My expereince with Aquatic Connections Live, aka aquacon.com

[benmorrow1978]

I posted previously asking for etiquette procedures and policy regarding posting opinions and experiences regarding online retailers and received no response from moderators or anyone for that matter. I want to do things the right way and I also want to ensure I am able to properly share my experiences. Please let me know if you have suggestions.

I want to share my experience with aquacon.com with you. Originally I ordered 7 macroalgae/plants from them. I ordered 3 ferns, 2 shaving hair and 2 mermaids fans. I placed that order on January 25 and paid extra for Saturday delivery. On Jan 26 (Wednesday) I received a call to notify me my order was shipping that day, and that I could expect it delivered on the next (Thursday). I explained that I had requested and paid for Saturday delivery and was told, "We will take care of it". Friday the 28th came and went with no phone call, and Saturday the 29th came and went with no delivery. I sent an email on the 29th and received no response to that email. I called on Feb 1 and spoke with Ron, the owner. He advised there had been issues with weather and shipping wasn't possible. I told him I was still interested in the order and was even considering making additions to the order. He told me to send an email with the additions and he would make sure they were added to the original order. I sent the email requesting the additional items on the 2nd. An hour later I received a response from Ron stating the additions would be made. I didn't receive my order until February 12th. I received only the original order, and the shaving hair were DOA. I contacted them via phone on the 14th and spoke with Crystal (spelling unknown). She advised to take pictures of the shaving hair and email them as soon as possible, and that she would speak to Ron about the additions. I called to check the status on the 16th and spoke to Crystal again. She had no answers. I explained I was very unhappy with their lack of communication. She advised she would call back that day with an answer. I called on the 18th and there was no answer. I called on the 21st and there was no answer. I called on the 22nd and Crystal advised she received no response from Ron to her email sent on the 16th. It has been 4 weeks from my original order date and my order is still outstanding. Tomorrow will make 3 weeks from the additions order and that is completely undelivered. The problems are summarized below

They nearly shipped my order 2 days early, which would have subjected the plants to cold temperatures. I firmly believe if I hadn't been able to answer my phone when they called on Jan 26, my items would have shipped.

I researched weather history for Fort Lauderdale, Memphis, TN (the HQ for FedEx, and my own area, there was no extremely inclement weather in any of those locations for the weekend of January 29.

The fact that no effort was made to communicate the delivery would be late is poor business practice.

While shipping was delayed legitimately the following week due to extreme inclement weather, no communication from the company is unforgivable.

Only partial delivery of the order on the 12th of February. I understand mistakes happen, but I had direct contact with the owner of the company, the order should have been complete.

DOA product is forgivable. Their 48 hour policy could be adjusted to compete with most other 14 day policies, especially considering their history of not answering the telephone or returning calls during stated work hours.

The largest failure is the almost seemingly unwillingness to communicate after their error. I feel like i'm talking to a brick wall when I deal with this company now. There is never a resolution or offer to resolve, just delay after delay. I feel there should be no question to the answer, shipping the remainder of my order as well as replacement shaving hair, free of shipping charges. I paid for Saturday delivery which was approximately $63.00. The entire order would have shipped for that amount had it been shipped at the same time.

This company may just be "too good to be true". Their website boasts incredible deals and incredible products. It seems they just can't deliver.

If for some reason they do come around and make this right, I will add that to the post. Good luck to all that have placed orders. Also, please let me know if you have had an experience with this company and if it was positive or negative.

Thank you for reading,

Ben Morrow

[Original Fin]

I for one appreciate the heads up.

Although I've never done business with Aquacon, I have frequented their website and thought about placing an order. Considering your experience, I'll take my business elsewhere.

Unless you're representing a competing vendor, there's no reason why we can't/shouldn't share negative feedback here, as long as it's kept factual, and doesn't turn into some sort of an attack.
I would imagine that filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau would have the greatest impact. If the way they treated you is typical, others may have already filed similar complaints. The more complaints they get, the more likely it is that they will be investigated, which could lead to fines, audits, and/or loss of their business license.

Word of mouth can have a big impact on their business, but filing an official complaint is the best way to protect other people from becoming victimized.

[benmorrow1978]

I'm glad I may save one person from the trouble I've had!

I posted this identical item on another forum and after posting they show a "related posts" area, and there were many more people sharing the same experience. I checked the Better Business Bureau in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They list the business as closed and therefore no rating, but had the following complaints.

