Anybody Else Dealt With "everythingbutwater" Mail Order

[baron von bubba]

hi,
just wondering if anyone else has had bad expieriences with this internet only mail order company, "everythingbutwater"?

i orderered 2 bags of black eco complete from them, they sent red instead.

i contacted them to try to rectivfy the mistake and was informed that they had emailed me before hand to ask if this replacement was ok!
now, being the total geek i am, i check both my mail accounts numorous times a day, so im very sure i didnt recieve any such mail form them, if i had i would have declined thier kind offer to send me something that i really didnt want.

they are refusing to pay the return postage of nearly £15 (its 18kg) saying its my fault for not responding to thier email that i didnt recieve!!

so partly interested to see if any others have had fun with these guys and partly to warn ppl to maybe find a slightly more professional company to use if considering internet mail order

 

[Spiceweasel69]

As far as i inderstand, you have been provided with something different to that ordered. Dont you have rights on distance selling etc?

Id contact trading standards. Even if unsucessful, it will make them sit up and listen.

 

[Smoothy]

Even if they did send you an email, they should have waited for you to reply!

I think I would contact trading standards too, I wouldn't be happy at all.

 

[minxfishy]

I assume you have contacted them via phone to speak to someone? If not, try that and insist on speaking to a manager. Failing that, how did you pay, if via credit card, contact your card provider and explain the situation to them, you are covered and they will get the money back from the company. (least I assume thats how it works)

 

[three-fingers]

There's been a few threads on 'Everythingbutwater' recently - they are the same people as 'Waterhome Aquatics', 'The Living Seas' and loads more, they just trade under different names for some reason (I'd suspect it's so that people will mistankly use another one of thier storesif they have a bad experiance with another).

Some very dodgy stuff happening.

See this thread: [URL="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=262376&st=0"]http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...262376&st=0[/URL].

This one too: [URL="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=276080&hl=the+living+seas"]http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...the+living+seas[/URL].

They are really terrible. What they have done here to you is unacceptable, and TBH given all the negative reviews I'd say they are lying on purpose, I hope somebody takes them down soon.

Google any one of their names and all you get is bad reviews...

 

[baron von bubba]

how do i find out the other companys that they operate under?
as i fully intend to trawl the forums warning ppl to avoid them!

ive since read plenty of negative posts in regards to this dodgy company, shame i didnt research first!

ive contacted the office of fair trading and been adviced that they are out of order and i should write to the director of the company, altho from what i've read this is more than likely some pikey sat in a caravan somewhere!

i paid on debit card, not credit, so no help there! :0(

maybe a dedicated part of the forum should be set up so we can rate and review the mail order companies we use?

i'm currently setting up a planted tank and have used about 5 or 6 different companies and with the exception of this one they have been great, so dont let this put you off mail order, just do a little research first!

 

[Spiceweasel69]

how do i find out the other companys that they operate under?
as i fully intend to trawl the forums warning ppl to avoid them!

ive since read plenty of negative posts in regards to this dodgy company, shame i didnt research first!

ive contacted the office of fair trading and been adviced that they are out of order and i should write to the director of the company, altho from what i've read this is more than likely some pikey sat in a caravan somewhere!

i paid on debit card, not credit, so no help there! :0(

maybe a dedicated part of the forum should be set up so we can rate and review the mail order companies we use?

i'm currently setting up a planted tank and have used about 5 or 6 different companies and with the exception of this one they have been great, so dont let this put you off mail order, just do a little research first!

Funny enough when i read your post about these guys i was just about to order a new eheim filter. I had done my research and knew the group had a string of complaints rom forum members and have just put on a post asking for a recommended section for online retailers.

I usually use Zooplus or Seapets, but the price of an eheim thermofilter from the 1st4aquatics is much cheaper. Obviously we now know why.

 

[baron von bubba]

Funny enough when i read your post about these guys i was just about to order a new eheim filter. I had done my research and knew the group had a string of complaints rom forum members and have just put on a post asking for a recommended section for online retailers.

