Not Happy

[Roquen]

Hi all well, I went to a LFS on Sunday, and got 3 gorgeous platies, a snail and a spiny eel (eel upon advice of the sales person there!). Did all my testing, did the whole intro correctly etc.. 3 platies and snail are fine, but eel wasn't well that night and died yesterday. I contacted the store and was bluntly and unapologetically told that they couldn't' help me and I would not be getting a refund or anything given in exchange. I'm really annoyed because I did everything right my end, and obviously the poor thing was already weak or sick. Feel hard done by cos he cost me $8.95 and I spend more money on specific food for him that my other fish don't eat. Geez, you think they could give me another in his place or store credit! I wont be shopping there again. :-( ness

[Daniel]

Sorry for your loss Roquen, I noticed the other day when i was in one it said something along the lines of "will not replace the fish if they die, so you should therefore choose stock carefully... something, something , something" I think its a pretty poor excuse especially if one of the people recommended the eel to you, sounds a bit sus. Dan

[Robbies Betta]

Sorry to hear I had a similar experience down here at a LFS where all things are priced ^^^^ because the store is "pretty". Bought a Cor, who when taken home, looked to have SBD, so I took him back the next day to at least replace him. Nope, I couldn't Exchange or get my money back. They at least gave me a 50% discount. But still, that 1 peppered Cory cost me bout $10 :rolleyes:

[Chuckie]

I amended this thread a little so as not to name the store in issue, in accordance with the board Rules. If anyone needs to know the particular store in question, please don't name it in public. Thanks guys! :rolleyes:

[Roquen]

I think I should be allowed to name it - I wasn't defaming it,just stating that I was upset at their lack of help! Anyhoo - sucks to hear it happens a lot!

[Figure_8]

It does suck, but naming names in public is not a good thing. In the past both members and board owners have been sued for slander, which is the reason behind the board rules. Of course if you are saying something nice businesses have a different view, but thats to be expected I guess. :rolleyes:

[Canfeleq]

A lot of businesses that deal in live animals will not replace or refund. It is a case of 'buyer beware'. And a lot of people who work in these stores know almost nothing about the animals they sell, as evidenced by the number of places that will tell you that a betta can happily live in a cup of water. My advice is check the store policy on refunds or exchanges before purchase.

[fuzzy_dragonfly]

SOME LFS have a return policy on fish like marine life aquariums in Punchbowl. If the fish dies within 24 hours you must bring in the dead fish, a sample of the water and your recipt for a replacement. Others may offer discounts. It's good practice to ask for policies on fish illness and death, most stores don't offer anything (although I think they should because your not getting what you paid for). I can also understand why they don't, because some people blatantly neglect fish and don't make an effort to find out their needs before purchasing. If your lucky you might get someone understanding to replace or offer a discount even without a policy. I'm sorry about what happened to your spiney eel , they are such lovely, unusual fish, you did everything right but it's just one of those things. If you'd really like another I reccomend you try purchasing one from a different LFS and see if they offer a replacement policy, explain what happened last time. Some decent LFS will be happy to help.

[Roquen]

Thanks for the replies, will go somewhere else and see how I go (and yep, will check their policies first!)

[Callatya]

Don't rely on policies. There is one in the area that has a 48 hour live fish guarantee. I flat out refuse to buy there anymore. I bought 6 platies. I put 2 in one freshly bleached tank, and 4 in another. Within 12 hours the 2 had come down with the worst case of white spot I'd ever seen. I called and said that this had happened and how was I going to go about getting an exchange etc. The guy was quite rude and said "well, its not in our tank, it must have come from your water" at which point I ran him through my sterilisation method, the fact that the parasite must have been somewhere in their tank for it to be *that* visible within 12 hours that that temperature and I would like a refund or exchange. He then tried to tell me that white spot is in every water. er... protozoan... rather large parasite. Not in my water it ain't. At this point i was completely grouchy and asked him to get the manager, who wouldn't get on the phone but said they'd give me 20% off treatment. Yeah, you have the largest markup in Sydney, 20% brings you in line with what I can get it for normally! he then says "if they die within the 48 hours, bring them in, along with a water sample" WHAT??? I am saying its white spot, i'm giving care and timeframes and lifecycles and you are asking for a water sample and requiring dead fish, not live sick fish?? What sort of a policy is that? Its certainly not a welfare policy, and its not a customer service policy, i'm stuffed if I know what it is other than a nice thing to put on a sign. Now, I have to give them some credit. I bought 4 finches from there and 2 died within 6 hours. I froze them and returned the, for a full refund (though geez did I get some funny looks!) so they do honour the policy to the letter. I just resented the guy implying that I was at fault and not really caring about the advanced stage of the parasite and the fact that the fish could be saved. Went back a week later to drop in official complaint only to find entire platy tank FULL of white spot and NFS. I warned them. I said it wasn't from my tank *sigh* The two infected fish died, despite my treatment. the other 4 were fine, although they did get a precautionary treatment. I know the one you mean Roquen, and they aren't my fave for welfare or service. Generally OK, but I have had 2 wormy swords from there so i'm a bit iffy. Be careful at the moment because I went out to the warehouse one (who I usually recommend as being pretty good) and 2 of their tanks have camellanus really badly. It was in the giant danios and the gold medakas. I spotted the same at a Penrith shop last weekend in different fish, so I'd be very careful wherever you buy atm.

[VickiPS]

I'm happy to say that my LFS (Gators on Warwick Rd, Ipswich) is terrific about replacing dead livestock, and are appreciative if notified of sick fish. They are generally very careful about quarantine and hygiene: consequently I rarely buy fish from anywhere but them.

[Fishchick]

livestock are a real problem area when it comes to replacements etc. Better stores offer money back or exchange - some will even offer a replacement at 50% if the fish dies within a week or so. However, having worked on the other side of the counter, I can assure you people use all sorts of tricks to get you to pay for their mistakes!! The office of fair tradiing indicated that 24hrs is a reasonable time frame provided that all care was taken. Cheers, J