MrCoral.com Order - TERRIBLE Experience

[FireCorals]

Going to apologize up front for how lengthy this post is, but it was necessary.

 

Okay, although I had read numerous bad things about MrCoral frags, quality and poor customer service, I also read some good things and considering the frags were decently priced, I decided to place an order.

 

Friday morning at 4:00am I ordered twenty (20) $10 frags. Totaling $200 shipped. GREAT RIGHT? No.

 

Here is where the problems start, I see that he also has eBay auctions going. I bid on about a dozen of his auctions and at the end, since I was not around, I only end up winning one of the auctions for $7.56 for a very mediocre single polyp frag of a palyathoa.

 

Well, this kind of sucks, now I have to pay $42.51 for a single polyp mediocre frag? Wait, let me contact MrCoral and see if he has anymore of the other frags I was bidding on that I could buy and I would happily pay for the requested shipping costs on those lots or just pay the $7.56 and add it to my order from his site. That would be reasonable and great customer service right? WRONG. 

 

Right away I got a response from MrCoral and he claims that his web store (owned by him) is a completely different business from his eBay listings, that this store is supposedly owned by someone else and he has no control over what is done and I will have to pay the full shipping cost separate for a TINY 1 polyp frag, but I could contact this other person and try to buy other frags. So wait, he advertises another companies eBay listings - how does this make sense? What company promotes a competitors listings?

 

You think it ends here? NOPE. 

 

Now I find out the order I made on the web store was an invalid order (but my Credit Card was still charged first and I got an email confirming it with no problems, how convenient) and I SHOULD of contacted them about it. LOL, I didn't know it was invalid, nor did I realize that I would have to contact them about shipping arrangements. He also claimed to have called or emailed me, but never received a call from his number nor a voicemail and definitely never received an email regarding this idiotic issue. Now I am wondering if I didn't message him tonight about arrangements for the eBay frag, when and if at all he planned on contacting me about this issue. 

 

Getting back on topic, the whole issue was that I ordered too many "limit 1" corals, which I didn't realize was possible, excuse my ignorance, but I thought this meant I couldn't order more than one of that particular coral/frag. Yes, he does very vaguely and confusingly mention this at the top of the page, but it's not very clear and like I said, I misunderstood. No harm right, we are all human.  Well, he told me I would have to choose other coral (I bought the frags I wanted, there was nothing else there that interested me and didn't think there was a problem anyways since i successfully checked out and they successfully charged my credit card) , but I declined due to the fact in parentheses and the way he was TRYING to handle the eBay auction situation, along with his total lack of customer service or understanding to any of this.

 

I then requested a refund for my order and offered to pay the eBay fees involved with the auction I won for a measly $7.56. This is where it gets REALLY sketchy and absurd. (please keep in mind my order was "invalid", because his poor rules and shopping cart system).

 

MrCoral responds back requesting that if I do get a refund he is going to have to charge me a 30% cancellation fee, YES THIRTY PERCENT, THAT'S $60 on my $200 order, AN INVALID ORDER, THAT HIS VERY POOR SHOPPING CART SYTEM ALLOWED.

 

30%??! He is claiming his merchant still charges him (doubtful, so 2004) for initating refunds on HIS INVALID ORDERS. Even if they do charge him for this refund it's not more than 4%, so he is trying to gouge AT LEAST an additional 26% from me because I do not care to do any business with this unprofessional individual. This is not only unethical, but beyond ridiculous.

 

I have never personally received any livestock from this individual and most definitely never will, but I can tell you customer service is EVERYTHING to me hence the reason I try to go above and beyond for my customers, and this guy has absolutely ZERO positive customer service.

 

He is refusing to refund my order amount in full without this ridiculous 30% fee so I will be contacting my credit card company in the morning and disputing this borderline fraudulent transaction to get my money back in full.

 

I really wanted to avoid making this thread, especially about a fellow sponsor/nano-reefer, but he left me with no choice considering his lack of customer service and very poor attitude.

 

Sorry if you guys may not agree with my approach, but I was as honest as possible with my story and I feel others should be aware of this individual.

 

Thank you for reading,

Mike C.

[Lawnman]

Sorry to hear this happened. Good luck with getting your money back.

[Fluffeh]

...and another reason i decided to never order from this website... very shady.. im sorry you had to deal with this.

[michelleshusband]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

In order to avoid such problem, I would suggest all new customers to:

1. read the return/refund polices,

2. speak with the vendor through phones/email for any ambiguous matters (I assume they reply a lot faster when your money isn't transferred ),

3. read up on the vendor's feedback and their practice.

I do hope your issue gets resolved.

