CAD Lights= WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE!!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!!

[dnyceli]

Hello fellow reefers. Just wanted to share my horrible experience with CAD Lights with you so the whole community could see how this company treats their customers. I order a 100 Gallon Artisan 2 aquarium from Marine Depot back in April for my birthday. Marine Depot informed me that CAD Lights were temporary on back order 1 week. I was willing to wait because the tank looked nice. 2 weeks goes by and they finally get tank in but told me CAD Lights didn't ship it yet because it was still stuck in customs check in. Tank and stand arrives with good packaging. no visual damage to shipping box. Upon bringing tank into house and inspection the front and back corner of the glass was chipped and there were trapped air bubbles in the glass itself. The glass canopy was also chipped. The left side cabinet door was warped and was confirmed by putting a straight edge on it. I also got a invoice from FED EX of a balance due to them that CAD Lights never paid in full. Contacted Marine Depot and send all pictures of boxing and tank damage so they could forward to CAD Lights. CAD Lights said they would send a replacement tank, left side replacement door and new glass canopy and take care of the bill balance due to FED EX. Had Marine Depot tell CAD Lights to call me. Jason at CAD Lights promised me that he would personally inspect the replacement tank prior to shipping. He also apologized to me because it was taking so long to ship out the replacement. He explained that he was the only one in the warehouse and he was trying to get my shipment out by himself because everyone else was on vacation. He promised shipping out following week. They never came through on that promise and Marine Depot even had to get the owner involved. Well on June 26 after much waiting and 5 fishes dying waiting for this tank to arrive, I finally get the tank, replacement door , but they never sent the replacement canopy. Upon trying to set up plumbing that was already pre cemented, it didn't fit in the over flow. The holes in the over flow was drilled on opposite sides as compared with the original tank. Also the holes they drilled also had a crack from one hole to the next. Now I had 2 damaged tanks taking up space in my house. Also received a 2nd notice of unpaid balance due from the shipping of the original tank never taken care of by CAD Lights. Went to RAP to speak with CAD Lights personally both days. Spoke with Eric Palacios which is their sales manager. He promised me he would have a local shop associated with them come pick up both tanks this weekend and bring it back to his store for inspection and for shipping back to CAD Lights. And Eric told me he had my tank ready to ship and would ship out when they get the other 2 tanks back. Well the weekend now came and gone. They never tried to contact me at all; Even when i texted and left emails for Eric on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Tomorrow I again will contact Marine Depot and inform them of what is going on. At this point I am beyond out of patience and time. Will probrably get my money back and try to find someone to build me a customer glass rimless tank. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Bottom line is don't buy anything from these people. They give you the run around and never respond to any emails or messages and obviously don't care about customer satisfaction or quality control.
Sorry for such a long post and tanks for reading. i just needed everyone to know the truth about this terrible company. Many companies that day at RAP know about this matter with CAD Lights and me through speaking with them that day, including Mr. Julian Sprung. Guess CAD Lights don't care how they look to the reef community.

 

[dnyceli]

I guess that is what I had found out first hand. Just didn't want anyone else go through this horrible experience. I lost days off work waiting for shipments and also shipments that never arrived. Sorry to hear you had to go through the same experience. Could you recommend someone who could build me a tank? Was also thinking about using a Ghost Overflow.

 

[dnyceli]

Hybridize- I am looking into Reef Savvy also, but it looks like the same dimension tank would cost me the price of the CAD Lights tank and stand with sump. I guess you get what you pay for. I hope that Reef Savvy reads this post and feels bad for me and gives me a better price for a tank and stand, lol.
Ou12004- Yeah, the CAD Lights tank look good at a good price point. So unfortunate that they don't follow through with their quality assurance claims they sticker all over their tanks.

 

[dnyceli]

WillRams- You are right about the poor cabinet lacquer finish. i got the black finish and you could see some spots were light on paint and some areas were to heavy and had runs. The quality and craftsmanship they claim are a bunch of lies. I see it as a bait and switch. They are moving so much volume i guess they don't care about having any customer service or even care about making things right. Sad thing because bad news travel fast especially when most of us in the hobby are frequent on this site. I also made Eric Palacios at CAD Lights aware of this and also told him I would post on here if they were to fall through on their promises again. I gave them a third chance like a fool.

