# BE CAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS



## Nick16 (8 Mar 2009)

WARNING
The following aquatic Online Retailers have gone into liquidation but unbelieveably they are still taking orders and your money
They quite often are advertising goods at a really good or should I say a fantastic price in comparision with other reputable sites that have been around for years.

Shops in the Group are as follows

http://www.1st4aquatics.com
http://www.thelivingseas.uk.com
http://www.thelivingseas.co.uk
http://www.biorb-aquariums.com
http://www.capital-aquatic.co.uk
http://www.aquarium-equipment.co.uk
http://www.fishbitz.co.uk
http://www.waterhomeaquatics.co.uk
http://www.aquatics-kingdom.co.uk
http://www.aquatics-kingdom.com
http://www.pond-tec.co.uk
http://www.everythingbutwater.co.uk
http://www.aquarium-superstore.co.uk
http://www.highpeakaquatics.co.uk
http://www.aquatics-direct.eu

Be warned before you part with your money.

i belive they are all part of the AQUAMAGIC INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
company.

i may be wrong but this is what i have heard. so be careful.


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## Mark Green (8 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

Nick16,

Thanks the infomation on these guys, i was planning on getting a ex filter from one of them. 

You just saved me Â£79

Good job   

Mark


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## johnny70 (8 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

looks like I was lucky, ordered from them this last weel   was delivered too, hope no one does get ripped off


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## LondonDragon (8 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*



			
				Nick16 said:
			
		

> WARNING
> The following aquatic Online Retailers have gone into liquidation but unbelieveably they are still taking orders and your money


Sometimes a company goes into liquidation to protect their assets and not necessarily that they are bankrupt. Just protects the company from suppliers, otherwise they could go in and tear it apart to get the money they are owed.


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## John Starkey (8 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

Hi Guys,firstly, i think you must be very carefull before you put thinks like this on the forum,secondly,i used the living seas last week for my koralia pump and the service was first class,no probs at all,reagrds john


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## JamesM (8 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

I don't see anything wrong here, John, as no one has posted anything libellous. Its just a warning over the listed shops current situation. As Paulo points out though, this could be nothing more than standard procedure to protect assets. I'd still be very cautious however.


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## JamesM (8 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

To add to my last post, in most cases, protection from libel, etc. on a forum can be covered by simply adding some text to the terms & conditions and/or privacy policy.

Something like: "Comments made on this forum are that of the Individual member, and not necessarily that of the site owner(s)"


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## Nick16 (8 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

hence thats why i put i may be wrong. i would just be very careful. its just a warning to let you guys know. seeing as all those websites are owned by the aquamagic company


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## Ed Seeley (8 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*



			
				JamesM said:
			
		

> Something like: "Comments made on this forum are that of the Individual member, and not necessarily that of the site owner(s)"



I'm afraid that does not work legally to remove the responsibility of the site for the content on it - including posts.  Responsibility still lies with the owners that nothing is posted that breaks the law.  Or at least it does in theory.


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## altaaffe (8 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

Indeed Ed, being backroom on a couple of sites - we constantly bring threads underground to discuss.

It does seem a lot of sites to be slinging mud at, especially when people are reporting no problems within the last week for orders and deliveries.


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## Nick16 (8 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

if you want, i can remove the OP but, they are all owned by the same company so if aquamagic go into liquidation they all go.


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## hellohefalump (8 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

Just pay by credit card.  Then you're covered.  I think it might only work over Â£100 though?


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## Egmel (9 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*



			
				hellohefalump said:
			
		

> Just pay by credit card.  Then you're covered.  I think it might only work over Â£100 though?


Depends on your card issuer.


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## AquaMagic Limited (10 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

Dear Sirs

Reference : AquaMagic Tropical & Marine Ltd and AquaMagic International Ltd.

As of Thursday 26th February AquaMagic Limited took over all day to day activities from the above named companies. Within the group we had several companies, we took the decision that some of these were no longer needed.

As you could imagine the costs of running each was very high, all we have done is streamline the operation, all orders are being processed as per normal.

ANY suggestion that we are trading illegally is totally without foundation, all websites are operating TOTALLY AS NORMAL and will continue to do so.

If we wish to change company details that is surely our prerogative!

We note comments about our pricing.

Could it be that we are not as greedy as some, and are happy to make a smaller margin, could it also be that we will not be dictated to by cartel operations that are hell bent on fixing pricing, this you should realise is for your benifit as well as ours (take a look at certain product ranges that we sell and compare these prices with others)

Because of this you will now realise why we import some items from Europe, this is also part of the reason that we can sell at a cheaper price, likewise it also explains why from time to time there may be a slight delay in goods arriving with us.

