jaimoe
Fish Fanatic
Shouldn't the LFS owners get some compensation for the labor put into the tank?
A Bad Day in an LFS
- Thread starter Becca
- Start date
DO NOT PAY ANYTHING!!!!!!!!
Do not pay a single penny to them.
that old saying you broke it you bought it, WILL NOT HOLD UP. a court wont even see the case, it will be trown out befor you go in.
If you break something in store for any reason othen then on purpose they have no right to get you to pay for it. Infact there are laws to make sure you dont have to pay for it.
and if you did do it on purpose its vandilism and they have to have a cop come get a statment.
They will jsut ship the tank back, pocket whatever you gave, and get a new tank anyways. This is illegal.
Also call the local firestation to them and ask what you should do to report an unsafe premisise.
This will most likely result in a warning if its their first time.
But will also give you ground to sue them.
hell sue them for 200 bucks even.
Again, I cannot stress more
DO NOT PAY ANYTHING!!!!!!!!
Pleas do no pay them a dime. They are robbing you. and yoru letting them.
if its on your Credit card, stop payment on it. if its a check, stop payment on it.
jsut DO NOT PAY THEM ANYTHING!!!!!!
Do not pay a single penny to them.
that old saying you broke it you bought it, WILL NOT HOLD UP. a court wont even see the case, it will be trown out befor you go in.
If you break something in store for any reason othen then on purpose they have no right to get you to pay for it. Infact there are laws to make sure you dont have to pay for it.
and if you did do it on purpose its vandilism and they have to have a cop come get a statment.
They will jsut ship the tank back, pocket whatever you gave, and get a new tank anyways. This is illegal.
Also call the local firestation to them and ask what you should do to report an unsafe premisise.
This will most likely result in a warning if its their first time.
But will also give you ground to sue them.
hell sue them for 200 bucks even.
Again, I cannot stress more
DO NOT PAY ANYTHING!!!!!!!!
Pleas do no pay them a dime. They are robbing you. and yoru letting them.
if its on your Credit card, stop payment on it. if its a check, stop payment on it.
jsut DO NOT PAY THEM ANYTHING!!!!!!
Thank goodness you didn't have the money at the time...if you had, you would have given it to them and never seen it back.
These people reaslly are horrible, can't believe they're in business with the way they seem to treat their customers!!
These people reaslly are horrible, can't believe they're in business with the way they seem to treat their customers!!
wow interesting thread.
so let me get this straight, out of youre own ignorance you kneeled on a big tank to get some wood out of another tank. you do know that employees are suppose to get hard to reach things for you right? anyways, the tank breaks you are upset and kind of embarassed, which is understandable, i would be too.
you offer to pay for the tank, the cc gets declined, so youre suppose to come back a week later and pay for it, but now that all of the self proclaimed legal beagles on this website have convenced you to challenge the pet store on the grounds that it was dangerous to have a tank laying on the floor?
i am no legal expert although i did sleep in a holaday inn express last night. there is nothing wrong with putting merchandise on the floor. lots of companys do this, even big stores like walmart do this.
ok put it this way, if i came to youre house and accidently broke youre tank, wouldnt you expect me to replace it?
lots of manufactuers do not give full credit to broke merchandise. alot of them will give a credit of somthing like 10%-50% of the wholesale price. i would find out what it will cost the store to replace the broken tank, including the work which was done to it, and then pay whatever price that comes out too, plus say 10% extra. the 10% extra should be credited to the guy who ordered the tank, because he is probably going to be upset that his custom tank is now delayed.
that should be pretty fair to you, the store, and the guy who ordered the tank.
so let me get this straight, out of youre own ignorance you kneeled on a big tank to get some wood out of another tank. you do know that employees are suppose to get hard to reach things for you right? anyways, the tank breaks you are upset and kind of embarassed, which is understandable, i would be too.
you offer to pay for the tank, the cc gets declined, so youre suppose to come back a week later and pay for it, but now that all of the self proclaimed legal beagles on this website have convenced you to challenge the pet store on the grounds that it was dangerous to have a tank laying on the floor?
i am no legal expert although i did sleep in a holaday inn express last night. there is nothing wrong with putting merchandise on the floor. lots of companys do this, even big stores like walmart do this.
ok put it this way, if i came to youre house and accidently broke youre tank, wouldnt you expect me to replace it?
lots of manufactuers do not give full credit to broke merchandise. alot of them will give a credit of somthing like 10%-50% of the wholesale price. i would find out what it will cost the store to replace the broken tank, including the work which was done to it, and then pay whatever price that comes out too, plus say 10% extra. the 10% extra should be credited to the guy who ordered the tank, because he is probably going to be upset that his custom tank is now delayed.
that should be pretty fair to you, the store, and the guy who ordered the tank.