 

In my opinion, Mr.Coral should give you a full refund because:

1. they did not prepare your order yet (it didn't cost them anything. usually restocking fee is charged if they pick and pack your item),

2. their website should be updated so it doesn't allow the customers to create invalid orders,

 

From Mr.Coral's point of view, technically they do not have to give the customer full refund because the website warns the customers about the refund policies and "limit 1" rule. But again, in my opinion, that is predatory practice where you get rich from unwary customers and their simple mistakes.

 

Same as Lawnman said, sorry to hear this happened and good luck with your refund.

[1fishmonger]

I'm not sure how people can keep buying from him when so many of these come up. Sure, there are happy customers but a good business shouldn't have this many complaint threads...period. This isn't one or two - This is on a near weekly basis. I really think the forums should reconsider allowing poor business practices to be sponsors. Forums have a responsibility to promote knowledge, good husbandry and good business practices in the hobby.

 

The 30% cancellation fee is a little ridiculous. If the cart lets you add it and the system allows the purchase...Well, then it's the seller's responsibility at that point to honor the sale. An error message or something should come up if you have 'too many limit 1 corals'.

 

Good luck getting your money back. It should be easy.

[vinhle00]

And another one

[FireCorals]

I appreciate all the comments and yes, I will definitely do my due diligence before I order from a "company" I am not familiar with, especially with one that has so many bad reviews. My mistake, but he can deal with chase from here as I know I will get my money back, in full.

 

From this website.

Can I cancel my order?

 

Yes, but only if your order hasn't already shipped. Once your order has been shipped the sale is final.

 

If you want to cancel an order that has not shipped, you can do so but there will be a 30% restocking fee. We know that sounds like a lot, but it is A LOT of work for us to cancel your order, re-photo the corals, put them back on our website, etc. This is an extremely labor-intensive process for us.

 

I found this incredibly amusing.

 

A lot of work to cancel the order. LOL. RE-photo the corals? LOL. Put them back on their website? LOL!.

 

I have been building websites for over a decade, specializing in Ecommerce sites and I know that with 99% of them all you have to do is click cancel order, update quantity back to "1" and its all back there like it never happened, then go to your merchant account and initiate a refund, all of which takes no more than 5 minutes, if not 2 minutes.

 

I am sure this guy does this to make money for not doing anything. I have never seen something so ridiculous in my life, either that or he likes to try and force individuals to do business with him even after he provides horrible customer service and bad attitude.

 

Whether the 30% restockng fee a.k.a. Highway robbery, was justified or not (DEFINITELY NOT), I should not, nor anyone of his other customers should have to pay it based on an error in his shopping car system. If you are going to make such a vague rule at least integrate some custom values to the shopping cart to prevent this from happening, but I am sure this is something he is not interested in doing as this would be somewhat good customer service and it allows him to hold his customers money for hostage by forcing the, to buy lower grade corals that they do not want and are virtually worthless.

 

I am really disappointed as I was looking forward to receiving the frags and possibly disproving a lot of the negative claims about his unethical business practices, but from my experience so far, their is not a doubt in my mind that they are all true.

 

This is a SHAME and he should do what is right here and provide the FULL refund and take responsibility for his actions/ or lack of action for that matter.

[AFRobert568]

I’ve read the post and I would like to comment on this issue. I haven’t ordered from Mr. Coral and with their bad reviews I likely won’t. With that being said a fair amount of the complaints aren’t entirely their fault. If a storm hits and your shipment gets stuck in transit it shouldn’t be completely their fault or there should be insurance during the winter months. I know this isn’t your situation, but I’ve seen this.

With your situation you have two separate issues. I can understand their side on the ebay issue since it would be too complicated to match people’s orders up when or if they win the auction. The second issue is the invalid order. I haven’t place an order, but I’ve read about the rules for the limit one corals. I do think the 30% refund is uncalled for, but why didn’t you switch your order to accommodate the requirements. With that being said I think they lost your service and they would be better off refunding your order and preventing another negative post in NR. It’s not like they spent time packing an invalid order, so I cant imagine they will be losing out.

[petkingdom619]

It seems like most complaints of mr coral are of user error. I didn't read the whole story book up there. From what i read most of it was the buyers fault. I mean is it his fault you werent around when the ebay auction ended. He even emails you about the auction endind . If whoever owns the ebay store did what u wanted them to do they would be broke.I am not defending him or the company but if you read all the instructions correctly and can do some simple math you should be fine. I have ever had a bad order from them. In fact if you call, they are very helpful.

[michelleshusband]

Negative post is never better than 60 dollars. I would eat up the merchant charge and not get the negative post on forums. I was planning to purchase from them in few weeks since my tank was ready and stable, but with this kind of attitude, I would rather pay 200% more from LFS and give them my business. They lost my business and probably many others like me.

 

But then again, there is always 2 side of the story. I hope Mr.Coral sees this post and comment or explain their side of the story.

