Big problems in Rio land

AquaBarb said:

Yes Essjay weve looked into this and still awaiting a responce from the retailer.

I have to say i have dealt with the shop many times in the past and ive never had any issues so im hoping that carries on.

Im expecting them to say because Juwel say its not an issue they dont have to honor the warranty tho but we shall see

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They better

AquaBarb said:

Have you still got the ND tank @Essjay? Still going strong?

One thing i do hear good about ND is the build quality. If they can sort their customer service out they would be a fantastic company. Might look them up again a see what the recent reviews are like.

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I tried to order several times from ND AQUATICS a complete waste of time ,gave up in the end.I really do think you have a strong case you’ve just got to see it out.Good Luck.

Moby said:

I tried to order several times from ND AQUATICS a complete waste of time ,gave up in the end.I really do think you have a strong case you’ve just got to see it out.Good Luck.

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Thank you

Thats my experience with Nd too. Shame really.

AquaBarb said:

I have now got a problem of Retailer v Manufacturer!

Long story short...i recieved a number to call Juwel direct and spoke to them about the issues. They are still adamant even tho the brace bars have come away from the glass that the tanks absolutely fine structurally and is fine to use at full capacity!!!! Wow just WOW!!

They are saying its my retailer who have got to sort the problem out and not them.

So im now waiting for a call back from the retailer who will put blame back on Juwel then im back at square one. Nightmare

What are warranties for!!!

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If the tank is still under manufacturers warranty, then it goes back to the shop you bought it from. If it's under an extended warranty done by a third party, then take it up with the third party.

What are the tank dimensions?
How thick is the glass?

Colin_T said:

If the tank is still under manufacturers warranty, then it goes back to the shop you bought it from. If it's under an extended warranty done by a third party, then take it up with the third party.

What are the tank dimensions?
How thick is the glass?

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Im presuming the shop as to replace or at least fix the problem then put a claim in to Juwel. Ive spoke to the staff at the shop but they need the manager to have the final say. Should have an answer tomorrow.

Tanks (w)151cm x (d)51cm x (h)61cm

Its 10mm floating glass

Print off the forms I gave the link for...

Take the retailer to small claims on Sale of Goods Act - unfit for use rules
Take the manufacturer to small claims on Consumer Act 2015 (which DOES handle foreign manufacturers - I took Goodyear HQ in the US to small claims after their UK high street tyre firm, HiQ, wrecked a vehicle of mine and I won cos they did not take me seriously) for warranty refusals

Do not play their game of he said/she said cos thats what they want you to do @AquaBarb

Take them both, two sets of forms (one for the retailer, one for the manufacturer)...when they get the court papers on their doormat, they will be begging to sort it out amicably with you

These firms depend on customers not having backbone to take it further than a disgusted letter....its what they do and its why I never take any notice of warranties.

You have tried to deal with it in the nice way, now get those gloves off and use the small claims court system...more people should use use SCC cos you would not get so many people being shafted by firms

I am more than happy to help you word the forms if wanted....I have been told that I have a way with words when I get pee'd off with companies

AquaBarb said:

I'm presuming the shop has to replace or at least fix the problem then put a claim in to Juwel. I've spoke to the staff at the shop but they need the manager to have the final say. Should have an answer tomorrow.

Tanks (w)151cm x (d)51cm x (h)61cm

It's 10mm floating glass

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Yes the shop is the first place to approach and they are meant to fix or replace the item under warranty. In the shops I worked at, if something was faulty, we gave the customer a replacement under warranty and sent the damaged item back to the wholesaler, who got it refunded by the manufacturer.

Try being nice to the shop before threatening legal action.

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The tank you have is 5 foot long x 2 foot high and that needs support straps/ cross members because it is 10mm glass. If the tank was made of 12mm (or thicker, 13, 14 or 15mm) glass, then you could get away with not having cross members and support straps.

So your tank does need the straps to be attached properly, and the tank should not be filled completely until it has been fixed.

If you drop the water level down 6 inches from the top, it should be fine until it is fixed or replaced.

Juwel have made a sneaky but common move.

They have a UK headquarters in Norfolk, UK. It still exists and is still 100% operational but they have used the EU rules that were in place and enforceable in 2010 to dissolve the company in the UK for company listing purposes and transferred to their German HQ instead.

However, the fact is that they still have an UK HQ that does co-ordinate all UK sales, manufacturing and warranties. All foreign firms who trade in the UK must, by law, have an UK base that can handle warranty issues and other business related issues such as taxation, warranty administration etc.

So @AquaBarb you can pursue the company and the retailer using the UK Small Claims Court and it will be 100% valid under UK law. The move to dissolve Juwel in the UK and shift their administrative side to their German base is something alot of firms do to escape...or should I say, think they can escape...any issues such as yours.

The UK HQ for Juwel...after doing some digging around...they have had their main UK office there since 1999, also listed in the office MD who you can address directly.

The information on the link is current as of October last year, so still very much current and useable for court purposes



They can try to hide, but they will be found if you know where to look (which they bet against customers doing)

wasmewasntit said:

Print off the forms I gave the link for...

