ComplaintsforWorld Wide Corals

• Initial Complaint

  03/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On February 22, 2024 I order $250 worth of ***** and inverts. It arrived 5 days later, a day after it was supposed to. There were a lot of things missing and dead in the bag, including a $50 shrimp. I let the company know, they didnt respond for several days, and the things they sent did significant damage to other animals in my tank. I aggressively demanded an answer and ownership of the *** animals, and a refund per their 10 day gaurantee. They blamed my water for the animals that died in the sealed bag, during shipping. The conversation devolved until the manager, ****, said they would be refusing to work with me and to never contact them again and that I was banned from doing business with them again. I responded after being told to not respond and he came unglued and acted very unprofessionally. Ive left review, called both stores, asked for managers, and get no response about the 10 days gaurantee policy. One store employee said they have lost a lot of employees in the shipping department recently and have been having this happen a lot more recently. I had to file a dispute with my credit card company on day 10 to hopefully avoid paying for another couple hundred dollars of dead animals.

  

  Business response

  03/12/2024

  On February 22nd, 2024 ***************************** placed an order with us (World Wide Corals) for a total of $204.22 after discounts. He chose a delivery date of 2/27/24(see attachments). The order shipped out from us on 2/26/24 and arrived the next day on 2/27/24, the day he chose for delivery, not a day later than it was supposed to as he claims(please see ***** delivery picture for proof). ****** emailed us in a very aggressive and mean tone, which he admitted after emailing him about the way he treats our employees(see pictures for the conversation). He told us up front that he is going to bash us and do a chargeback because my employee(*****) asked him for pictures of what he was claiming was dead, which is part of our guarantee policy process. The customer was irate from the beginning and was very uncooperative. From the pictures that he did not want to send us, I can clearly see that one shrimp came in dead, which we were going to do the claim for, but he upfront told us that he is going to do a chargeback, then followed through with it, so he stopped the process of the replacement/credit. Since he has now done a chargeback with the bank, in addition to getting his money back for the whole order, we are getting charged with a chargeback fee, all for a shrimp that he paid $38.98 for. Since doing the chargeback with his bank, he has asked us to replace his dead shrimp, that he would be getting for free at that point. In addition to the chargeback that he did with his bank, he is requesting another $250 here with the BBB, which is more than he paid for the whole order. ****** also left us a 1 star review. In that review, he stated that he lost $50 due to this order (really is $38.98), yet he did a chargeback for the full amount of the whole order and claims another $250 on BBB.

  
  He also wants us to refund a fish or two, that he did not even purchase from us. He claims that the crabs that he ordered from us, killed his fish. Little crabs cannot kill fish a few times their size, and if it were to happen, it would be something that he purchased and put into the tank himself. We cannot guarantee fish that were not purchased from us. After looking at all of the facts and prior emails from him to our employees, I sent him an email asking him to leave us alone and stop being disrespectful to our staff, especially since he did the chargeback for the full amount of the purchase with his bank. There is nothing more we can do for someone at that point and further conversation with him will be fruitless. He still continued to call us and email us at both of our locations, being rude to even more staff. Please see my email for the reason that I asked him to stop contacting us.

  We are a solid company with an excellent reputation and we stand by our products. We do have a process for our guarantee, which is posted on our website under the guarantee tab for all to see. We do request proof of the dead specimen(pictures), which all customers willing supply to us. ****** seemed to get offended when we asked for pictures and took it out on our staff immediately, unfortunately. We did not get to 4.6 stars on google(1,200 reviews) by doing anything but providing great products and great customer service.

  Customer response

  03/12/2024

   
  Complaint: 21407433
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  this is a desperate attempt to get around the simple, hassle free guarantee on their website. 
  

  I didnt receive a reply for days. The reply was this went to my manager I can only ask water parameters. Still didnt hear from them for days.

   

  I did NOT threaten a chargeback until the guarantee period started running out due to no response. I did NOT ask for reimbursement of fish, I scolded them for sending me a crab that wasnt compatible with small fish.

  I dont even know where this guy is going with saying I am requesting all this money or demanding reimbursement for more than I paid.

  he Admitted the stuff was dead, its happened with this vendor before. The policy is loud and clear. You didnt respond, of course I was irate. Being mean isnt a reason to s**** customers over/ignore them and tell them not to talk to you. Business is business. Ive had customers throw iPads at me when they break, and still had to deliver.