[FireCorals]

I’ve read the post and I would like to comment on this issue. I haven’t ordered from Mr. Coral and with their bad reviews I likely won’t. With that being said a fair amount of the complaints aren’t entirely their fault. If a storm hits and your shipment gets stuck in transit it shouldn’t be completely their fault or there should be insurance during the winter months. I know this isn’t your situation, but I’ve seen this.

With your situation you have two separate issues. I can understand their side on the ebay issue since it would be too complicated to match people’s orders up when or if they win the auction. The second issue is the invalid order. I haven’t place an order, but I’ve read about the rules for the limit one corals. I do think the 30% refund is uncalled for, but why didn’t you switch your order to accommodate the requirements. With that being said I think they lost your service and they would be better off refunding your order and preventing another negative post in NR. It’s not like they spent time packing an invalid order, so I cant imagine they will be losing out.

I understand the eBay part too, but it really isn't that difficult, it's one tiny frag added to an existing order that hadn't shipped. And why would he be advertising another company's list and why does he not state that in his post here on NanoReef? He makes it seem like it is him posting these listings. Even responded to in one of the threads "yes this is me", about his eBay store (the one I won the frag from).

 

He is just trying to make easy money off of a major flaw in their system.

 

It seems like most complaints of mr coral are of user error. I didn't read the whole story book up there. From what i read most of it was the buyers fault. I mean is it his fault you werent around when the ebay auction ended. He even emails you about the auction endind . If whoever owns the ebay store did what u wanted them to do they would be broke.I am not defending him or the company but if you read all the instructions correctly and can do some simple math you should be fine. I have ever had a bad order from them. In fact if you call, they are very helpful.

I would suggest reading the whole post to understand the main point about why I posted this thread. This has very little to do with the whole eBay auction. I also don't really understand what you mean about whoever owns the eBay store would go broke.. Why? They are losing nothing by combining orders unless they are profiting from the shipping cost? They are just throwing the frag in an existing order box when it ships...

 

Negative post is never better than 60 dollars. I would eat up the merchant charge and not get the negative post on forums. I was planning to purchase from them in few weeks since my tank was ready and stable, but with this kind of attitude, I would rather pay 200% more from LFS and give them my business. They lost my business and probably many others like me.

 

But then again, there is always 2 side of the story. I hope Mr.Coral sees this post and comment or explain their side of the story.

 

I know he will and I hope he responds, I am looking for further amusement of what he will say to justify his very obviously shady business practices and terms.

[michelleshusband]

It seems like most complaints of mr coral are of user error. I didn't read the whole story book up there. From what i read most of it was the buyers fault. I mean is it his fault you werent around when the ebay auction ended. He even emails you about the auction endind . If whoever owns the ebay store did what u wanted them to do they would be broke.I am not defending him or the company but if you read all the instructions correctly and can do some simple math you should be fine. I have ever had a bad order from them. In fact if you call, they are very helpful.

 

Well said. I agree completely with what you have to share.

But I think if user error are continuous, there is a problem with the business model and should be fixed so there would be less user errors.

[FireCorals]

Most people don't read the fine print, just the most obvious info, like the free shipping on $125 and free gifts, etc. I guess I am / was niave and didn't really think I was going to have to worry about something so ridiculous.

 

I would of chose other coral if there was anything else I wanted, but there really wasn't and after the whole thing of requiring me to spend more on corals and his eBay store not really being owned by him I was over it. Just unnecessary and time wasting jumbo mumbo. Just like the time I have to waste to make the post because a certain individual can not provide any reasonable, understanding customer service.

 

Does he want to prevent something like this from happening in the future? Refund my $200 in full and integrate a simple value to your shopping cart so this WEB SITE / OWNER ERROR is not possible. Simple as that.

[jm82792]

For years Mr Coral has driven me crazy with his billion posts on a revolutionary sale or auction.

[IamTomm]

I don't get why it would be so much work to repost pics of coral, esspecially since absolutly nothing is wysiwyg. Their just pics of general stuff he will send you that's close to what's pictured(sometimes).

[JDK]

Call your credit card company they will be on your side not his.

[th64]

In his defense, in the returns section it does state the 30% restocking fee even if it an outrageous amount. However, a company should never sell from their website and eBay independently of one another. Looking at the website I do agree that the "limit 1" part is very vague and not clear at all. Definitely a better idea to go through your credit card company and maybe file an eBay claim, they are pretty helpful.

[FireCorals]

In his defense, in the returns section it does state the 30% restocking fee even if it an outrageous amount. However, a company should never sell from their website and eBay independently of one another. Looking at the website I do agree that the "limit 1" part is very vague and not clear at all. Definitely a better idea to go through your credit card company and maybe file an eBay claim, they are pretty helpful.

