ComplaintsforTampa Bay Cichlids LLC

• Initial Complaint

  06/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I spent $293 on may 24th with this company who advertised online to send 1.25 to 2 inches fish in size with fish being on the bigger side but what i received was false advertisement. I received most fish at 1.25 inches on the small side with just a few at 2 inches. Dont buy fish from this company! ***** the owner completely was rude to me. I purchased 10 cichlids and he claimed that the fish were all over 2 inches but only a few arrived at 2 inches the other fish all arrived like fry size about 1.25 inches. I asked for a replacement for a few fish he wouldnt send them and said I could return the fish but I doubt I would of gotten a refund and I worried about the fish dying so I didnt return. Never again will I do business with ***** or Tampa bay cichlids as he dosent care about customers satisfaction . He said he was done with me after asking for a photo of a fish and i took the time to lay the fish flat as he asked and he had the nerve to tell me i was raising the ruler higher to make the fish smaller which i didnt. the ruler was completely flat. He cant own up to the fact he sells small fry size fish. He claims online he will sell bigger fish all over 2 inches but what you get is 1.25 inch fish with a few being 2 inches and bad customer service from a very rude owner! Never again will I do business with this company. Stay far away from them and read all the other negative reviews before buying. Spent $280 on fish and I could of gotten bigger fish locally for what I paid. This company is deceptive and lying to customers about the size of the fish! Never again. We are done with him and his company ! Yes hes getting a bad review because he didnt even apologize about the situation didnt rectify it by sending more instead would rather pay to have them shipped back and put the fish under more stress. False advertising the size of fish. Unbelievable company. Will never purchase from this store again.

  Business response

  06/03/2024

  I tried to explain to him they were the correct size. All he seemed to care for is he wanted me to refund him 50 percent and I wasn't willing to do that. He refused at first to even measure them so after reading several, long winded emails I gave up and told him I would send him a fish return kit. He then takes a photo but he held the ruler above the fish to make it look smaller, I have been in this business several years and I know this trick to be used more than once. No matter how Mr ******** my think he can not ship them back it is actually quite easy. I mailed him the return kit today and as soon I get them back, I will refund him in full. 

   

  Here is the copy of the instructions I sent him with the return kit so you can see how easy it is. 

  Here is your fish return kit. I have included three Breathable bags, four rubber bands, and labels so you can return them. Add 16 ounces of your tank water to the bag and put five of the cichlids in each bags. I included an extra bag in case one of them leaks. Do not double bag them or it will kill them. The bag needs to breathe. Apply the labels to the box and mail it back to me. Once I get them, no matter their condition, I will refund you in full.

   

  Customer response

  06/05/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because I am not satisfied with the way the customer service was handled. First of all Not only me but many other reviewers on ****** reviews and even ******** have stated they had the same issue with this seller. They all said they received fish smaller than advertised. The fish werent  all the correct size at all. The fish was no where near 2 to 3 inches. Seller is lying to make a Profit as the website is deceiving of what you actually get by mail. He did offer to let me return it but I did not return the fish as I explained to him because  the fish were shipped to me and very stressed out when arriving. He really thinks its gonna be ok to ship the fish again after they were stressed out once. No way.  Im not doing that to the fish. I did ask for a refund  of  50 percent which he didnt answer that but then multiple times I just asked for a few replacement fish for the fish I received that was not the correct size. I did receive a few fish  that were the right size but the rest of my order was small fry sized fish and  none were 2 or even 3 inches as he states he is selling  online and sending the biggest size possible which is not true. Many other reviewers stated  they received smaller fish than advertised including me. I do not want to return the fish because its going to stress them out too much and I dont want the fish to die so i decided to keep them. Seller also stated the fish are all guaranteed male but he cannot tell that when they arrived so small. I didnt want to measure the  fish because its stressful on them after they were just shipped to me. I took one out and measured it and it was 1.5 inches but  they were all that size with only one being around 2 inches and  not 3 inches as described online. I didnt receive any fish that were 2 inches except one. When I measured the fish I didnt use any tricks and it made me very angry the seller accused me of holding the ruler higher. Hes absolutely wrong with what he said. I laid the fish flat on a ruler as in my previous photo because the fish was wet and I had it on a hand towel with the net on it  so that I could easily put the fish back in the tank. I had fish for years and everyone I know measures fish this way. Hes absolutely wrong with what he is saying he just dosent want to send more fish of the correct size. He dosent want to believe his fish are 1.5 inches but that is what I received with the biggest fish being at 2 instead of 3. I was completely ripped off! I felt like I was scammed because of the fish size I received. l measured the length with the ruler and all of them were 1.5 inches except one. He is  selling fish online saying they are between  1.5 and over 2 inches and I didnt get but one fish at 2 inches and that was supposed to be at 3 inches. Seller was rude and unprofessional and I am unsatisfied with my purchase and will never purchase from this seller again. I dont want to deal with him again and I dont want To also ship back the fish because I dont think he would truly refund my money. But I care more about the survival of the fish and them not being stressed which is the main reason I kept the fish and didnt return. He could of given me some type of compensation by sending a few more but he didnt. Wont waste my money again at This business. Tried to be nice and courteous to the seller but he got rude and said he was done with me so I just got angry and decided to not talk to him any further realizing Im out my money.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  06/06/2024