  All I wanted was a refund of the dead stuff, so I could reorder from another place. I already reordered and the fish from the other vendor are flourishing! I think its pretty loud and clear here, this companies policies are not true, they dont care, which is upsetting, and now we are here. I dont want money, aside from a refund of the amount he said I paid. $250 is the total amount, you can keep the store credit part of that from the last time you shipped me dead fish. I just want my money back from the fish you admit (and the ones your refuse to admit) were dead in the bag, and I want people to beware in the future.

  it Doesnt take long to research this company and look at reviews of actual customers and see that Im far from the only one. Its very sad that their management jumps to blame the customer, tells them to leave them alone, then makes up all of this stuff when the consequences of the actions come due. You can clearly see in their emails Im not asking for some $600 in money-I even say I dont care about the fish, just do something other than blame me for the fish you just admitted were dead. 
  

  its my right and duty as a customer  to publically share whats been done here. Its the truth. A customer being mean to you isnt a reason to deny your policies and tell them not to talk to you. Its actually a sign that you should reflect on your management and make changes.

  i Called the winter park store and they let me know **** is a hothead. Especially if you do chargebacks. They actually laughed about it and said they think thats why people have been quitting the shipping department, causing these to happen.

  Own up to it!! The more these lies are turned on me, the more I will review and add to my reviews. Thats what this is about, not money. The credit card company will handle that part. Especially when they compare the lies told here to the dates times and messages in the emails.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Customer response

  03/12/2024

   
  Complaint: 21407433
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  this is a desperate attempt to get around the simple, hassle free guarantee on their website. 
  

  I didnt receive a reply for days. The reply was this went to my manager I can only ask water parameters. Still didnt hear from them for days.

   

  I did NOT threaten a chargeback until the guarantee period started running out due to no response. I did NOT ask for reimbursement of fish, I scolded them for sending me a crab that wasnt compatible with small fish.

  I dont even know where this guy is going with saying I am requesting all this money or demanding reimbursement for more than I paid.

  he Admitted the stuff was dead, its happened with this vendor before. The policy is loud and clear. You didnt respond, of course I was irate. Being mean isnt a reason to s**** customers over/ignore them and tell them not to talk to you. Business is business. Ive had customers throw iPads at me when they break, and still had to deliver.

  All I wanted was a refund of the dead stuff, so I could reorder from another place. I already reordered and the fish from the other vendor are flourishing! I think its pretty loud and clear here, this companies policies are not true, they dont care, which is upsetting, and now we are here. I dont want money, aside from a refund of the amount he said I paid. $250 is the total amount, you can keep the store credit part of that from the last time you shipped me dead fish. I just want my money back from the fish you admit (and the ones your refuse to admit) were dead in the bag, and I want people to beware in the future.

  it Doesnt take long to research this company and look at reviews of actual customers and see that Im far from the only one. Its very sad that their management jumps to blame the customer, tells them to leave them alone, then makes up all of this stuff when the consequences of the actions come due. You can clearly see in their emails Im not asking for some $600 in money-I even say I dont care about the fish, just do something other than blame me for the fish you just admitted were dead. 
  

  its my right and duty as a customer  to publically share whats been done here. Its the truth. A customer being mean to you isnt a reason to deny your policies and tell them not to talk to you. Its actually a sign that you should reflect on your management and make changes.

  i Called the winter park store and they let me know **** is a hothead. Especially if you do chargebacks. They actually laughed about it and said they think thats why people have been quitting the shipping department, causing these to happen.

  Own up to it!! The more these lies are turned on me, the more I will review and add to my reviews. Thats what this is about, not money. The credit card company will handle that part. Especially when they compare the lies told here to the dates times and messages in the emails.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Customer response

  03/12/2024

  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  this is a desperate attempt to get around the simple, hassle free guarantee on their website. 
  
  I didnt receive a reply for days. The reply was this went to my manager I can only ask water parameters. Still didnt hear from them for days.
  
  
  I did NOT threaten a chargeback until the guarantee period started running out due to no response. I did NOT ask for reimbursement of fish, I scolded them for sending me a crab that wasnt compatible with small fish.
  I dont even know where this guy is going with saying I am requesting all this money or demanding reimbursement for more than I paid.
  he Admitted the stuff was dead, its happened with this vendor before. The policy is loud and clear. You didnt respond, of course I was irate. Being mean isnt a reason to s**** customers over/ignore them and tell them not to talk to you. Business is business. Ive had customers throw iPads at me when they break, and still had to deliver.
  All I wanted was a refund of the dead stuff, so I could reorder from another place. I already reordered and the fish from the other vendor are flourishing! I think its pretty loud and clear here, this companies policies are not true, they dont care, which is ***etting, and now we are here. I dont want money, aside from a refund of the amount he said I paid. $250 is the total amount, you can keep the store credit part of that from the last time you shipped me dead fish. I just want my money back from the fish you admit (and the ones your refuse to admit) were dead in the bag, and I want people to beware in the future.
  it Doesnt take long to research this company and look at reviews of actual customers and see that Im far from the only one. Its very sad that their management jumps to blame the customer, tells them to leave them alone, then makes up all of this stuff when the consequences of the actions come due. You can clearly see in their emails Im not asking for some $600 in money-I even say I dont care about the fish, just do something other than blame me for the fish you just admitted were dead. 
  