 

But what about website error? If you are going to enforce a rule, integrate a simple value into your system to perform appropriate actions so customers do not end up making the mistake I did. Or DO NOT process orders / charge credit cards without verifying orders if you do not want to take more responsible / reasonable measures.

 

I don't get why it would be so much work to repost pics of coral, esspecially since absolutly nothing is wysiwyg. Their just pics of general stuff he will send you that's close to what's pictured(sometimes).

It's not, he just use these ridiculously exaggerated claims to make some easy money and/or force users to buy his lower quality stock if they want to purchase anything decent and hold their money hostage in the mean time.

 

Call your credit card company they will be on your side not his.

 

As soon as they open.

[mmcguffi]

sorry for your ####ty experience

 

you would think that mr coral would learn a thing or two from threads popping up like this every month or so. granted yours is a bit worse than most Ive seen--sorry man

 

I just dont understand how mr coral can read these and then still respond so stubbornly and not make things right. even if the customer is being a 100% ahole (which you are NOT btw), it's a supplier/retailers responsibility to take the blame.

[FireCorals]

sorry for your ####ty experience

 

you would think that mr coral would learn a thing or two from threads popping up like this every month or so. granted yours is a bit worse than most Ive seen--sorry man

 

I just dont understand how mr coral can read these and then still respond so stubbornly and not make things right. even if the customer is being a 100% ahole (which you are NOT btw), it's a supplier/retailers responsibility to take the blame.

 

He is taking advantage of demand and taking his customers/potential customers for granted.

 

There is no business in this world, especially small businesses, that REALLY succeed without good customer service.

 

I have owned several different businesses since I was 14 years old, I know how important customer service and customer satisfaction is, this guy can careless.

 

Sad world, I am sorry I ever wasted any time even trying to order with him. Him and his eBay alter-ego are on my blacklist for life.

[joeyhatch11]

Taking a look at his $10 section, and when reading the "terms" slow enough it does make sense. Each customer can only purchase 1, Limit 1 coral of THAT kind. AND in the $10 section you can only purchase 1 limit one coral for ever 4 "non limit 1" corals bought. It's a sh!tty way to advertise that. It should simply be that you can only buy 1, limit 1 coral of that kind and call it a day. 30% restock fee is complete BS. If there is a "re-stock" fee, 10-15% tops. How can you charge 30% for doing nothing? WOW makes me want to start my own website and make FREE MONEY. I'll NEVER buy from Mr. Coral, even if his business practice changes and people start posting 100% positive feed back on how well it is.

[patback]

Not getting into this... But did he know at all while talking that you are a sponsor also? If I had a iffy buisness, I would do all I can to get another sponsor to back up my product.

[FireCorals]

Not getting into this... But did he know at all while talking that you are a sponsor also? If I had a iffy buisness, I would do all I can to get another sponsor to back up my product.

 

Yes, he mentioned this as we were talking via PM here on Nano-Reef. It seemed like he was at first using it to try to justify his stance on the situation, then went to the "I will see what I can do for you" and in the same sentence basically told me that was nothing.

 

He was very firm with his 30% cancellation fee.

 

I think I was more than within my rights to request a full refund considering there were no other corals I was interested purchasing from him and from what was already stated, the flaw in his system that allows a user to complete the purchase and his automatic charge to my credit card.

 

I am getting on the phone with chase now.

[FireCorals]

***Update***

 

Just spoke with Chase, I made this purchase through one of my business accounts and since I have experience with Ecommerce/business transactions, I already knew what he was doing was NOT right, both ethically and based off the TOS by most merchants/banks, they confirmed this.

 

A merchant account holder CANNOT authorize a charge if the products purchased were not the original products ordered. Meaning even if I managed to order these products and the transaction was completed through the site, the only way MrCoral can legally authorize my charge is if he was going to send the original products ordered, he cannot hold my money hostage and try to make me pay a 30% transaction fee on 1.) a error caused by his website/shopping cart system 2.) the charges that haven't even cleared. He simply has to deny my transaction and he is not charged a fee and the funds are returned to my account.

 

So instead of just doing this, he is trying to illegally authorize my charge knowing fully that the products ordered are "invalid" as he stated and will not be shipped to me (I don't want them anymore anyways after this), and trying to make a profit off of me for doing nothing and/or trying to get me to buy corals I do not want.

 

Long story short, Chase is issuing me a refund and investigating this matter further and I will be sure to steer very far away from MrCoral.

 

 

 

Anyone who has experienced this same issue with MrCoral, do not let him try and bully you. Contact your financial institution and settle it with them, don't even bother trying to rectify the situation with this guy. It's a waste of time and energy.

[iball1804]

Chase... the credit card? Glad they treated you right.