  Im sorry you feel this way, once I get the fish back I will refund you in full.

• Initial Complaint

  05/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I placed a $420.19 order on 11/7/23. Didnt receive tracking# or confirmation. A man txt from above phone# on 11/8/23 & were out of chili r ($120 of order). They could replace with ************* r, (lower $ & totally different). I said no, send my whole order when they come in. He said check back in a week. Txt on 11/16/23, no response (NR). Emailed on 11/21/23, NR. I txt 12/1/23, he said they were still out of chilis & can replace with s.berries. I said ok. He said theyd send order. 12/11/23 I email, hadntt received any confirmation or tracking# & this was ridiculous. 12/12/23 he txt, said theyd send order in 2 days, but now out of green tetra ($150 of order). I said just send the fish now, send tetras when they come in. 12/14/23 I receive email, order shipped. I get the order 12/27/23, (these are LIVE FISH). The box was from a different co (Aqua Huna). Goodjoseph was on nothing! Fish were DOA, I didnt even tell them b/c it was such a hassle! Tetra were missing, I expected that, but was also missing $30 worth of plants. I email 12/27/23 saying what was missing, & I wanted a refund for the remaining $180 items. I told them this was awful service, NR. I fwd the same email on 1/2/24, 1/4/24, NR. 1/20/24 I txt, and repeated I wanted a refund. He txt back saying hello, what fish missing. I sent a pic with missing items highlighted, NR. 2/11/24 I email & txt saying they owed me $180, NR. 2/15/24 I sent txt, ????, NR. 2/13/24 I wrote negative reviews on 3 sites. 2/16/24 he txt saying we wont take your money, please be sure, this is my personal phone I was in hospital for a month, those you highlighted are the ones you didnt get?. I said yes the highlighted ones never came. He said take off your review. I said That's what's finally getting me a response? I'll take it off when I get my refund. The review is true. It's $180 & its been 4 months. So ridiculous!. 5/18/24, still havent got response, refund, or the items.PLEASE HELP!!!

• Initial Complaint

  12/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I made an order on ************************************* over 2 months ago. The order has not been filled in all this time, and any attempts I have made to cancel the order and get my money refunded have been met with silence. An email I sent came back with an error that it was undeliverable. I am also concerned that ************************************* states on its website and ******** page that it is located in Tampa, *******, however, I received an international processing fee of $3.57 from them in addition to the $356.89 that I was charged for the order. I am wondering why a ************* based business would process transactions in *************, and why the business would not make that know to customers. I have also read that this website has stolen many photos from ***********************. Aquatic Arts states: "In a move that is certainly not good, GoodJoseph Fish Store was found to be using 145 (!!!) photos produced and copyrighted by Aquatic Arts on their website without authorization. They have been contacted and we are not yet sure how this situation will resolve, but hopefully we are not once again forced to *** in the event the owner refuses to take responsibility for the theft and discuss a settlement/penalty." (***********************/pages/report-photography-theft-get-100-in-store-credit)

• Initial Complaint

  11/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I ordered 3 plecos on the 2nd with overnight shipping. On the 4th i contacted them about shipping information to see where my fish where at. They then claimed I had not paid dispite the fact they charged my account and sent me an invoice. They are now refusing to provide a refund. Today they claimed that PayPal put a hold on the refund dispite the fact I do not use PayPal. I informed them that I do not have a PayPal and that I paid directly with my card on their website and they then claimed they already refunded me on the 4th and are still refusing to send an actual refund to my bank

• Initial Complaint

  05/31/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  I made a purchase for a live fish and paid for overnight delivery. I never heard from them in any way or revived a voicemail. And never received the live fish I ordered. I also sent a message on their site about the order and still have not heard back.