  its my right and duty as a customer  to publically share whats been done here. Its the truth. A customer being mean to you isnt a reason to deny your policies and tell them not to talk to you. Its actually a sign that you should reflect on your management and make changes.
  i Called the winter park store and they let me know **** is a hothead. Especially if you do chargebacks. They actually laughed about it and said they think thats why people have been quitting the shipping department, causing these to happen.
  Own up to it!! The more these lies are turned on me, the more I will review and add to my reviews. Thats what this is about, not money. The credit card company will handle that part. Especially when they compare the lies told here to the dates times and messages in the emails.
  Attached is the whole story of the emails, starting with my first one, telling them I dont want store credit again. It took days and multiple follow *** to respond to that, and the manager responded 3/5, 5 days later. I dont see any harm in following up, and its human nature to get more annoyed when you dont. When your poor front desk person is playing middle man. ***** called, he answered, and I told him I feel sorry for him in that position. Again, this is clearly a desperate attempt to save another loss from the shipping department woes.
  
  
  lastly, note the message from the manager. Wanted to work with me..then why not respond with that? Instead of ignoring it until someone reports you?! Thats what the Better Business Bureau and fraud protection with credit cards exist. You cant just ship expensive dead fish and tell people to go away without consequences.
  
  
  especially when the reason is they were mad and mean. You took my money. And gave me dead / missing stuff. I clearly followed your refund steps, thank you for sharing that! I do not wish to retract this complaint.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Customer response

  03/12/2024

  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  this is a desperate attempt to get around the simple, hassle free guarantee on their website. 
  
  I didnt receive a reply for days. The reply was this went to my manager I can only ask water parameters. Still didnt hear from them for days.
  
  
  I did NOT threaten a chargeback until the guarantee period started running out due to no response. I did NOT ask for reimbursement of fish, I scolded them for sending me a crab that wasnt compatible with small fish.
  I dont even know where this guy is going with saying I am requesting all this money or demanding reimbursement for more than I paid.
  he Admitted the stuff was dead, its happened with this vendor before. The policy is loud and clear. You didnt respond, of course I was irate. Being mean isnt a reason to s**** customers over/ignore them and tell them not to talk to you. Business is business. Ive had customers throw iPads at me when they break, and still had to deliver.
  All I wanted was a refund of the dead stuff, so I could reorder from another place. I already reordered and the fish from the other vendor are flourishing! I think its pretty loud and clear here, this companies policies are not true, they dont care, which is ***etting, and now we are here. I dont want money, aside from a refund of the amount he said I paid. $250 is the total amount, you can keep the store credit part of that from the last time you shipped me dead fish. I just want my money back from the fish you admit (and the ones your refuse to admit) were dead in the bag, and I want people to beware in the future.
  it Doesnt take long to research this company and look at reviews of actual customers and see that Im far from the only one. Its very sad that their management jumps to blame the customer, tells them to leave them alone, then makes up all of this stuff when the consequences of the actions come due. You can clearly see in their emails Im not asking for some $600 in money-I even say I dont care about the fish, just do something other than blame me for the fish you just admitted were dead. 
  
  its my right and duty as a customer  to publically share whats been done here. Its the truth. A customer being mean to you isnt a reason to deny your policies and tell them not to talk to you. Its actually a sign that you should reflect on your management and make changes.
  i Called the winter park store and they let me know **** is a hothead. Especially if you do chargebacks. They actually laughed about it and said they think thats why people have been quitting the shipping department, causing these to happen.
  Own up to it!! The more these lies are turned on me, the more I will review and add to my reviews. Thats what this is about, not money. The credit card company will handle that part. Especially when they compare the lies told here to the dates times and messages in the emails.
  Attached is the whole story of the emails, starting with my first one, telling them I dont want store credit again. It took days and multiple follow *** to respond to that, and the manager responded 3/5, 5 days later. I dont see any harm in following up, and its human nature to get more annoyed when you dont. When your poor front desk person is playing middle man. ***** called, he answered, and I told him I feel sorry for him in that position. Again, this is clearly a desperate attempt to save another loss from the shipping department woes.
  