Becca
Fishaholic
CSR Mel,csr mel said:
I think you've gotten it a bit wrong. No where in this post (I don't believe) have I ever mentioned that I feel as though the store was 100% wrong, that I was not at fault, and that I shouldn't have to pay a dime...though that seems to be the general consensus here.
What I do believe is this:
1) It was my fault the tank broke.
2) I should have been more careful. There were no signs instructing me to ask store employees to obtain items that were out of reach; however, I really should have known better.
3) I should be held responsible for the purchase of a new 75-Gallon Great Lakes Aquarium to replace the tank - and the tank only...since that is what I broke.
4) Even though I believe I should be held responsible for the item (as my original post mentioned...I offered to pay well before I was asked how to handle it...) Anyway, I believe I should be held accountable for the store's cost, and nothing more. I really don't feel as though it's fair for the store to make another profit on the tank, that's assuming the price of $150 is more than what they'd pay, which I think it is.
Ultimately what I'd like to do is find out exactly how much it will cost the store to replace the aquarium, contact the store owner, express my concern of how ill the staff handled the situation - because, quite frankly, only one of the three employees assigned to the mess made me feel like anything other than a criminal. I'd also like to express my concern for how much I'm being charged. I understand completely that I broke a tank and I should be held responsible; however, I don't feel as though the store should make a second profit.
Hope this helps
I totally agree becca. If the store will have to actually pay to replace the tank, then pay what they will be charged (NOT retail)
What pisses me off about the situation is that they triedd to charge you retail in the first place and treated you like poo even though you were trying to do the right thing.
What pisses me off about the situation is that they triedd to charge you retail in the first place and treated you like poo even though you were trying to do the right thing.
StrontiumDog
Fish Addict
I was going to bite my lip but i'm bleeding to death.........
Becca so sorry this happend to u i've been watching the thread hope u have calmed down cause i wouldnt have specially after this
from csr mel
if its hazzardous( as this case clearly is) health and saftey will come down on these idiots like a big piece of crap. yes it fecking is wrong to stack glasssssssssssssssssssss tanks. next to a display, holly #### how old ru and where do u work.
OMG becca u have got every right to complain
option get the fire dept in they will probly close the place down if they got tanks in a walk way. and specially if they are stacked near a fire escape
Becca so sorry this happend to u i've been watching the thread hope u have calmed down cause i wouldnt have specially after this
from csr mel
if its hazzardous( as this case clearly is) health and saftey will come down on these idiots like a big piece of crap. yes it fecking is wrong to stack glasssssssssssssssssssss tanks. next to a display, holly #### how old ru and where do u work.
OMG becca u have got every right to complain
option get the fire dept in they will probly close the place down if they got tanks in a walk way. and specially if they are stacked near a fire escape
StrontiumDog
Fish Addict
omg missed this bit.
as a matter of fact it is. clutter, or mess in the walk ways is a hazzard they shouldn't be there. FACT
as a matter of fact it is. clutter, or mess in the walk ways is a hazzard they shouldn't be there. FACT
jimmyone
New Member
In my humble opinion there is no way you should give them a penny.
They should not stack merchandise in such a way that this could happen. I certainly wouldnt have given them a penny. Im not a dishonest person or somone who would think about sueing etc but the blame lies squarely at the feet of the shop here.
Seriously have a re-think and tell them to go and sling it!
Stuff like this drives me mad
They should not stack merchandise in such a way that this could happen. I certainly wouldnt have given them a penny. Im not a dishonest person or somone who would think about sueing etc but the blame lies squarely at the feet of the shop here.
Seriously have a re-think and tell them to go and sling it!
Stuff like this drives me mad
Hi, names Jeff, 2nd year law student with my major in Commerce Law.Becca said:
As I said, DO NOT PAY FOR IT.