• Initial Complaint

  04/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  I recently got into the hobby of aquariums specifically freshwater fish tanks. I was researching well reviewed websites to order live fish from as the stores around my area are pretty bland. I found Goodjoseph website and saw that it was well put together, up to date with information not only about different species of fish, fair prices and clear pictures they had a "Live Arrival Policy" which basically states that they will make good on any order in which the fish die during shipment. That put me at ease and I picked my fish and completed my order February 14, 2022. I was notified via text that my shipment was sent on February 23, 2022 with a tracking number of XXXXXXXXXXXX XX days after ordering. The issue was that night DFW experienced a snow storm which delayed the package by a day as seen on Fedex.com. On February 25, 2022 my order finally arrived but unfortunately due to the 24 hour delay and freezing temperatures the entire order was DOA. I immediately followed their procedure as they asked to their "Live Arrival Policy" and I was told they would send out fish the following week. That week came and on Wednesday I asked for an update, and they replied with "Waiting for perfect weather". I then replied back with the 7 day outlook of mid 70* in both my location and theirs. Then they never replied. After a week of waiting I filed a dispute with Citicard with my problems and it was quickly dispatched as this company said the order was shipped fine and provided tracking. I emailed GoodJoseph because I was frustrated and someone new contacted me saying "I wish you told me about this sooner". They reassured me once the charge was cleared they would send a replacement order. The cash cleared per their date and they wouldn't reply. I then escalated my dispute with Citicard but they again favored GoodJoseph as they said "You didn't provide enough proof the fish were dead" yet it was good enough for GoodJoseph to acknowledge they would send another order out.

  Business response

  07/08/2022

  Consumer Response /* (3000, 11, 2022/05/18) */ ***Document Attached*** After I sent them an email of intent and posted my side of the story on social media they reached out threatening a lawsuit if I didn't retract my statements. Since this text they will not reply to me. For the record I haven't retracted statements as they are all true.

• Initial Complaint

  04/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  2/26/2022 was date of purchase Amount is 112.96 I ordered fish from this place. He states on his website that the fish are guaranteed to be male fish. I emailed him and said the fish i recieved are female. How wpuld we go about handling this issue. The only reply i got was the fish are male and he vented them.

• Initial Complaint

  11/02/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased two fish from David Estes site. It's now the 2nd day since my purchase, and when I asked for a status on shipping, he said it will probably ship tomorrow with no definitive answer. I feel scammed and lied to. This purchase was made on 10/31/2021. I paid a total of 52.97. When I asked for a refund the owner refused, so he has my money and I have no fish. Please help me get my refund back.

  Business response

  12/03/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/11/15) */ Mr. ****** placed a order with my online store on Sunday the 31st of Oct. On Tuesday the 2nd of November at 9:57am, I received a email from him that he wanted to check the status of his order. I read the email at 10:47am and checked and saw that it should ship the next day and I told him it will probably ship tomorrow. I then went back to packing orders. At 10:52am he responded with this: Probably? I'm sorry that's a poor response. Please cancel my order and I will take my business elsewhere. At 10:56am he sent this as an additional email: If you don't cancel my order, and I don't see my money returned, then I will consider this fraud and stealing and will pursue legal action. When I took lunch break I responded with this at 12:08pm: Don't worry sir, there is no need to take legal action over a $32.00 order. I'm sorry that we are busy here and did not immediately pack you're order. We do our orders in the order they come in so your's was probably going to get packed on wednesday. Not sure why they upset you so bad but you have been refunded. Confirmation of the refund: You refunded $52.97 USD using a Visa ending in ****. 12:03 PM Acquirer Reference Number (ARN): XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

*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. ↩