 

[dnyceli]

Neildz- thanks. CAD Lights use to be here in NY. They told me it was not cost effective for them to make them here in the states anymore and decided to outsource the building processes to China. That is why all the tanks have to go through customs now. Even though that is the case, I think CAD Lights as a company who should care about their reputation should still open the boxes and quality check each tank prior to shipping them out to the customers. It was ovious just by looking at the damages they were not from shipping, but from choosing defective glass during build; Hence the air bubble cracks inside the glass and also the crack in the base glass from drilling the holes in the sump. When i told them about the plumbing not fitting in sump and told them the holes were drilled opposite they told me " Oh yeah, i know about the problem. The tanks that went out with the new drilling patterns also got sent out with the old plumbing. We will have to send out replacement plumbing to resolve this isssue". So I know there are people out there who received their tanks last week also with a plumbing problem and also waiting on new plumbing. When I buy a product I am also buying a product for the serivce and quality and honesty. They made it very apparent to me they don't care about any of this. How can they send out 2 damaged tanks to me if they would have checked it prior and even promised me that they would personally check them prior to shipping. GARBAGE#Runaround#SHUTITDOWN#

 

[dnyceli]

hart24601- I'm ready tomorrow. I can't loose anymore livestock waiting on these loosers. I can't believe they even dare to be a sponsor on Reef2Reef. I hope they read ever bit of this post. I am an honest and trusting person. I told you CAD Lights what I was going to do if you went back on your word. I would expose you to the whole community on Reef2Reef. I hope Reef2Reef drop you as a sponsor. This community is like family and we don't need people here who don't show real interest in our needs as hobbyist and show such ignorance to customer service. Shame on you CAD Lights. I should file a claim with the Better Business Bureau. That way the whole world would know.

 

[dnyceli]

Neildz- The shipping was not the issue for me. I like their tanks if they could ever send me a tank and stand complete that is in working and visually nice. I opted out of their skimmer and went with a AquaMaxx skimmer as recommended by Marine Depot. Bought 2 Radion XR30 pro 3rd gens, individual stands, Reef Link, Eshopps doser, and Maxspect Gyra. I even told Eric at the show if they could upgrade me to the 150 Gallon they had sitting at RAP, that this would make it all good again with all the time lost from work, money lost in livestock and aggrivation. And it still being my birthday present. He said all the tanks were sold already at a low show price because he didn't want to take anything back to California. He said if I wanted he would sell me the tank for the show price. Then Monday came I emailed him about the tank and he said he couldn't sell the tank to me for the show price because there was high demand on them. That was a slap in the face and going back on his word. Then he said he would be able to send me the replacement 100 gallon out with filter socks and a media reactor and have both damaged tanks picked up from my house this weekend. They never came to pick up the tanks. Again, going back on his word. He said he had my tank ready to ship out and that he was going to ship out when he gets the 2 tanks back. Why should I have to wait until he gets his damaged tanks back before I get a working tank I orgianlly paid for back in April. It is now July. I waited 3 months now for nothing. If you have a way of having them send my tank out i would still want it because I desperately need it for my fish. They are getting to cramped in this 20 G long. But I need an answer by tomorrow. They need to contact me and make an attempt

 

[dnyceli]

Neildz- Thanks Neildz. I am greatful for all the great people involved in this reef community. They have shown me nothing but love and support. This hobby is tough enough as it is and we are just here to learn from each other and trying to simulate mother nature's greatest work. It is a shame that some companies are just in it soley for profit gains and treat their customers with such lack of disrespect. It was wonderful experience to finally meet with people face to face I dealt with solely online at RAP. I will try to make it to MACNA if I could get any more days off work. Once I normally introduce myself they normally don't forget my name.lol. ( Daniel Mak..... when are you coming back ). Julian Sprung said this was very unprofessional of them. All I have to say is, for a company that was making their way up they really making their name look bad right now. But thanks for everyone's support. Unique Corals, Marine Depot, Manhattan Aquariums, Cherry Corals, P.O.T.O., Global Oceanic Life, APFrags,AZNNutty,Synergy Reef, Julian Sprung, Mike ( Mr. Saltwater Tank ), and last but not least Reef2Reef

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Multiple posts have been removed from this thread. While we appreciate other reefers' intentions in wanting to help, since this is a negative feedback thread, only the buyer (@dnyceli) and seller (@Cadlights Aquariums) may participate in this conversation.

