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.