There are laws to make sure that your DONT have to pay for it.
THey have insurance for htis very prupose, its part of owning a retail store.
When they have signs up that say "you break it you bought it" say no to that, you DO NOT have to pay for it.
Only time this differs is vandilism, and for that they need a police report.
it was an accident, and an opps, even if it was out of the way lots of room, and she could have gotten it easier from the other side without leaning over anything, she didnt mean to break it, and she is under no obligation to pay for anything.
Becca
Fishaholic
Uhm, ok, I've got news for everyone that's been (eagerly?) following this post - so here goes. I'll give you my (lengthy) update and then address new posts afterwards.
Update
Last night, while at dinner, my husband mentioned that I should post regarding the situation on a local fish-forum. I decided to not take the stance of "I WAS RIGHT, THEY WERE WRONG, AND DAMNIT, I'M NOT PAYING" but rather just to gather information. The post started out explaining, basically, what happened, but leaving out the store name and location. I really don't want to turn their business away until I've had a chance to resolve the issue. And since these are local people I'm working with, omitting store info seemed like a good idea.
The first few responses last night were basically "Pay the $150 and sum it up to a lesson learned." I couldn't seem to get through to the few people posting that I wasn't denying responsibility, just trying to verify how much I should really be accountable for.
Fortunately, after a good night's sleep - it seems the bulk of the community has read the post (LOL - it's on page 5 now, and growing) and seems to side with me - and even a bit further...they think I shouldn't be charged anything at all. While I'll admit it'd be nice to not pay anything, I'm not in that frame of mind. If the owner/manager wants to let me off the hook, hey - great! However, if I'm going to be held accountable for the cost of a replacement tank, then that's fine - I just want to make sure they're not making a profit from it. (That's not fair to me, especially considering what I just learned...)
Ok, so this morning, thanks to advice from folks on michiganreefers.com, I've contacted a few parties: The Better Business Bureau, The State Attorney General, Other LFS/LPS, and a Lawyer. All in the hopes of finding out what exactly I was *legally* (not morally, that's a different story...) responsible for. Basically - I wanted to make sure that if I offered the store the amount that it'd cost them to replace the tank, would they be able to press charges against me because I didn't pay them the amount they told me to. Was I, by any means, legally obligated to pay what they quoted me, which I believed to be retail price of the tank?
Here are results of the phone calls:
The Better Business Bureau:
I got nothing outta these guys except a 10 minute recording, lol. They basically said they were willing to help out anyone who seeked their assistance, as long as a resolution has been attempted with the company. Since I'm still working on a resolution, this was not the road for me.
Sam Bernstein's Office:
Ok, so those 1-800-CALL-SAM commercials worked. I needed a bit of lawer-ly advice and had no where else to turn. I dialed 1-800-Call-Sam. The assistant sniffed me out, realized that I wasn't hurt (other than a bruise or two) and literally dismissed me. She said I should contact a personal injury lawyer. I told her I was not interested in suing for injuries since I really had none to speak of, and quite frankly, it was at least partially my fault I fell on the tank. She said, well, contacting a lawyer would be your best bet. I asked her if she could recommend one, she said, and I quote: "You should utilize your local phone book." Now, I have a cell phone - no house phone. I HAVE NO LOCAL PHONE BOOK. So I said "Thanks, but I don't have one." Then I followed with a nice click.
The State Attorney General:
The lady there sympathized with me, for some reason, I think she was trying to be nice. But she said there wasn't a lot they could do in regards to telling me how much / what I should be legally responsible for. She recommended checking with the State Bar Association to get the name of a lawyer, and that way I could find out what I was legally accountable for.
Lawyer's Office:
I spoke with the Lawyer's office and the guy basically said that I was not legally responsible for any damages incurred by my visit to the store. If the store believed I intentionally broke the tank, they could have filed vandalism charges against me, and that would have resulted in filing a police report. I also wanted to make sure that if I did not pay a full $150 (which I believed to be retail price of the tank) that they would NOT be able to pursue action against me. He said no. They have no holdings against me and can do nothing with my license or registration unless they have a judgement against me, and that would involve a court date.
