ComplaintsforSeascape Studio

• Initial Complaint

  02/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This place scammed me. They sold me a fish less than a week ago, more than $20 OVER the posted price in the store. I was refused all my money they over charged me for. Then, the fish they sold me died 3 days after purchase. The store is closed on Sunday so I wasn't able to do anything until Monday after work. The same kid who overcharged me in the first place said they onyl return within 24 hours. Then, literally within 2 minutes said they refund within 48 hours. Not only did this same kid steal money from me and refused to return it but is making false claims of the return policy. He admit it doesnt print on the receipt, in which i was refused to be given at i ital purchade as well, but this claim of 24 hours is posted NO WHERE in the store. Literally nothing backing up his made up story he came up with. Meaning he KNEW this was a bad fish they sold me AND stole money from me on top of that! This is not the proper way to run a business. No return policy posted. I want my money back. All of it. I was charged $92.00 for a fish that cost $59.99 before taxes. Where's the math on this?!?!

  Business response

  02/09/2023

  This place scammed me. They sold me a fish less than a week ago, more than $20 OVER the posted price in the store. I was refused all my money they over charged me for.

   

  (The item was marked incorrectly on the price tag. The retail price is $79.99 but it was marked incorrectly at $59.99 on the price tag. ********** would not allow a refund to her debit card so we gave her a cash refund within minutes of the transaction.)

   

  Then, the fish they sold me died 3 days after purchase.

   

   (Seascape was notified six days after the purchase. The fish she brought back had visible signs of physical injury. The dorsal fin was missing and pectoral fins were damaged. At the time of purchase she did not mention that she had a moray eel in the aquarium which is quite aggressive and known to eat whatever fits in its mouth.)

   

  The store is closed on Sunday so I wasn’t able to do anything until Monday after work.

   

  (Seascape has never been closed on Sunday and our hours and phone number are posted on ******, ********, and just about every major information source.)

   

  The same kid who overcharged me in the first place said they only return within 24 hours. Then, literally within 2 minutes said they refund within 48 hours.

   

  (The evening of her visit, Seascape was staffed with two newer employees. They informed ********* that she needed a water sample but that we do not have a warranty. She then bullied the new employees insisting on a refund and threatening a bad review. The young employee immediately called the owner and let him know what had occurred. There was no phone number on file and he then proceeded to locate her number.)

   

  Not only did this same kid steal money from me and refused to return it but is making false claims of the return policy. He admit it doesn’t print on the receipt, in which I was refused to be given at I ital purchade as well, but this claim of 24 hours is posted NO WHERE in the store.

   

  (The warranty is printed on the receipt and on our website. All customers are given a receipt and a copy can be reproduced by simply requesting one.)

   

  Literally nothing backing up his made up story he came up with. Meaning he KNEW this was a bad fish they sold me AND stole money from me on top of that!

   

  (Seascape does not sell “bad fish". We have extensive procedures to ensure our animals are well cared for and we will not sell an animal if it is not eating aggressively or if the customers aquarium is not able to support it comfortably. She stated her aquarium was 200 gallons and 8 months old.)

   

  This is not the proper way to run a business. No return policy posted. I want my money back. All of it. I was charged $92.00 for a fish that cost $59.99 before taxes. Where’s the math on this?!?!

   

  (The actual retail price for the fish was $79.99. ********* also purchased saltwater for her aquarium. She was given $20.00 cash refund as ********** does not allow money to be credited to a debit card. The sales tax rate in Sunset Hills Mo. is 8.988%)

   

  (The owner (*** *****) contacted her a few hours after she came to the store to return the fish. She stated that she did not return the fish on Sunday because we were closed. The store has never been closed on Sunday. The owner requested she return to the store with a water sample. ********* did return with a water sample 2 days later. The ammonia and nitrite levels were at toxic levels. This is not typical of an 8 month old aquarium. Phosphate and Nitrate levels were also very high. Even with these high levels, ********* was told Seascape will replace her fish once the water parameters were corrected and we provided detailed instructions as to how to accomplish this.

   

  ********* has left at least one other negative review and has modified it at lease once changing the details)

  
  

  Customer response

  02/10/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  1. I have pictures of the fish who passed with no signs of any damages to the body, the same day it passed away with time stamp. So the claim of the fish having visible body damages is a false claim. 2. ****** showed the store was closed on Sunday, fish passed Saturday evening with not enough time for me to get to the store to prove it passed, only 3 days after purchase. Keep in mind I live 30 to 45 minutes away from the store, so going back and forth to the store is not a simple, short trip for me. 3. Owner claims fish price was marked incorrectly, I was handed a $20 bill and told I got a great deal on it. The owner never explained the fish was priced incorrectly and did not refund all my money. I even told the staff $20.00 was not the correct refund amount as taxes are included. $92 and change does not justify total charges of a $59.99 fish. I never claimed a refund wasn't given, I am stating the true full amount was not given back to me. 4. No refunds, when I came into the store and brought the fish back, the staff even admit this policy is NOT posted on site. How is a customer to know this if a receipt was not given at time of purchase and nothing is posted in the store stating the refund/return policy. So, with that, the staff said as far as a 24/48 hr return policy, now they are saying they don't have one at all...... Something to think about. 5. I did not bully any employee, as a matter of fact my whole experience proving I did not bully, cuss nor act inappropriate or even get loud in the store was recorded and I have on file with me, time stamped. The owner himself, since getting my PERSONAL cell number sends me and calls me with subtle threatening text messages to remove my reviews or change them because he has received calls about my review making claims I called his staff names on my review. None of my reviews call the 15 year old staff members names. 6. The water parameters were in fact off, I agree to this. When I came into the store after bringing the dead fish back, I brought a water sample, information I was not given nor told to do the same day I brought the dead fish in by any of the staff on site. I have taken pictures and wanted to show it's not my water that has issues. In fact, the same water they did the testing on was on the water from the same bucket of water they sold me just 1 or 2 days prior to testing, right out of the bucket they handed back to me still sealed from when they gave it to me. I took actual water samples, as I knew they would try something the way I was spoken to by the owner. Anyone with common sense is not going to allow you to sabotage true water samples to make the company look like they are innocent in this. I took the bucket sample I was sold by Sea Scape and my true water sample, to 2 other stores besides Sea Scape and the bucket sold to me tested the same at other stores as well, ammonia and nitrite levels were at toxic levels. Showing water sold to me, as the owner of Sea Scape would say, is like putting my fish into an acid bath, from Sea Scape themselves. When I received the water sample report from Sea Scape, I did tell the owner I got the water from his store. When asked to test his water he said, they sell over 6,000 gallons a month to people. Imagine that. I didn't ask for more water as I clearly wouldn't want more nor did I ask how much he sold in a month. I advised him his water needed to be tested and I was refused. Then, the owner said to check my tank as my kids may have thrown or dropped something into my tank. No Sir, my kids did nothing in this, nor can they even access my tank, this is a proven water sample sold to me by your store..... The owner even made a statement when calling me saying if my parameters were in fact of this measure they tested, my 2 clowns would live and maybe the 2 Cardinals would adjust, but my snowflake eel would pass and be a big mess. Proving my point, this was not my water parameters fresh out of my tank. My parameters can be tested anytime, and don't have the same results as the bucket sold to me by Sea Scape....
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ********* **********

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