Free Market trading within the Europien Union has been positivly encouraged for many years now, any products that we supply that have been sourced within the EU are covered by the full manifactors guarantee/warrenty. This is a full Europien warrenty that covers all member states within the EU, not a so called distributors warrenty in the Uk only.

We note comments from a competetor, these posts have all been saved and will be passed to our legal team first thing tommorow morning. Further more we also note comments from the competetor regarding wet products, we find this quite ammusing considering we have a town center retail operation since 1998.

Should this competetor find he is uncompetetive price wise on wet products we like to take this opportunity to offer him our services as a wholesale fish distributor. This is a new part of the business that is for trade only and will be available in the coming weeks.

As a gesture of goodwill we take this opportunity to offer any of our customers a 10% discount on any order placed between Monday 6th of April and Tuesday 14th April, orders would have to be placed by telephone, this will give you the assurance that we are here, you can ask any questions at the same time if you so wish. To get this discount you will need to ask for it at the time of ordering.

It is very sad when a rumour can start out of something that is totally taken out of all context, we hope by contacting you all like this that this will allay any fears that may have been unduly caused.

Regards
AquaMagic Ltd


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## Egmel (10 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

Thanks for the clarification guys.  It is of course your prerogative to change company details but you can imagine how liquidation proceedings look in the current climate.  We are just looking out for our members by sharing this information.



			
				AquaMagic Limited said:
			
		

> We note comments from a competetor, these posts have all been saved and will be passed to our legal team first thing tommorow morning. Further more we also note comments from the competetor regarding wet products, we find this quite ammusing considering we have a town center retail operation since 1998.


On this forum?  I don't see any in this thread, have they been removed?  You should also contact the moderators if you have any issues with posts/posters - especially ones you consider worthy of legal action.


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## LondonDragon (10 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*



			
				Egmel said:
			
		

> Thanks for the clarification guys.  It is of course your prerogative to change company details but you can imagine how liquidation proceedings look in the current climate.  We are just looking out for our members by sharing this information.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



This is most likely a single article that has been posted on all forums that they find with some sort of reference to their company, does not necessarily mean we broke any rules here.


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## Egmel (10 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*



			
				LondonDragon said:
			
		

> Egmel said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I did wonder, which is why I asked, mainly because the only 'competitors' currently on this site would be the sponsors and to say you're considering legal action suggests that they've done something wrong and currently I find that unsubstantiated and therefore unnecessarily threatening.


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## LondonDragon (10 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*



			
				Egmel said:
			
		

> I did wonder, which is why I asked, mainly because the only 'competitors' currently on this site would be the sponsors and to say you're considering legal action suggests that they've done something wrong and currently I find that unsubstantiated and therefore unnecessarily threatening.


I wouldn't take much notice of it when it comes to the term "competitors" just a case of copy and paste.


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## Nick16 (10 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

shall i remove my OP now this has been cleared up?


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## JamesM (10 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

I wouldn't remove anything. 

No one has done any wrong doing here, so any threats are empty. 

As for rumours, I don't see any here either.

Therefore, I'd agree with Paulo, this is a cut n' paste job. And not very professional imo.


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## GreenNeedle (11 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

I think we can finish this thread though on here.  There are numerous long threads of 'bad experience' on other sites that I have been reading for months from these companies and we need not pull UKaps into any problems 

AC


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## LondonDragon (11 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*



			
				SuperColey1 said:
			
		

> I think we can finish this thread though on here.  There are numerous long threads of 'bad experience' on other sites that I have been reading for months from these companies and we need not pull UKaps into any problems
> AC


I have heard bad and good things about this company. Some have had good experiences with them and recommend them and others haven't, but this applies to most other companies too.
I have never dealt with any one them, but some friends have and yes they did have problems, but mostly on delivery times and when a refund was asked for it was given (although costumer service is not always up to standards). So if you want things cheaper be prepared to wait a little longer for them.


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## beeky (12 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*



			
				JamesM said:
			
		

> I wouldn't remove anything.
> 
> No one has done any wrong doing here, so any threats are empty.
> 
> ...



I agree. To my eyes, threats of legal action in these instances is akin to a child having a tantrum because they can't get their own way. Mr Plant Brain has had run ins with that sort of thing from what I remember. And "official" responses should at least go through a spell checker.


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## mfcphil (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

Well after well over a week I am still waiting for my Fluval 305 to be delivered from _*1st 4 Aquatics*_...some times deliveries are slower than others I can accept that...but I have had three _*unanswered*_ emails where I was asking for updates, which in my book is really bad business.