How Other Stores Handle These Situations:
I called two pet stores in my immediate area, one I'm fairly familiar with the staff, and I know sells Great Lakes Aquariums, here are the results:
The First One: This one said that they've not had a big tank broken, but the lady I spoke with said, quote: "We've never charged a customer for a broken tank, let me put it that way."
The Second One: The other, (the one that sells GLA tanks) said that they've never had a big tank broken, but plenty of smaller ones. The smaller ones they write off. She said it's hard to decide if the customer should pay for a bigger tank because that's a considerable more amount of money than a 10-Gallon. In her opinion, she would have been more interested in making sure I was ok than dealing with the business end of the broken tank. (I really like this lady alot...she reminds me of my mom.)
She also said there were three things the store could do: 1) File an insurance claim. 2) Ask the customer to pay to replace the item - which should be at wholesale. 3) Write it off at tax-time. She said that the insurance claim was unlikely to happen since chances are the store carries a $500 deductible and the cost of damages is less than that.
I did get some more info from her. She told me that GLA does not have a "if the tank breaks in your store, we'll replace it" warranty. She's good friends with the owners of Great Lakes Aquariums, and has been dealing with them for years. (Just FYI - GLA is a mom-and-pop type aquarium shop in the area.)
And since we were on the subject of GLA and things of that nature, she disclosed to me how much it would cost any store to replace a 75-Gallon tank. Brace yourselves...my moment of truth is about to be revealed....
$84.95
What I've done since the phone calls:
Wait, it gets better. Thanks to michiganreefers.com - I've been in contact with the fellow who's tank I landed in. He's not pissed at me at all (fortunately)! In fact, he's actually quite happy that the store was honest about it. (According to him, the store called, said "We have your tank, it was finished, but a customer broke it. We're replacing it.") Apparently, if I'm understanding the situation right, the store did not buy the tank...he bought it and brought it in for drilling. (?) If I understand this correctly, the store paid NO money in ANY way to buy the tank.
They simply took the tank in, drilled it, then set it out on the floor, sideways, in front of another stack of tanks, that held some items for sale. They have set him up with a new tank, though of a different brand. It's not a Great Lakes tank, I wish I knew what brand it was, because quite honestly, they're charging me retail (and I know this now) for a Great Lakes Drilled tank.
I've also run into contact with a fish-lady (or guy...) that knows the owner and manager of the store. She's given me his contact info and I will be in touch with him in the next day or so.
Well, I've not called the store yet, I want a day or two to let things sit with me so I'm not so frazzled. (I'm still kind of emotional) I have a huge following on both here and michiganreefers.com...though, I've NOT publicly announced the store on michiganreefers.com simply because I want to handle this as cleanly as possible.
What I do plan to do is call the owner/manager and tell them what happened. Explain that I feel the situation was handled poorly, in my eyes...that I did fall and it didn't seem as though the employees were concerned for my welfare and I really didn't appreciate an employee being stationed at the front door.
After I've been able to vent that, if he's feels as though I should pay for the tank, I'll offer him exactly what I know the price to be for a 75-Gallon Great Lakes Aquarium. I feel that's a more than fair offer. He's getting a 75-Gallon put back on his shelves, free of charge. I'm getting a clear conscience. How is this NOT a happy medium?
Update
Last night, while at dinner, my husband mentioned that I should post regarding the situation on a local fish-forum. I decided to not take the stance of "I WAS RIGHT, THEY WERE WRONG, AND DAMNIT, I'M NOT PAYING" but rather just to gather information. The post started out explaining, basically, what happened, but leaving out the store name and location. I really don't want to turn their business away until I've had a chance to resolve the issue. And since these are local people I'm working with, omitting store info seemed like a good idea.
The first few responses last night were basically "Pay the $150 and sum it up to a lesson learned." I couldn't seem to get through to the few people posting that I wasn't denying responsibility, just trying to verify how much I should really be accountable for.
Fortunately, after a good night's sleep - it seems the bulk of the community has read the post (LOL - it's on page 5 now, and growing) and seems to side with me - and even a bit further...they think I shouldn't be charged anything at all. While I'll admit it'd be nice to not pay anything, I'm not in that frame of mind. If the owner/manager wants to let me off the hook, hey - great! However, if I'm going to be held accountable for the cost of a replacement tank, then that's fine - I just want to make sure they're not making a profit from it. (That's not fair to me, especially considering what I just learned...)