  
  lastly, note the message from the manager. Wanted to work with me..then why not respond with that? Instead of ignoring it until someone reports you?! Thats what the Better Business Bureau and fraud protection with credit cards exist. You cant just ship expensive dead fish and tell people to go away without consequences.
  
  
  especially when the reason is they were mad and mean. You took my money. And gave me dead / missing stuff. I clearly followed your refund steps, thank you for sharing that! I do not wish to retract this complaint.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Customer response

  03/12/2024

  Date Sent: 3/12/2024 12:28:52 PM
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  this is a desperate attempt to get around the simple, hassle free guarantee on their website. 
  
  I didnt receive a reply for days. The reply was this went to my manager I can only ask water parameters. Still didnt hear from them for days.
  
  
  I did NOT threaten a chargeback until the guarantee period started running out due to no response. I did NOT ask for reimbursement of fish, I scolded them for sending me a crab that wasnt compatible with small fish.
  I dont even know where this guy is going with saying I am requesting all this money or demanding reimbursement for more than I paid.
  he Admitted the stuff was dead, its happened with this vendor before. The policy is loud and clear. You didnt respond, of course I was irate. Being mean isnt a reason to s**** customers over/ignore them and tell them not to talk to you. Business is business. Ive had customers throw iPads at me when they break, and still had to deliver.
  All I wanted was a refund of the dead stuff, so I could reorder from another place. I already reordered and the fish from the other vendor are flourishing! I think its pretty loud and clear here, this companies policies are not true, they dont care, which is ***etting, and now we are here. I dont want money, aside from a refund of the amount he said I paid. $250 is the total amount, you can keep the store credit part of that from the last time you shipped me dead fish. I just want my money back from the fish you admit (and the ones your refuse to admit) were dead in the bag, and I want people to beware in the future.
  it Doesnt take long to research this company and look at reviews of actual customers and see that Im far from the only one. Its very sad that their management jumps to blame the customer, tells them to leave them alone, then makes up all of this stuff when the consequences of the actions come due. You can clearly see in their emails Im not asking for some $600 in money-I even say I dont care about the fish, just do something other than blame me for the fish you just admitted were dead. 
  
  its my right and duty as a customer  to publically share whats been done here. Its the truth. A customer being mean to you isnt a reason to deny your policies and tell them not to talk to you. Its actually a sign that you should reflect on your management and make changes.
  i Called the winter park store and they let me know **** is a hothead. Especially if you do chargebacks. They actually laughed about it and said they think thats why people have been quitting the shipping department, causing these to happen.
  Own up to it!! The more these lies are turned on me, the more I will review and add to my reviews. Thats what this is about, not money. The credit card company will handle that part. Especially when they compare the lies told here to the dates times and messages in the emails.
  Attached is the whole story of the emails, starting with my first one, telling them I dont want store credit again. It took days and multiple follow *** to respond to that, and the manager responded 3/5, 5 days later. I dont see any harm in following up, and its human nature to get more annoyed when you dont. When your poor front desk person is playing middle man. ***** called, he answered, and I told him I feel sorry for him in that position. Again, this is clearly a desperate attempt to save another loss from the shipping department woes.
  
  
  lastly, note the message from the manager. Wanted to work with me..then why not respond with that? Instead of ignoring it until someone reports you?! Thats what the Better Business Bureau and fraud protection with credit cards exist. You cant just ship expensive dead fish and tell people to go away without consequences.
  
  
  especially when the reason is they were mad and mean. You took my money. And gave me dead / missing stuff. I clearly followed your refund steps, thank you for sharing that! I do not wish to retract this complaint.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  

  Business response

  03/12/2024

  ******************* is clearly being dishonest. Please see this attachment which shows that he was responded to in less than 24 hours(not days later as he claims) by our customer service rep(*****). He originally emailed us on the 27th, ***** responded the following day on the 28th asking for pictures, and the next day (29th) he responded to the picture request saying that he is doing a chargeback. This is clear to see in the attached conversation. ******************** claims that he did not say he was doing a chargeback until his guarantee window(10 days) was almost up, but it was less than 2 days after his original email, which shows his insincerity with this whole situation. 

