Devon

So I bought the 6.6 gallon Bookshelf aquarium from Petco for David Bowie, my betta, a couple of months ago. I loved it, Bowie loved it, it seemed perfect. I recommended it to all the betta owners I know.

Two days ago, I woke up and there was water all over my desk. I thought... okay... maybe something spilled in the night (it's in my room and I stumble around a lot on weekend nights, whaddya expect? ) ... so I toweled it up and rushed off to work. When I came home, there was a new puddle, and I knew that it was Bowie's tank leaking. Sure enough, there is a spot that is letting a very slow drip, drip, dripping of water out of the bottom edge of the tank.
I can't find my receipt anywhere, but the bookshelf is only sold by Petco, and it's not like I want to return it for my money back... I'm not trying to pull the wool over their eyes, I just want to exchange my practically brand-new tank, which inexplicably sprung a leak, for another bookshelf aquarium. Does this sound like a scam to you? So I called Petco, and they told me no way, they won't even exchange the blasted thing.

What? Are you kidding me? Do I look like a fish burglar to you? So now I have to go find my baby Bowie a new tank, and try to repair this busted one, and ARRGH. I am so frustrated with Deathco right now.

NEVER shopping there again.

morganrules

wow that sucks and i was thinking of getting one sorry to hear about your tank Devon

Lucy

It's not that old is it? Did you speak to a manager?

My daughter bought a dress, the plasitc clip on the strap broke while she was wearing it for the first time. I called the store, they said she couldn't return it, I talked to the manger, same answer.
I called their coroporate head quarters.
My daughter received a full refund.

Don't stop with the store, go over their heads.
Good luck.

Chief_waterchanger

This is a tough one.

The question is, "How long after you buy something (in this case a tank) should it be able to be returned due to malfunction." I can see both sides of the arguement on this one. The stores are able to turn that back in to their wholesale supplier, usually, for credit, so if it were my store I would take it back just to continue good customer relations, especially since it isn't costing them anything to just replace it with an equal value of product(s).

froggiegal

Devon,

I agree with Lucy. Did you use a charge card to buy your tank? If so, see if you can find the charge on your statement and circle it. Also, if you have the box, see if there's a warranty / guarantee from the manufacturer. If you don't have a box, go to another Petco and look over the box for that type of information. I would go down with tank and statement directly to the manager. If you get no satisfaction from him / her, then contact the headquarters. My biggest recommendation is to "LOG" the date, name of all the people you speak to and the outcome. Do that with every person you talk to in person or on the phone so that you can have that as a reference. Lastly, if you don't get satisfaction from calling the 800#, then you should file a complaint letter and you site every date, person and outcome explaining that the tank was defective and you want the tank replaced. You need to let them know that you are a "loyal" customer, etc. etc.

Here's the information for PetCo:

PETCO
9125 Rehco Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121 (Map)
Phone: 858-453-7845
Fax: 858-784-3489
Toll Free: 888-824-7257 - (Monday - Friday 5AM - 7PM PT, Saturday/Sunday 8AM - 5PM PT)

Keep us posted. If it gets to the point where you have to type a letter, I'll be glad to help you put it together.

sirdarksol

I agree with CWC that this is a tough one.
On the one hand, we're dealing with is something that should function, continuously, for a few years at the very least. I agree that one month isn't all that ridiculous to expect some sort of switch. If you bought a new car, did everything you were supposed to, and then one day, while you were on the road, the oil reservoir sprang a leak and the entire engine seized, you'd be pretty ticked. Of course, in that case, you'd have a warranty, specifically to cover instances like this.
On the other, the pet store has no idea what that tank has been through in a month. You know, Devon, that the tank has been sitting on your desk, holding a fish and some water, exactly as it's supposed to. For all they know, you've dropped it a few times.

In the end, I think it's bad business to just say "no" (for a reason you just provided: you're not going back). They gave me a very definite negative response to a letter I sent them about betta care (it amounted to "we don't care what you say"), and I haven't been in a Petco since.
As Lucy said, you could try going up the chain of command. I know that in the company I worked for, if a person went to store level management and then went to district level management, they usually got what they were looking for, unless what they were asking for was really excessive.

FishFolk

I agree with everyone. Don't give up. By all means, be polite and courteous but persistent. I would just go to the store, tank in hand and ask for a manager first thing. The employee you spoke with may not have had any leeway to bend the policy. If that fails, contact the manufacturer and corporate for PETCO. Most manufacturers will back their products and offer replacement. If they insist on having the old one, offer to leave it at the store or ask for a postage paid label.

If there's a defect in this run, they need to know. Fish don't live without water, so this is a major issue for the tank Good luck.

Smile, be persistent.

clinton1621

Being in retail management I find what you are describing ridiculous... you bought a product, expected it to be free from defects, and I'm assuming did not abuse it in a manner inconsistent with its use...

Now as far as refund policies go you should be 100% reimbursed for this loss, trust me.. we get credit for damaged merchandise so its no skin off of a retailer to give you either a refund or a full replacement! I would go to whatever lengths necessary to get this, call their corporate number and make a formal complaint and I can guarantee you they will give you a new tank and tell you how sorry they are that you even had to call them about this.

Martinismommy

Did you happen to use your pet pal card to purchase the tank? If you did, then you have record of the transaction.......Hopefully you used a credit card or debit card for the purchase.......They will have the info you need to get your money back.....

bboy

Lucy

Another thing to remember, the salesperson or even the manger is quoteing 'store policy', something they're taught to say, though it may not be the company's policy, you need to make some phone calls.

SDS, I do agree with you when you say the store doesn't know that we've treated a product correctly, so I can understand their point also.