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## Joecoral (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*



			
				mfcphil said:
			
		

> but I have had three _*unanswered*_ emails where I was asking for updates, which in my book is really bad business.



My experience (not neccessarily with the companies in question) is that emails often do go unanswered, I always prefer to ring the helpline as you can talk to a person and find out there and then whats happening


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## LondonDragon (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*



			
				mfcphil said:
			
		

> Well after well over a week I am still waiting for my Fluval 305 to be delivered from _*1st 4 Aquatics*_...some times deliveries are slower than others I can accept that...but I have had three _*unanswered*_ emails where I was asking for updates, which in my book is really bad business.


Yep like I said customer service is not always up to scratch! I had to call these guys about 10 time over two weeks to get a refund for a friend of mine in Portugal, on the emails they say call and speak to this person, then I call and they say you must send an email! LOL all this to buy some more time!!


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## Dave Spencer (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

I have found 1st4Aquatics to be a strange company. I placed an order during the height of the busy Christmas period and received the goods the next day! 10/10.

Impressed with this, I placed another order in January, and waited and waited, got a terse reply to an email, and then received the goods after about one month.

Dave.


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## mfcphil (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

Well what an experience that was....

I phoned up the 1st 4 Aquatics asking for a refund and was told that I would have to phone after 4 and that I my emails had been replied to, after explaining they had not emailed me I asked for the ladies name, she refused to give me her surname saying it was against company policy....I explained that I wanted the details so I could phone the bank to complain and I wanted to ensure I had all the correct details....she did not like this
She got very upset and started screaming for PAUL to come and deal with me and that she was very* sick of this rubbish* everyday.
Paul then screamed down the phone demanding to know what I had said to upset his senior member of staff, I told him I had asked for a refund, he shouted that I could have my refund and I could shove it up my **** and hung up on me.

So there you go people, this is how to keep your customers happy!!!

They HAVE gave me a refund.

(*EDIT BY ADMIN Keep it clean people, this is a family forum)


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## gratts (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*



> she was very* sick of this rubbish* everyday.



Maybe if they tried a little harder they wouldn't have to deal with 'this rubbish every day!


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## Themuleous (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

Should we leave this alone now? We dont want it to become a slanging match.  Everyone seems well aware of the situation now.

Sam


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## Aeropars (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

Indeed they are very odd. 

I bought my Koralia from them and had an email saying it had been dispatched. 4 days later still no koralia so i emailed them and i got a reply saying they were waiting for a delivery of them... yet i had an email saying it had been dispatched?! Anyhow, a week later and the koralia turned up.

read reports of similar things happening with other users so I wont be using them again simply because i wont take the risk of a bad experience.


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## Aeropars (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*



			
				Themuleous said:
			
		

> Should we leave this alone now? We dont want it to become a slanging match.  Everyone seems well aware of the situation now.
> 
> Sam



this isnt a slanging match. Simply reviewing a trade retailer which is a simple concept and dispite what they may say, is perfectly legal and is in no way a case for a liable prosecution. Its an opinionated thread and in no way are we saying any of this as fact.. simply opinion.


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## Themuleous (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

That's cool, I wasn't saying it was at the moment  just seems sensible to move on now?

Sam


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## Superman (13 Mar 2009)

*Re: BECAREFUL WHEN BUYING FROM THESE SHOPS*

Whilst I've not had an experience with these shops, I nearly bought some products from them when I was buying equipment. I noticed that there were a lot of websites that looked the same, a bit of digging found that they were trading names of a single company. When there a loads of websites for the same company things dont always stack up. So I decided to buy from somewhere else.

I did the same recently with other shops when I was trying to buy Nature Aquarium Book #1 online and found a few places were trading as. Seen as I couldn't speak to someone in person as the C/O address wouldn't talk about internet orders, I decided not to purchase the goods from there.

Talking in general terms, I think the current economic climate means that us internet shoppers needs to be doubly careful when buying items. I for one wouldn't give Â£20 to someone in the street for the promise of something in the future without having a relationship with that person.

Whilst many places advertise items much cheaper than the mainstream shops (P@H, MA, AquaJardin, TGM, AE et al), I believe that sometimes its cheap for a reason. In addition, I'd rather pay an extra Â£x (not too much!) to make sure that I get the item and I'd rather someone I know get the money.


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## Egmel (14 Mar 2009)

Well said Clarke, sometimes the few extra quid is well worth the extra peace of mind and knowing that you're supporting a decent shop.  That said, ebay is probably the safest place for bargains right now.


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