- Report: #375053
Complaint Review: Michael Ufret - Canton Georgia
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Michael Ufret
1001 Copper Creek Drive Canton, 30114 Georgia, U.S.A.
Phone:
404-446-8260
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Michael Ufret Sold broken Aquarium chiller and refused to honor guarantee Canton Georgia
On August 19, 2008, I purchased a used 1/2 horsepower Aqua Medic Titan 1500 aquarium chiller from Michael Ufret that he had advertised on Craigslist.
Since the list price on this chiller is about $850 new, it seemed like a pretty good deal to pay $400 for this chiller.
The seller promised that it worked well and he would provide a 30 day money back guarantee.
On August 21, 2008, my aquarium maintenance technician installed the chiller. Although it powered up, it just blew room temperature air, and did not cool the water as it was supposed to. Since the water in the tank immediately began rising, he disconnected the chiller. It ran for approximately 10 minutes.
Mike Ufret refused to respond to repeated emails and voicemails until I finally contacted him through the Atlanta Reef Club forum. He then concocted a story about how the chiller was damaged due to improper installation.
1) When the chiller was purchased, Mike said "you may have to shake it and tilt it around a bit to get it working". That was the extent of his buyer instructions. He did not say anything about it being in danger of being broken.
2) At the time of sale, Mike guaranteed to take the chiller back if I had problems. He repeated that promise on the phone when I first reported the problem. He only refused to take it back and give me the money back after the check had cleared the bank. It is obvious in retrospect that his intent was to delay the transaction until the money had cleared and a stop payment could no longer be issued.
Sjledet
Tucker, Georgia
U.S.A.
Since the list price on this chiller is about $850 new, it seemed like a pretty good deal to pay $400 for this chiller.
The seller promised that it worked well and he would provide a 30 day money back guarantee.
On August 21, 2008, my aquarium maintenance technician installed the chiller. Although it powered up, it just blew room temperature air, and did not cool the water as it was supposed to. Since the water in the tank immediately began rising, he disconnected the chiller. It ran for approximately 10 minutes.
Mike Ufret refused to respond to repeated emails and voicemails until I finally contacted him through the Atlanta Reef Club forum. He then concocted a story about how the chiller was damaged due to improper installation.
1) When the chiller was purchased, Mike said "you may have to shake it and tilt it around a bit to get it working". That was the extent of his buyer instructions. He did not say anything about it being in danger of being broken.
2) At the time of sale, Mike guaranteed to take the chiller back if I had problems. He repeated that promise on the phone when I first reported the problem. He only refused to take it back and give me the money back after the check had cleared the bank. It is obvious in retrospect that his intent was to delay the transaction until the money had cleared and a stop payment could no longer be issued.
Sjledet
Tucker, Georgia
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Mufret
Canton,Georgia,
U.S.A.
The chiller was not broken at the time of the sale
#2REBUTTAL Individual responds
Fri, November 21, 2008
I did sell a used chiller to Mr. Ledet. The chiller was tested prior to listing it for sale and was in working order when he accepted it. The chiller was left in the test setup so any potential purchaser could verify it's condition, see it operating and see how to properly install it. At Mr. Ledet request, however, I delivered the chiller to him and at the time of delivery, I explained that there were certain things that needed to be done for the chiller to operate properly. The problems arose after Mr. Ledet did not relay these instructions to the individual he had install the chiller. Contrary to Mr. Ledet's portrayal, I responded to every voicemail that I received from both him and his aquarium tech. Mr. Ledet called me to ask me some questions about the chiller and to let me know that he was having some issues. I asked him some questions to try and to pinpoint the issue, including whether he had followed the instruction I had given him, and he informed me that he had forgotten to relay those instructions to the person that installed it. At that point, he said he would have his aquarium tech contact me. I spoke with the aquarium tech a few times and during our conversations he stated that Mr. Ledet had not given him any instructions and that he was not aware that there were specific installation requirements. He also stated that he did not test the chiller prior to installing it which led me to believe that the damage that was now being reported was the result of improper installation. I based that on the chiller having been recently serviced at a local aquarium store, was working properly on my aquarium prior to being taken off and, as mentioned above, tested prior to being listed on Craigslist for sale. Even though the damage appeared to have been the result of improper installation, I would have been willing to work with Mr. Ledet to try and get the chiller repaired. His demand, however, has always been for a full refund which I felt was not justified given the circumstances.