 

[dnyceli]

Why not allow others in the community to see how this company is treating me so others will not have to go through what I have and learn from my unfortunate circumstance??

 

[dnyceli]

Andy is a Moderator on R2R and also my LFS go to guy. Even when going to the R2R booth they said to post on here to try to forward this situation

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Why not allow others in the community to see how this company is treating me so others will not have to go through what I have and learn from my unfortunate circumstance??

We're not censoring your post. Your feedback is welcome and appreciated. The rule allows for parties involved in the transaction to discuss the matter. The reason we have this rule is that in the past people with no experience with a product or company would post negative posts or positive posts which they had no basis to do. If there are other members with legit negative experiences they are allowed to create their own feedback thread in this same forum like you have done.

Thanks and I hope things get made right for you.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Everyone can still see this conversation. It is still very much in open view of the community. Outside parties are just not allowed to comment since this is between you and Cadlights. Hopefully this situation will be resolved through a mutual agreement between you guys.

 

[dnyceli]

Ok, thank you for clarifying this up.
I hope to hear from CAD Lights soon. I will keep everyone posted

 

[MarineDepot]

Hello Dnyceli-We wanted to take a moment and sincerely apologize for all this inconvenience that this has caused you. We understand that this has been frustrating for you and has taken an extensive amount of time without resolution to your problem. Please understand that we are trying to do everything possible on our part to get this issue resolved with CAD Lights. We are reaching out to CAD Lights as well to try to get this resolved ASAP. Our original offer of a full refund for the aquarium and stand that was presented to you before this weekend still stands. Please give Manny a call whenever you have a spare moment. In the meantime, we will still work hard to get this resolved without any further delay. We sincerely thank you for your time and patience.

 

[dnyceli]

I really appreciate Marine Depots quality efforts seeing me through this whole roller coaster ride. Manny has been nothing but helpful and sincere. I am currently at work and missed a call from Eric Palacios at CAD Lights. He didn't leave a message. I called him back and he didn't pick up the phone. They also have not updated Marine Depot as to why they never came and picked up the damaged tanks this weekend. Also no update on shipping out replacement tank. Just got off the phone with Manny and we are both waiting at this point on CAD Lights contacting either one of us. Left in the dark again. Smh.

 

[dnyceli]

Eric at CAD Lights called me back and appoligized for not coming to pick up the tank this weekend. He said it was the holiday weekend and the person that was associated with them who was suppose to pick up the tank was with family. Geez, wish they could have at least called to let me know they weren't coming. Instead had me waiting for them all weekend instead of celebrating with my family. Nice to see they have their priorities straight. Then Eric goes and tells me that Marine Depot sent out a cancellation notice on the order and that is why he can't send the 2nd replacement tank out. I contacted Marine Depot and they said they never sent anything thing out to CAD Lights stating that. Jason at CAD Lights also said this was not true either and is trying to find out what is going on. It seems it's nothing but games with CAD Lights.

 

[dnyceli]

Hey guy,
So I finally got another replacement tank and the overflow grid is cracked in front panel and right side panel. I called Marine Depot to let them know and CAD Lights said they would not be replacing another tank. Said only option was to reimburse my original purchase. So I bought this as a birthday present for myself back in April and now towards the end of July I am still where I had started. I told Marine Depot that I will settle with this tank because it was the best one out of the 3 tanks. I also told Marine Depot that CAD Lights made no attempts to arrange for pick up of the other 2 tanks, that is now killing my grass. So as you could all see this is how CAD Lights customer service is. CAD Lights never even came on this forum to appoligize or respond in anyway. This is my experience with CAD Lights and I just wanted to post it for everyone to view and take from it what they will. Hope this will help others in a more informed Decission. I also want to thank all the people on the forum who has PMed me about this matter with concern.
Thanks everyone for following this post.

 

[dnyceli]

Hello boys and girls,
I guess this mess is still not over. I am still getting a over due balance notice from Fed Ex for the remainder of the shipping cost that Cad Lights never took care of from the first tank they sent out back in April. This is the 3rd notice and Cad Lights said they took care of it last month which I guess they never did. Marine Depot is still trying to get them to take care of this matter.

 

[MarineDepot]

Marine Depot is still trying to get them to take care of this matter.

Manny from our support team will contact you again Monday to follow up on this matter as we agreed upon. Once again we offer our sincere apology for the unfortunate circumstances surrounding this order.