Ok, so this morning, thanks to advice from folks on michiganreefers.com, I've contacted a few parties: The Better Business Bureau, The State Attorney General, Other LFS/LPS, and a Lawyer. All in the hopes of finding out what exactly I was *legally* (not morally, that's a different story...) responsible for. Basically - I wanted to make sure that if I offered the store the amount that it'd cost them to replace the tank, would they be able to press charges against me because I didn't pay them the amount they told me to. Was I, by any means, legally obligated to pay what they quoted me, which I believed to be retail price of the tank?
Here are results of the phone calls:
The Better Business Bureau:
I got nothing outta these guys except a 10 minute recording, lol. They basically said they were willing to help out anyone who seeked their assistance, as long as a resolution has been attempted with the company. Since I'm still working on a resolution, this was not the road for me.
Sam Bernstein's Office:
Ok, so those 1-800-CALL-SAM commercials worked. I needed a bit of lawer-ly advice and had no where else to turn. I dialed 1-800-Call-Sam. The assistant sniffed me out, realized that I wasn't hurt (other than a bruise or two) and literally dismissed me. She said I should contact a personal injury lawyer. I told her I was not interested in suing for injuries since I really had none to speak of, and quite frankly, it was at least partially my fault I fell on the tank. She said, well, contacting a lawyer would be your best bet. I asked her if she could recommend one, she said, and I quote: "You should utilize your local phone book." Now, I have a cell phone - no house phone. I HAVE NO LOCAL PHONE BOOK. So I said "Thanks, but I don't have one." Then I followed with a nice click.
The State Attorney General:
The lady there sympathized with me, for some reason, I think she was trying to be nice.
But she said there wasn't a lot they could do in regards to telling me how much / what I should be legally responsible for. She recommended checking with the State Bar Association to get the name of a lawyer, and that way I could find out what I was legally accountable for.Lawyer's Office:
I spoke with the Lawyer's office and the guy basically said that I was not legally responsible for any damages incurred by my visit to the store. If the store believed I intentionally broke the tank, they could have filed vandalism charges against me, and that would have resulted in filing a police report. I also wanted to make sure that if I did not pay a full $150 (which I believed to be retail price of the tank) that they would NOT be able to pursue action against me. He said no. They have no holdings against me and can do nothing with my license or registration unless they have a judgement against me, and that would involve a court date.
How Other Stores Handle These Situations:
I called two pet stores in my immediate area, one I'm fairly familiar with the staff, and I know sells Great Lakes Aquariums, here are the results:
The First One: This one said that they've not had a big tank broken, but the lady I spoke with said, quote: "We've never charged a customer for a broken tank, let me put it that way."
The Second One: The other, (the one that sells GLA tanks) said that they've never had a big tank broken, but plenty of smaller ones. The smaller ones they write off. She said it's hard to decide if the customer should pay for a bigger tank because that's a considerable more amount of money than a 10-Gallon. In her opinion, she would have been more interested in making sure I was ok than dealing with the business end of the broken tank. (I really like this lady alot...she reminds me of my mom.
)She also said there were three things the store could do: 1) File an insurance claim. 2) Ask the customer to pay to replace the item - which should be at wholesale. 3) Write it off at tax-time. She said that the insurance claim was unlikely to happen since chances are the store carries a $500 deductible and the cost of damages is less than that.
I did get some more info from her.
She told me that GLA does not have a "if the tank breaks in your store, we'll replace it" warranty. She's good friends with the owners of Great Lakes Aquariums, and has been dealing with them for years. (Just FYI - GLA is a mom-and-pop type aquarium shop in the area.)And since we were on the subject of GLA and things of that nature, she disclosed to me how much it would cost any store to replace a 75-Gallon tank. Brace yourselves...my moment of truth is about to be revealed....
$84.95
What I've done since the phone calls:
Wait, it gets better. Thanks to michiganreefers.com - I've been in contact with the fellow who's tank I landed in.
He's not pissed at me at all (fortunately)! In fact, he's actually quite happy that the store was honest about it. (According to him, the store called, said "We have your tank, it was finished, but a customer broke it. We're replacing it.") Apparently, if I'm understanding the situation right, the store did not buy the tank...he bought it and brought it in for drilling. (?) If I understand this correctly, the store paid NO money in ANY way to buy the tank. They simply took the tank in, drilled it, then set it out on the floor, sideways, in front of another stack of tanks, that held some items for sale. They have set him up with a new tank, though of a different brand. It's not a Great Lakes tank, I wish I knew what brand it was, because quite honestly, they're charging me retail (and I know this now) for a Great Lakes Drilled tank.
