Aquacon / Aqua Connection
5401 NW 102nd Ave
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33351
www.aquacon.com
Owner: Luis Vazquez
Less than a month ago I was on the internet searching for a company to order "live rocks" from for my new salt water aquarium. I came across Aquacon.com, which presented itself as a knowledgeable and legitimate company to do business with. I made an online purchase for 50lbs of live rock that came out to be a total of $502.86. I noticed that the price per lb. Was not correct and that I was over charged.
This is when I made my first call to the business and spoke to an associate who said his name was "Jim". I thought it was strange that when he answered the phone, he never said the company name or his name in a normal professional greeting. I asked who I was speaking too and then proceeded to share that I was over charged.
"Jim" mentioned that I was the 1st customer to notice the discrepancy and that he had hundreds of lbs. Of rock and no one noticed the over pricing. He then refunded me $60 which was the overage amount.
Exhibits from my credit card account that I highlighted.
Mar 13 MARINE LIFE USA
DEBIT CARD PURCHASE ($502.86)
Mar 14 MARINE LIFE USA
DEBIT CARD REFUND $60.00
The final amount and receipt submitted to my credit for bill of sale was $411.76
Mar 19 MARINE FISH
POS DEBIT ($411.76)
After being promised that my purchase would arrive 2 days later, nothing ever came. I called Aquacon back and spoke to Jim. He assured me that it was coming, the rocks were being cured and that they will arrive to my home in the next 2 days. Once again 2 days later and nothing came. I then called Jim back and simply asked for a refund.
I had not received my purchase and I was tired of waiting. I didn't know what was going on but at that point I had lost trust for the business. Jim asked me not to cancel, he said that he had picked me out some really nice pieces and that I would be happy with the purchase. I said NO, just refund my money. I had already purchased rocks locally and didn't need their product any more.
Since the package had never left the store, just refund money and we can be done doing business. Jim said okay and that he was refunding the full amount of the purchase today. I should see the amount in my account 2-5 business days, depending on my bank. Once again I waited the allotted time for my refund and NOTHING!
Then I arrive home from work and there were 2 boxes at my door step from FedEx. It was the rocks that I had cancelled and was waiting on a refund for. I did not open the packages and I immediately called to see what was going on. At that point I was dealing with a guy named Ryan. Ryan said that he didn't know what happened, that Jim turned my information over to him (he was the evening manager) and that he would have to have "Accounting" follow up with me on my refund. I waited for Accounting to call me and they never did.
I called back and then the serious run around began. No calls from accounting and now "Ryan" was not doing anything to help me. Ryan stated that he would schedule a pick up by FedEx and once they received the packages (rocks) back then they would refund my money. I did not want to schedule a pick up because I was not going to be home.
At that point, my wife got involved. She called Ryan and they still answer the phone with No company Name and using NO associate name. My wife verified that the name of the company and who she was speaking to prior to getting into details. From their conversation on 3/30/07 Ryan assured my her that he wanted to resolve this matter and that he mailed on that day (3/30/07) a FedEx shipping label with their (Aquacon / Aqua Connection) account number on it and we should receive it in the mail over the weekend. She said that she would give it until Tuesday which was plenty of time and if it wasn't there she would call back.
Knowing that this company is now shady, she did some online investigation on the BBB (Better Business Bureau) website and found some disturbing information. Details listed below:
Another attempt by my wife to contact "Ryan" on today (4/4/07) resulted in an even more deceitful tactic by the company. She told Ryan that the labels never came and asked him for the account number right then and there. She had a FedEx label that she would complete and needed the account number to send the rocks back so that I can get a refund. Ryan gave her an account number and she told him that she would verify it first with FedEx.
After she called FedEx, they told her that the account could not be billed and that it was good she did not use it because she would have been charged for the package. Furious by this information, she called Ryan back to tell him what FedEx said. He tried to tell her she gave them the wrong number or that she was off by a number of something. She told him that she will conference FedEx so that they can tell him exactly what they told her.
Ryan stayed on the phone and she conference FedEx. They gave him the same information and told him the account could not be billed. Ryan tried to explain that the credit card was removed from the account because they now have "open billing'. The FedEx representative sent us to customer service so that we can schedule a pick up. The customer service told Ryan that she could not do it because of the account status.
Ryan wanted to get off the phone so that he can check with "Accounting" to see what was going on. I told him NO while we all were on conference, I told him to give her a credit card number right now so that she can schedule the pick up of the rocks. He wouldn't give that number because I was on the phone.
I told the FedEx lady I would hang up so that she can get the information that she needed and then I would call her back in 10 minutes to verify that he did square things up so that the packages could be picked up. Be fore I could hang up - Ryan Davis HUNG UP!
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