  Additionally, ******************* has never purchased any fish from us. He has two purchases with us in total and neither of them have any fish on the orders. I have attached the two orders to make it clear that he has never purchased a fish from us, and again is being dishonest. As I stated in the other email, he had a shrimp that came in dead, but sent us a picture of it in the same email that he said that he is already doing the chargeback(attached here to see on the 29th). The chargeback is now in the hands of his bank, since he submitted it without letting us help him with the shrimp. This has caused our hands to be tied at this point, until the bank decides what to do. If he does lose the chargeback claim, I will offer to refund him what he paid on the shrimp($38.98) as a gesture of goodwill and to show that we do stand by our guarantees. I cannot offer anymore than that as he does have the rest of the products. Thank you,

   

  *********************

  Customer Service Manager

  Customer response

  03/13/2024

   
  Complaint: 21407433
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  I realize this manager is upset that I said the words stupid a** crab and ****, but the personal attacks show why I came to BBB and left honest reviews everywhere I could.

   

  this company is dishonest. My first email 3/27 said I dont want store credit, I wont be doing business again. I asked for advice on why their stuff comes in dead both times. Second, 3/28 was about a crab, asking for a refund. Hes right, ***** asked for pictures after those two emails, 3/28. The response was this is out of my hands and to my manager ****.

   

  I asked 3/29 how I was supposed to take pictures of the fish that werent accounted for in the bags(arguing semantics is childish and *****, its a fish tank, these are fish to anyone but the ones in this guys expert shoes)

  i Didnt receive a response to that until 3/2, which was an automated response asking for feedback on *****. I left poor feedback.

  3 days no response. So I responded to that message and I said no help was given, why would you send me this, and indicated I disputed the charge with my credit card. On 3/5. I am not sure on this guys dates and math, but that is closer to 10 days than not.

   

  AND **** STILL DIDNT RESPOND UNTIL 3/6, where he told me they dont want me as a customer and to never contact them again. I tried a couple more times, tried calling instead of this ***** childish email ****, and nothing.

  Again, this is open and shut. I followed their directions per their website from start to finish. This guy is mad and obviously didnt answer, and is sadly NOW offering a fix. Why not from 2/27-3/6?! Ohhh because I left my honest reviews and went to the better business bureau. 
  

  I dont think calling me a liar is a good strategy, and further proves my point that this is a company out to get people and will go above and beyond to avoid following their policy. I do not accept the refund, as I already disputed with the bank as stated, and if this is the guys explaination of it, the bank will obviously do the right thing. Im just here to warn others and keep them from falling victim to this dishonest company/manager. Thank you Better Business Bureau for looking out after consumers and mediating between customers and managers like this guy. 
  

  Ive reattached the emails with details and dates. Its hard to lie about anything when theres proof.

  The part left out is my 5 calls to 2 different stores in that time period. Im not sure if this guy is insinuating that I didnt try to communicate or what, but he clearly has not had any remote desire to offer a refund until 2 arbitrations messages between BBB. Please ask him if he chooses to respond again to take the personal insults out of it. There is no need for that.

   

  keep it to what it is. You sent dead fish (inverts and shrimp), I tried to get you to respond from 2/27-3/6, and you told me not to contact you. So I went here. And so I dont get called a liar again, I am attaching another email response to their automated feedback email. This company needs to come with a warning label. Period. Id like this guy to leave me alone now. Our business is concluded.

   

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Customer response

  03/13/2024

  The manager, ****, that has been interacting with me over the dispute about the dead/missing stuff WWC sent blocked my phone and email on or around last Thursday. The attempt at customer service has just devolved into personally attacking me, and discrediting me for honest reviews. I fear further retaliation from this guy, he is clearly not thinking straight. Im just trying to do whats right and warn others. Im not the only one that has had this problem, they told me so when I called the Winter Park store, and there are poor reviews about this all over the place.

   

  he even admitted Ive ordered twicethey gave $50 store credit, no questions asked, when there was dead stuff shipped last year. I waited an entire year to try again, and the same thing happened. Their return policy says send pictures of the dead stuff to begin the hassle free gaurantee. I followed the book. I dont think being annoyed by someone telling me its in a managers hands, and the manager not responding for a week is unreasonable. 
  

  regardless of what is observed as rude, a policy is a policy. As you can see, there was absolutely no attempt to follow the gaurantee until 2 messages from BBB. 
  

  I am honestly afraid this guy is going to start personally slandering me publically or to my job and I fear this my turn into a harassment thing.

   

  can you guys help protect me? Please? I think the back and forth is devolving back into this guy belittling and talking down to me.further solidifying my case that they should come with a big red warning banner when people like myself search for fish solutions on the web. 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