I've also run into contact with a fish-lady (or guy...) that knows the owner and manager of the store. She's given me his contact info and I will be in touch with him in the next day or so.
Well, I've not called the store yet, I want a day or two to let things sit with me so I'm not so frazzled. (I'm still kind of emotional) I have a huge following on both here and michiganreefers.com...though, I've NOT publicly announced the store on michiganreefers.com simply because I want to handle this as cleanly as possible.
What I do plan to do is call the owner/manager and tell them what happened. Explain that I feel the situation was handled poorly, in my eyes...that I did fall and it didn't seem as though the employees were concerned for my welfare and I really didn't appreciate an employee being stationed at the front door.
After I've been able to vent that, if he's feels as though I should pay for the tank, I'll offer him exactly what I know the price to be for a 75-Gallon Great Lakes Aquarium. I feel that's a more than fair offer. He's getting a 75-Gallon put back on his shelves, free of charge. I'm getting a clear conscience. How is this NOT a happy medium?
Its not, your in the minus and they wre in the plus.jeffrey said:
you are not obligated to pay anything.
Me personally would have said sorry, said it was placed poorly, and then left.
had they toutched me, I would have filed assult charges.
But I can be an asshole when pissed off, and will do lots to prove my point.
and my law degree has helped that in many many ways.
I once broke a vase that was 600 bucks, lifted another one and it made the table off ballance and it fell.
I explained what happened, and they wanted to charge me for it. in fact had the security guy (jewlery store) hold me, take my wallet and put the charge on my visa.
Well needless to say, my law knowledge and the knowing of how visa works not only had my money back within 10 minutes, but also had them in for fraud charges. and are being audited too.
Point being, your being too nice, crap happens. you feel bad, but they should learn to stack properly, and keep customer property safe.
Becca
Fishaholic
Jeff, I just gotta say - my husband read your last post here and he said quote: "We should just ask him to call the store and drop it." LOL. Your words are powerful, you're going to make a great attorney! Best of luck with Law School!!
kaz petts
Fishaholic
I agree with Jeffrey here.
I studied law for a very short period of time, nothing like Jeffrey has. (Didn't do any degrees, too complicated)
From what I can remember though you would be well in your right NOT to pay anything for this tank and if I was you, knowing what I know now, that it was originally a customer who had taken it to be drilled after buying it elsewhere, the store is obligated to make sure that the customers property is well looked after whilst under their care, (ask yourself, what would have happened if the drilling had gone wrong and the glass cracked all the way through, the store would have had to replace it anyway). The store is also obligated to make sure that it's premisis are safe and that their merchandise is stacked/stored in a safe manor.
Like I said before, I work at Argos (for those of you in the US, this is a very large catalogue retail store) we deal with customers face to face. We never charge or attempt to charge for any breakage caused by a customer. In fact I had a customer not so long ago who's child knocked over a display of cups and saucers (ok I know it's not an expensive fish tank but the principal is the same) she offered to pay for all damages caused by her son (there 3 different sets out on display at retail price of £25 or so per set) One of the plates landed on the little boy, our staff ignored her offer to pay for the damages, one manager setting her straight saying that stores are not by law allowed to charge for damages, that's what the store insurance is for, another manager rushed to the little boys aid had his shoes and socks off in seconds and was checking to make sure he had not broken a toe, he was only very small.
PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR, DO NOT PAY THIS FISH STORE ANYTHING, THEY ARE OBLIGED TO REPLACE THE TANK FOR THE CUSTOMER NOT YOU, THEY SHOULD HAVE MADE SURE IT WAS KEPT AWAY FROM THEIR OTHER STOCK AND POSSIBILITY OF BREAKAGE.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY A PENNY SO WHY DO SO. Yes you broke the tank, yes you feel bad for breaking the tank, this I understand (to be totally honest I would have probably made the same offer at the time - or paid on a visa card and then stop payment later on), but now you know your legal rights why contiue to offer to pay even the cost price of $84 when you don't need to. Stand by your legal rights, please, if you don't you will regret it later, especially when you see something for $84 that you really like and you can't have because that money went to this lfs for a tank they themselves never actually bought!!!!!!!!!! Believe me you will kick yourself!!
