I was hoping to resolve this offline with Mike, but it is apparently that whatever ends up happening with my credit card dispute, every hobbyist should know what they are getting into when they order items from Mike.
So background story:
On 7/4 I decided to order a $3,000 box from Mike at Sexy Coral. I texted him and arranged for purchase. I gave him my CC and he charged me for the purchase, with plans to make arrangements for delivery/pick up.
I contacted him 7/6 to inquire about when he can do a delivery, below is the exchange:
The 5 days later, on a Monday, I followed up again with him to see when i can get the stuff for which he had already charged me. He tells me that he's out of town and won't be back until Thursday or Friday:
I tried to contact him on Thursday, and again more delays, he tells me he should be able to do it on Saturday 7/16.
Again 7/16 doesn't work as he has more other issues come up.
As luck with have it, I discovered that I had AEFW in my systems on 7/17, and a long battle to quarantine the tank along with possibly even losing my systems loom. At this point, with the numerous delays, I decided to tell Mike that I need to just cancel the order. He was not keen on the idea, and even cited the fact that he doesn't give refunds. Thing is, I never even took delivery of the goods, was what I was asking for actually a refund? So in any case he refused to refund me, and, to his credit, tried to offer to help me in any way he can. He offered to get me dips, offered to source me extra tanks. But central to my problem is that the only way I was going to battle this would require that I don't buy anything more, and fix what I have now. If I take delivery of more corals, I would only make the situation worse.
So on 7/18 I decided to file a claim with my credit card to get my money back. I was getting my money back, and I even told Mike what I had planned to do, and that when my tank is ready I would have no problem buying then - but that I was not going to let him sit on my 3,000 for 3-6 or however many months it would take before I can take care of my AEFW problem. Then during a busy morning on 7/20, I received a UPS package. Careless me didn't check who it was from, so I just signed for it, and I was expecting a package, but it didn't turn out to be what I expected. In the package was a bottle of Flatworm stop and revive, from Mike. At the moment I realized that it could either be a really nice gesture, or that I was in the process of getting taken. I know that to satisfy a claim, one would need to provide proof of shipping. But at the same time, I was trying to be hopeful and think the best, that Mike was just trying to help. That despite not making the sale, he was trying to be helpful and that the sooner I fix the issue, the sooner I could go back to him to complete the purchase of the box.
Notice that the weight of the box is 3 pounds.
Fast forward to today, I get a notice that the merchant responded to the dispute that claims they indeed did ship me my $3,000 worth of corals in a package shipped on 7/18.
Ultimately, where did things go wrong:
1. I bought a box and after numerous delays by the vendor for personal reasons pushed out the delivery time frame to a time when I no longer can accept delivery because of my own tank issues. This would be like you ordering a backup generator for your house on Amazon. Then Amazon tells you they cant ship out your item because their warehouse is infested with cockroaches, then the warehouse managers daughter has a softball game to attend and therefore cant ship out for 2 more weeks, during which time earthquake destroyed your house and you no longer need the generator. Then Amazon insists on shipping the item after delaying shipment for a couple of weeks, even though you no longer need it.
2. Mike sent me $80 dollars worth of dips and represented that to paypal/credit card to satisfy the claim.
3. Mike seems to think it is okay to keep my $3,000 without actually sending me anything I ordered.
4. Mike claims that sexy coral does not offer refunds. He indicates that website sexycorals.com states no refund on special orders. I viewed his thread on R2R, I did not order anything from sexycorals.com and was in no part of the transaction ever made aware of such policy. In fact, had he directed me to his site to clarify refund policy, or indicated to me that once I pay, there is no recourse, then I would not have ordered. I believe all consumers should be made aware of any unusual refund policies at the time of purchase.
So background story:
On 7/4 I decided to order a $3,000 box from Mike at Sexy Coral. I texted him and arranged for purchase. I gave him my CC and he charged me for the purchase, with plans to make arrangements for delivery/pick up.
I contacted him 7/6 to inquire about when he can do a delivery, below is the exchange:
The 5 days later, on a Monday, I followed up again with him to see when i can get the stuff for which he had already charged me. He tells me that he's out of town and won't be back until Thursday or Friday:
I tried to contact him on Thursday, and again more delays, he tells me he should be able to do it on Saturday 7/16.
Again 7/16 doesn't work as he has more other issues come up.
As luck with have it, I discovered that I had AEFW in my systems on 7/17, and a long battle to quarantine the tank along with possibly even losing my systems loom. At this point, with the numerous delays, I decided to tell Mike that I need to just cancel the order. He was not keen on the idea, and even cited the fact that he doesn't give refunds. Thing is, I never even took delivery of the goods, was what I was asking for actually a refund? So in any case he refused to refund me, and, to his credit, tried to offer to help me in any way he can. He offered to get me dips, offered to source me extra tanks. But central to my problem is that the only way I was going to battle this would require that I don't buy anything more, and fix what I have now. If I take delivery of more corals, I would only make the situation worse.
So on 7/18 I decided to file a claim with my credit card to get my money back. I was getting my money back, and I even told Mike what I had planned to do, and that when my tank is ready I would have no problem buying then - but that I was not going to let him sit on my 3,000 for 3-6 or however many months it would take before I can take care of my AEFW problem. Then during a busy morning on 7/20, I received a UPS package. Careless me didn't check who it was from, so I just signed for it, and I was expecting a package, but it didn't turn out to be what I expected. In the package was a bottle of Flatworm stop and revive, from Mike. At the moment I realized that it could either be a really nice gesture, or that I was in the process of getting taken. I know that to satisfy a claim, one would need to provide proof of shipping. But at the same time, I was trying to be hopeful and think the best, that Mike was just trying to help. That despite not making the sale, he was trying to be helpful and that the sooner I fix the issue, the sooner I could go back to him to complete the purchase of the box.
Notice that the weight of the box is 3 pounds.
Fast forward to today, I get a notice that the merchant responded to the dispute that claims they indeed did ship me my $3,000 worth of corals in a package shipped on 7/18.
Ultimately, where did things go wrong:
1. I bought a box and after numerous delays by the vendor for personal reasons pushed out the delivery time frame to a time when I no longer can accept delivery because of my own tank issues. This would be like you ordering a backup generator for your house on Amazon. Then Amazon tells you they cant ship out your item because their warehouse is infested with cockroaches, then the warehouse managers daughter has a softball game to attend and therefore cant ship out for 2 more weeks, during which time earthquake destroyed your house and you no longer need the generator. Then Amazon insists on shipping the item after delaying shipment for a couple of weeks, even though you no longer need it.
2. Mike sent me $80 dollars worth of dips and represented that to paypal/credit card to satisfy the claim.
3. Mike seems to think it is okay to keep my $3,000 without actually sending me anything I ordered.
4. Mike claims that sexy coral does not offer refunds. He indicates that website sexycorals.com states no refund on special orders. I viewed his thread on R2R, I did not order anything from sexycorals.com and was in no part of the transaction ever made aware of such policy. In fact, had he directed me to his site to clarify refund policy, or indicated to me that once I pay, there is no recourse, then I would not have ordered. I believe all consumers should be made aware of any unusual refund policies at the time of purchase.