Devon

I work in retail customer service at a mail order catalogue, and when someone calls me that their item is broken or defective, 9 times of 10 we don't even ask that they return it at all -- mostly because it costs us more to refund them their return postage than it does to replace the merch anyway. But regardless, it's not like I am asking for cash in hand for an item that I may or may not have purchased from them. I'm someone that they have sold LOTS of stuff to in the last couple months (have stopped shopping there recently because of bad employees), and who is simply asking for a replacement. They still make a profit off this... trust me, I am aware of the 600% retail markup.
Unfortunately, I didn't pay for it with a credit card... I don't own one. But I'm taking the tank back cleaned up and with the box, and I am going to demand a replacement in person. :/

On the bright side, I rushed out and bought David Bowie a 10 gallon palace for $20 tonight, and he is going to be keeping it all to himself.

Lucy

Good luck, let us know how you make out.

It sure worked out for David Bowie, didn't it! He gets a bigger tank.
His new 10g....did it come with a hood and filter? For 20 bucks, that would be a steal, where did you get it?

KyWildFish

Just a thought, you could use some silicone and seal up the leak, especially if you know where it is.

sirdarksol

I thought about this last night, and just came on to post it. A good idea.

Devon

Lucy: It was on sale at my favourite LFS here in Seattle, The Fish Store. A 10-gallon "glass combo" which has the tank, a cover, and a hood (no light bulb, didn't need one anyway) for $19.95. Not bad.

Ky & Sir: I was told at the Fish Store that the problem with silicone is that the seal has to create a vacuum to be air-tight, so basically you have to take the tank apart and re-seal ALL of it just to fix one little leak. :-/ Is this true, and if so, does anyone know how to do this? I kind of want to fix the tank, I have too many bettas right now that need real homes!

clinton1621

You only need to fix the leaking area.... there is no vacuum in a tank, its actually pressure from the water, sort of the same concept but not quite. Find the exact location of the leak, if its a faulty seal on a seam them cut a large section of that seal off above and below where the leak is at, clean the glass and the surrounding old sealant to remove any contaminants, then apply new sealant in that area and OVER the edges of the old seal around it... make sure there are no air pockets or it wont work as well.

EDIT : If the glass / plastic is cracked and thats the cause of the leak, then sealing it probably wont work long term because the crack will continue to spread.

Devon

Thank you so much for this clear instruction, I would be totally lost without my fellow FishLoreians on things like this.

I think I will try and re-seal my bookshelf tank for Consuela, so that Esteban can have their 10 gallon to himself.

Chief_waterchanger

Re-sealing is good also, because it keeps one less broken aquarium out of a land-fill somewhere.

We use GE II 100% clear, but the brand is up to you. Make sure, also, to let it set for atleast 24 hours, maybe even 36 to harden properly. Silicone is only reactive to the water in negative ways before it hardens, after it solidifies it is fine.

We recently purchased a 55g that has black silicone rather than clear, but from the people that taught me about silicone and aquariums it is safer to use clear because of the chemicals of paint/dyes in the other colors, but we've had no problems with the fish in the black siliconed tank.

clinton1621

I had to laugh at this again Fish Burglar... maybe McDonalds should add a new character to go with the Ham Burglar!

Devon

I was thinking of cat burglar... but the Hamburglar makes it even funnier.

COBettaCouple

Did you try taking the black tray off the bottom and drying it and the bottom of the tank? The way the 6.6g bookshelfs are made, the black tray collects water that drips down (like from cleaning, etc.) and when it gets too much water, you'll have what happened with your tank.

Devon

Hmm, I noticed that about them, that's a good idea! Thank you!
Tonight's project is to try and repair that tank, I'd really like to use it for someone, even though my latest is likely just going to get his own 10 gallon eventually... but I'd really rather save myself the expense until next pay day.

Allie

Get some aquarium safe silicone and patch the leak. My 5g Hagen tank had a tiny split in the silicone near the top...I could not figure out where they leak was for a few days.

Devon

Thanks for the tip, I'm headed to the Fish Store up the street to see if I can find any of the stuff that you guys have recommended. What would I do without Fish Lore! You guys may have saved me a tank.

chickadee

Different store almost same story different result. I purchased a huge (25 gallon) tank from PetSmart and had to wait for it to come from Australia, SeaChem is based there. I got it and had it all set up and found a leak in the base of it. I called PetSmart and they sent me a label to put on the box and asked me to pack the thing up in the original box and they would send me a new one. I had waited 4 weeks for this one to get here and told them I had fish on the way so they gave me an instant credit toward the Marineland Premium 25 gallon tall glass set up that I ended up with that still beat the fish to my door and didn't cost me that much more and included another Eclipse 1 hood (I had already purchased one for the Sea Chem tank). They did not even make me wait to send them the other tank back to get my credit so I could go ahead and buy the new tank. I was a totally satisfied customer and when I saw the quality of both tanks I ended up much the happier customer as the tanks did not even compare for quality. The Marineland had it beat to pieces hands down.

Also the bookcase tanks are also available at

http://www.fish.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=701003

and has been for some time. I do not know about their service but I do know that they do sell this tank.

Rose

dr.fluffanutter

As a side note, though the 6.6 gal bookshelf tank is awesome in theory and I would love to have one, I'd been reading reviews of it on a couple different places. Seems like a lot of them have some sort of leaking problem, and are usually scratched to boot
So Devon, the defect wasn't an isolated thing, and if I'd been the employee you'd talked to you would have gotten a full refund or exchange, and the silicone advice to boot. I'm sorry the one you got sucked at life.

Vern Archer

I would ask to see a manager.. escalate, write a letter to the corp I wouldn't let them away with it.v