(Sorry about the long post here, I am with you all the way in whatever you decide to do, just remember most people here are backing you up and trying to discourage you from paying anything.)
Accidents happen, stores like this know that accidents happen. Had you not offered to pay I have to wonder if they would have tried to force you to pay.
From what I have read they stationed the guy on the door once you had said you will pay.
They treated you like a criminal when you were trying to do what you thought was the right thing to do, this is disgusting. They don't deserve customers.
Look at it this way.
1) Tank, high level with merchandise in it
2) Customers drilled 75g stocked underneath saleable tank with merchandise.
Is it not obvious to the lfs that if they do this then this was just an accident waiting to happen.
Get your local fire station involved on this one. Like I said before, if this had been a kid can you imagine the type of injury a child would have sustained. Lets face it a kid would have climbed on it anyway if they saw something above it that they liked and wanted to reach, a child would have just seen it as a means of access to what they want.
DO NOT PAY A DIME!
I studied law for a very short period of time, nothing like Jeffrey has. (Didn't do any degrees, too complicated)
From what I can remember though you would be well in your right NOT to pay anything for this tank and if I was you, knowing what I know now, that it was originally a customer who had taken it to be drilled after buying it elsewhere, the store is obligated to make sure that the customers property is well looked after whilst under their care, (ask yourself, what would have happened if the drilling had gone wrong and the glass cracked all the way through, the store would have had to replace it anyway). The store is also obligated to make sure that it's premisis are safe and that their merchandise is stacked/stored in a safe manor.
Like I said before, I work at Argos (for those of you in the US, this is a very large catalogue retail store) we deal with customers face to face. We never charge or attempt to charge for any breakage caused by a customer. In fact I had a customer not so long ago who's child knocked over a display of cups and saucers (ok I know it's not an expensive fish tank but the principal is the same) she offered to pay for all damages caused by her son (there 3 different sets out on display at retail price of £25 or so per set) One of the plates landed on the little boy, our staff ignored her offer to pay for the damages, one manager setting her straight saying that stores are not by law allowed to charge for damages, that's what the store insurance is for, another manager rushed to the little boys aid had his shoes and socks off in seconds and was checking to make sure he had not broken a toe, he was only very small.
PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR, DO NOT PAY THIS FISH STORE ANYTHING, THEY ARE OBLIGED TO REPLACE THE TANK FOR THE CUSTOMER NOT YOU, THEY SHOULD HAVE MADE SURE IT WAS KEPT AWAY FROM THEIR OTHER STOCK AND POSSIBILITY OF BREAKAGE.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY A PENNY SO WHY DO SO. Yes you broke the tank, yes you feel bad for breaking the tank, this I understand (to be totally honest I would have probably made the same offer at the time - or paid on a visa card and then stop payment later on), but now you know your legal rights why contiue to offer to pay even the cost price of $84 when you don't need to. Stand by your legal rights, please, if you don't you will regret it later, especially when you see something for $84 that you really like and you can't have because that money went to this lfs for a tank they themselves never actually bought!!!!!!!!!! Believe me you will kick yourself!!
(Sorry about the long post here, I am with you all the way in whatever you decide to do, just remember most people here are backing you up and trying to discourage you from paying anything.)
Accidents happen, stores like this know that accidents happen. Had you not offered to pay I have to wonder if they would have tried to force you to pay.
From what I have read they stationed the guy on the door once you had said you will pay.
They treated you like a criminal when you were trying to do what you thought was the right thing to do, this is disgusting. They don't deserve customers.
Look at it this way.
1) Tank, high level with merchandise in it
2) Customers drilled 75g stocked underneath saleable tank with merchandise.
Is it not obvious to the lfs that if they do this then this was just an accident waiting to happen.
Get your local fire station involved on this one. Like I said before, if this had been a kid can you imagine the type of injury a child would have sustained. Lets face it a kid would have climbed on it anyway if they saw something above it that they liked and wanted to reach, a child would have just seen it as a means of access to what they want.
DO NOT PAY A DIME!
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