish I did a search before getting excited and quickly ordering livestock... Now time to put the gloves on... I am far from a push over!

 

[The River Reef]

So I just got an email stating that they have to get the sponges ready at the warehouse... blah blah and my order wasn't ready. They claim to be dealing with hundreds of emails/ calls and couldn't return my inquiries. They also stated that my order is cancelled and it will take 7-14 business days to receive the refund.

 

[FinsUp!]

I wonder if they could be had for mail fraud (which is a felony) if you don't get the items and are really looking to make sure they see the consequences of their actions. They defrauded you through the false promise of goods delivered through the mail (or in this case, a private carrier). Not sure what it would cost to go after them for something like that though.

There has to be some sort of law against what they're doing... I've heard an incredible number of bad experiences, and who knows how many people get had that we never hear about because they just let it go? I get the feeling they're still in business and scamming away because nobody's considered it "worth it" to take it far enough to make aquaCON face legal consequences.

 

[FinsUp!]

So I just got an email stating that they have to get the sponges ready at the warehouse... blah blah and my order wasn't ready. They claim to be dealing with hundreds of emails/ calls and couldn't return my inquiries. They also stated that my order is cancelled and it will take 7-14 business days to receive the refund.

Wait, so they're saying that they have to get your sponges ready, so your order isn't ready, but it's cancelled and you'll get a refund in a week or two? Color me confused! And isn't it convenient how poor customer service always "slammed with inquiries" when you start pushing them about why they can't get back to you?

 

[The River Reef]

Yeah... they tone of the email was that it is all my fault and I should be sitting at home patiently waiting for that over night signature required delivery email. It is not like we work, we all sit at home feeding fish all day, right? Here is the email:


Matthew,

We do communicate you unfortunately did not have patience in the matter. That is why when any of our orders are ready to ship out we always call the customer to confirm the shipment along with sending a confirmation email to the customer with shipping details along with an email from FedEx with the tracking number.

We do have plenty of staff members but we deal with customer's all around the United States and we do not wish to use call centers unlike other company's. As far a responding to emails almost all company's have a turn around time of 24 hours before receiving a response we try to respond sooner but sometimes there are just not enough hours in the day.

We do have good customer support sometimes customers just need to have some patience and understand that they are not the only customer we have.

Hope you have a great weekend!



On Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 3:36 PM, Matthew Lariviere <mlariviere1980@yahoo.com> wrote:
Well I appreciate the response... and if you need help returning emails the hundreds of emails than it should be a priority to hire some help. Signature required means most of us leave work just to get the live creatures into our systems safely. That takes planning and communication. After the no response I started to worry and did a search on your company. I am sure I don't have to tell you how scary the results were for me. If you care about rebuilding your image and growing the business, prompt and professional responses will be required. Also not answering the telephone that often is not going to help and only heightens the worry from your terrible online reviews. Again, I appreciate the response, I was about to contact my credit card and file a grievance. If you truly have hundreds of customers to deal with, imagine how much money you could make with good customer support!

Regards,
Matthew Lariviere

 

[The River Reef]

The best part is I got 2 replies after waiting 3 days within 5 minutes... Wonder how they found the time

 

[JohnK]

Don't wait, file that greivence.

Having seen these threads over and over about aquacon I strongly suspect that they don't have anything in stock, and when they are lucky enough to get an order they either try to locate whatever livestock at a lFS for cheaper, or they go out and try to wild collect it.

But yea, at least they don't send their buisness out to call centers, I mean geeze how many times have I tried to call marine depot, premium aquatics, champion lighting, DFS, reef geek, Dr. mac, that pet place and all the other online stores and ended up on hold waiting for some call center in india? Happens all the time, right? NO