Customer Complaint History

When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.
BBB processed a total of 61 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 61 complaints closed in 36 months, 16 were closed in the last year.
These complaints concerned :+ 10regarding Advertising Issues 10- None of the Above - Advertising Complaint Issue+ 3regarding Billing or Collection Issues 3- None of the Above - Credit, Billing or Collection Complaint Issue+ 2regarding Contract Issues 2- None of the Above - Contract Complaint Issue+ 4regarding Delivery Issues 2- Non-delivery of products2- None of the Above - Delivery Complaint Issue+ 1regarding Guarantee or Warranty Issues 1- None of the Above - Guarantee or Warranty Complaint Issue+ 1regarding Product Issues 1- None of the Above - Product Quality Complaint Issue+ 7regarding Refund or Exchange Issues 1- Failure to honor promised refunds, exchanges, or credit1- Failure to honor refund, exchange or credit policies5- None of the Above - Refund or Exchange Complaint Issue+ 32regarding Sales Practice Issues 31- None of the Above - Sales Complaint Issue1- Sales presentation misrepresented the product+ 1regarding Service Issues 1- None of the Above - Service Complaint Issue These complaints were closed as: + 13Resolved 10 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to BBB.3 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to BBB.+ 15Administratively Closed 14 - BBB determined the company made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.1 - The parties could not provide sufficient information to support their positions nor were they agreeable to make reasonable efforts toward resolving the issues of the dispute.+ 33No Response 33 - Company failed to respond to BBB to resolve or address the complaint issues.I guess I should have checked here first!

[Original Fin]

Despite what the BBB is aware of, the business is obviously not closed. Perhaps they've reopened, or perhaps they are operating without a license.

I would still report the issue to BBB, and add that they should change the status from closed to open for business.

[benmorrow1978]

Here's an update..

I contacted Aquatic Connections at least 10 more times since my last post. It seems they refuse to answer my calls or return my messages. I've contacted my credit card company and disputed the charge. I will not do business with AquaCON again.

[Original Fin]

Sorry you had this bad experience Ben. It's a shame that places like this get away with what they do (or don't do) for as long as they do.

[chavez]

. I wish you all the best with your problems dealing with aquacon.

I had placed an order on line with them yesterday. About 15 min after completing transaction i got an email saying there had been an error an the payment had not been completed. I didn't have time to redo the payment i figured i would just do it today. lucky me i always check all the posts here as im eating breakfast and seen this thread. I called my mastercard company and said if they get any online companies trying to take payment to block them there had been 5 attempts in the past 12 hours from this company and mastercard had already flaged this as suspicious. So thanks a million for the heads up i will NEVER try and buy from here again.

THANKS again Ben i feel like im so lucky

[Original Fin]

[sakrei]

I recently placed an order with them. About 1-1.5 weeks after I placed my order they called me to inform me that it was being sent. The order arrived and was well packaged and everything was alive. However I was missing one of the items I orderd. I promptly emailed them and was told I would be issued a refund. I still haven't received one about 2 weeks after, and have e-mailed them twice being told it was being processed, and the other time was told they will check with billing.

Overall it wasn't a terrible experience, I got everything I wanted except one thing (which unfortunately was the reason I placed the order in the first place), but definately will not do business with again.

My advise to everyone is to stay away, and from now on if you ever plan to order something online to check reviews. I have avoided placing several orders since because of it, so I feel the money I have lost has taught me a valuable lesson.

If I have not received a refund by the end of this week I will be calling my credit card company to dispute the charge.

[sean33laf]

I just ordered from aquacon.com last week Mon, March 28, 2011 3:51:02 PM and got a voided UPS tracking number sent from UPS two days later Wed, March 30, 2011 6:21:06 PM
. I sent several emails to try to find out the status of my order and have got no reply via email whatsoever. I have sent an email every business day since Tue, March 29, 2011 the day before voided tracking number was sent to me asking for the status of my order and have never gotten a reply by email. I have called on Friday April 1st 2011 to ask the status of my order. I was able to get ahold of someone and said there was a problem with the credit card address and the address I was shipping to as they were different and I marked it the same (my fault) and was waiting for confirmation of my information that I gave when I ordered and was told my order would be sent out Monday (April 4th) or Tuesday (April 5th). I had a friend of mine call them today to find out if my order will be sent today the 4th or tomorrow the 5th and they told him that it would be sent tomorrow on the 5th. I thought it was kinda odd for a company to wait so long to send it so I did some research online and came across a lot of bad info about them on forums and on the better business bureau (on the BBB it says they are no longer in business) SO I thought I would share my experience good or bad about them and hopefully when i receive my order it will be as expected and not as many on here have had. I spent 160$ on that site.......I will update this if my order has been sent when they said and when I receive my order I will put every detail so that it will be without question, pics and all

[gregr]

Not that aquacon needs anymore bashing for everyone to know that they're the absolute worst business out there... but they used many of my photos without permission and refused to remove them even after being notified.

[gregr]

If you're thinking of buying from a company you've never used before or are unsure of-- check them out first on Store Ratings & Reviews - ResellerRatings.com - Find Trusted Stores.
And if you've already been burned by aquacon you might want to post your own review there since that site gets a lot of traffic. Hopefully you can save someone else from getting burned.

[sakrei]

greg raises a good point. even if you get burned by them, at least learn from it. every time i buy online now i check reviews. i think we are all used to reliable online services that we let our guards down. by the way aquacon did reimburse me as promised but took 4 or 5 emails (month later) to get it done.