I usually use Zooplus or Seapets, but the price of an eheim thermofilter from the 1st4aquatics is much cheaper. Obviously we now know why.
[/quote]


hope i saved you some hassle :0)

i have used both of those other companies with no problems!

 

[baron von bubba]

just icase anybody needs further convincing of the professional manor in which this fantastic group of companies is run, this is the last e-mail i recieved from AQUAMAGIC GROUP

From: Aqua Magic International Ltd (aquamagicgroup@yahoo.co.uk)
Sent: 03 March 2009 12:53:10
To: jamie

Spoiler

crumpton (jamiecrumpton@hotmail.com

)

Dear Sir

We sent an email stating that we would send this unless you informed us otherwise.

You did not reply, we sent it.

We are not responsible for the return costs, you are.

Sid.

 

[baron von bubba]

these mail order companies are also run be AQUAMAGIC GROUP and most seem to have bad reviews in the forums!


thelivingseas.co.uk,
1st4aquatics,
water home aquatics,
fish bitz,
capital aquatics,
premier-aquatics,
reef wise aquatics,
biorb-aquariums.com,


BUYERS BEWARE!!

 

[strangeworld2002]

I second this, avoid like the plague. They have this attitude of we will send your items when we feel like it. Even though they have your money from day one. You can generally tell which sites all belong to the same group as they are all the same template, just different colors. Be sure to check the contact details as these will be suspiciously similar if not the same.

I think most people have been drawn in by their cheap prices which are VERY cheap in comparison to other stores.

They are bunch of cowboys, I would never deal with them again but like it has been mentioned they trade under various different names to try and get the business. There is something very dodgy going on and I think it won't be long before Trading Standards get hold of them.

Having said that, you DO receive your items, but not in the time scale or by the method they state on their website.

I have had an experience of making a complaint to Trading Standards and The Advertising Standards about another site I had trouble with, they replied by saying they cannot do anything about what companies state on their websites, in other words if buying off the internet then you accept the responsibility. Load of bull to be honest but thats what I was told in a very nice letter from the ASA.

AVOID AVOID AVOID.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ask them to prove that they sent you an e-mail, if you've no record of it then it clearly wasn't sent. ask them for proof then take that to trading standards. I imagine it'll be pretty easy to identify if they've forged proof of sending an e-mail to you.

 

[pippoodle]

as i put in another thread - i have had no problems with livingseas or 1st4aquatics and have used them many times and been very happy with them and their service
also they dont hide the fact they are part of the aquamagic group it's on their websites

 

[RedeyesUK]

as i put in another thread - i have had no problems with livingseas or 1st4aquatics and have used them many times and been very happy with them and their service

I have no doubt. In fact, I'd go so far as to say the majority of their sales are problem free.

The point is, though, that these companies seem to attract a lot of negative reviews - like the post here, I've seen some examples of pretty shocking customer service from them. That means (at least in my mind) that there is a greater than average chance of a purchase from them going horribly wrong. Personally, I'd rather not take the chance, even if it does cost me an extra few quid.

It's a bit like seing an ebay seller with, say, 90% feedback. Chances are you'll be OK, but on average, you'd have a 1 in 10 chance of it going badly enough for you to leave negative feedback.

You pay your money, you take your choice, as they say - I would choose to spend my money somewhere with a better rep than these guys.

 

[strangeworld2002]

I have heard cases of good service if you live close. Now they are based in Weymouth, Dorset and your profile says you live in Devon. I could be wrong on this but I think if you were to check everyone who has ordered from them, those living a little further afield get a poor service. The reason for this could be they are making their profits up on delivery costs, so if you live further away they send via the cheapest service and not what you paid for thus resulting in a slow turnover and poor customer service that comes with them tangling themselves up in lies.

It was only when I exposed the fact they were lying to me that they got very nasty towards me.

My particular purchase was from their Fishbitz store and despite saying they only use UPS, my parcel arrived via Royal Mail Standard Parcels.

I paid for next day delivery for a filter and 2 months later I got the filter. I was never re-imbursed for the delivery charge.