Take the retailer to small claims on Sale of Goods Act - unfit for use rules
Take the manufacturer to small claims on Consumer Act 2015 (which DOES handle foreign manufacturers - I took Goodyear HQ in the US to small claims after their UK high street tyre firm, HiQ, wrecked a vehicle of mine and I won cos they did not take me seriously) for warranty refusals

Do not play their game of he said/she said cos thats what they want you to do @AquaBarb

Take them both, two sets of forms (one for the retailer, one for the manufacturer)...when they get the court papers on their doormat, they will be begging to sort it out amicably with you

These firms depend on customers not having backbone to take it further than a disgusted letter....its what they do and its why I never take any notice of warranties.

You have tried to deal with it in the nice way, now get those gloves off and use the small claims court system...more people should use use SCC cos you would not get so many people being shafted by firms

I am more than happy to help you word the forms if wanted....I have been told that I have a way with words when I get pee'd off with companies

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Thank you for your time and help, i really do appreicate it.

Ive had this today so i need to hear of the store manager before i make my next move.
Hopefully they both come up with a sensible offer to help the situation

Colin_T said:

Yes the shop is the first place to approach and they are meant to fix or replace the item under warranty. In the shops I worked at, if something was faulty, we gave the customer a replacement under warranty and sent the damaged item back to the wholesaler, who got it refunded by the manufacturer.

Try being nice to the shop before threatening legal action.

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The tank you have is 5 foot long x 2 foot high and that needs support straps/ cross members because it is 10mm glass. If the tank was made of 12mm (or thicker, 13, 14 or 15mm) glass, then you could get away with not having cross members and support straps.

So your tank does need the straps to be attached properly, and the tank should not be filled completely until it has been fixed.

If you drop the water level down 6 inches from the top, it should be fine until it is fixed or replaced.

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I have been very polite Colin to the store and Juwel because id like this resolved amicably first and i have a good relationship with the store anyway.

Hopefully we can get it sorted without legal action.

Thank you for your advice

You know what to top my week off nicely, ive just recieved a phone call from my garage to say my gearbox transmission needs repairing on one of my cars!! Thats another 1200 squid down the drain.

Just need Juwel to do me over now and that will be 2400 squid down river!!

The joys

Tbh...the retailer is not responsible for either poor design or faulty aquarium build quality, that is entirely down to the manufacturer to sort out via their warranty...the manufacturer cannot and should not alter the terms of the warranty to suit but many sadly do so that they can escape from putting things right, they will always blame the customer in the hope that the customer will lose heart and back down

The retailer could replace the aquarium as a gesture of goodwill but they are not actually legally forced to do that since the fault is in the manufacture not the actual sale of the aquarium. That said, if the retailer does offer to replace as a goodwill gesture, have them collect the damaged one and then they can approach the manufacturer (retailers have more legal muscle against manufacturers than customers do)

You have the link above for the UK Administrative Head Office of Juwel and the name of the MD. Get in touch with them direct rather than via the generic Juwel public website since they will be the ones you need to pursue in the event that they refuse to play ball by the rules. The UK office in Norfolk are legally bound to help you in this country, the German HQ is not.

wasmewasntit said:

Tbh...the retailer is not responsible for either poor design or faulty aquarium build quality, that is entirely down to the manufacturer to sort out via their warranty...the manufacturer cannot and should not alter the terms of the warranty to suit but many sadly do so that they can escape from putting things right, they will always blame the customer in the hope that the customer will lose heart and back down

The retailer could replace the aquarium as a gesture of goodwill but they are not actually legally forced to do that since the fault is in the manufacture not the actual sale of the aquarium. That said, if the retailer does offer to replace as a goodwill gesture, have them collect the damaged one and then they can approach the manufacturer (retailers have more legal muscle against manufacturers than customers do)

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Juwel said if the tank is to be replaced it would just be the glass tank shell. Which is fine with me because i have the lighting and i took the juwel filter out anyway and replaced with cainsters.

Just need the manager to give the green light.

It would not hurt to contact the UK MD of Juwel just to make him aware that an issue exists with the design of the strut bracing. Give them photographic evidence, copy of the original receipt if you still have it along with a copy of the warranty card. (If you cannot find the receipt, that is fine as the warranty will be on the Juwel system anyway)

Bring the issues to their attention, explain the inconvenience and the upset caused by the failure of the brace strut.

Quite often the main UK office of a foreign firm is kept in the dark about such matters as this and since they generally hide out of sight when searching for the UK contact information, it might well pay dividends for you to get in touch and explain what has happened....it may even open the door to the German office at a higher level than the customer service clerks who probably have no idea what you are trying to explain due to poor language skills or simply not having the product in their own home or the knowledge about previous failures etc.

Cover all bases, you might be surprised how far into the hierarchy you get

Right Guy's and Girls, what option would you go for if any?

Shops responce:
My manager has spoken to juwel regarding the movement of the bars. Juwel are happy that the tank wont bow out any further than it has as the main support is via the frame which will stay intact as of the molding and that its only the bottom part that’s come unglued.

We do understand your concern which we have highlighted to Juwel so they have agreed if required that they would replace the bare shell of the tank. we did ask if these could be glued back on which they said in most cases you could but the tank would need to be drained then siliconed back in place and allowed to dry.

Being very honest we sell a lot of Juwel tanks and being it is very rare to have an issue. However we do have a number of options.


1) As per Juwel we can sit and watch to see if it gets any worst but going on what they have stated it should be fine.


2) We can send you some silicone Free Of Charge but this would mean you draining the tank and then allowing 24 hours to dry.


3) We can replace the bare tank but again this would mean emptying your tank and housing the fish etc and then having to get the tank back to us to exchange.