My current ongoing saga...
My current ongoing saga...
I am at my wits end with Ecotech and have a story to tell, as I am in no way satisfied with my purchase. The fact that my anger has boiled over to the point of me posting my story here should say it all. Maybe banging the battle drum in their sponsored forum will get me the resolution I want. Which to inform anyone reading is a full refund for my purchase... So it all began on 07/25 when I purchased an MP10 in order to replace a Jebao that had seen better days. Since I cracked the seal on the packaging a few days later it has been nothing short of a disaster...
When I received the mp10 and opened the packaging my initial impression was of quality, however the second I set the pump up (and turned it on) things started to go down hill. I was initially treated with the sound of a helicopter, so I proceeded to move the wet side around slowly (as stated in the directions) but nothing alleviated the sound. I immediately took to the net and saw this could be due to the bearings on the wet side needing to break in. Thus I left the pump as it was over night, in hopes the sound resolved it self. When I woke up the next day the pump still sounded like a black hawk but I decided to leave it running while I went to work hoping that the bearings would "break in". When I returned home from work I immediately noticed the silence in the air and when I walked over to the tank I was treated to a seized wet side, a control box flashing red and white, an anemone on the roam, and a clam that had jumped to the sand (apparently the last 2 strongly disliked the flow change caused by a non functioning circulation pump).
At this point I was upset that my $235 pump was non functional and my anemone had forged a path of destruction across my tank so I contacted Marine Depot in order to return the pump for a refund, as I expect perfection for the price Ecotech commands for their products and when I didn't get that I no longer wanted the MP10. I know that this is a very demanding statement but Ecotech warrants this level of customer expectation (perfection in design, quality controll and customer service) by charging what they do. Well, I was promptly informed of an odd policy that in order to be an authorized seller of Ecotech products Marine Depot ***CAN NOT*** accept returns for a refund on an Ecotech product once the manufacturers seal has been broken. And that I must contact Ecotech for support as they are limited by Ecotech in their ability to resolve issues. This policy is baffling to me and warrants special attention/scrutiny. I can not see how it benefits Ecotech to have a no refund policy. To return to my earlier point and maybe as an American consumer I am spoiled, but I expect perfection for the small fortune they ask for these pumps and when I didn't receive that I implicitly expected to be able to renege on my investment (just like they reneged on their QC) and get a full return on my investment. But I digress...
To continue my saga I proceeded to contact Ecotech support which initially replaced the wet side of the pump which did not fix my red & white error. So next Ecotech had me disassemble the controller to reset the RF chip but the funny thing is my controller does not have this chip as it is a non wireless model. So back on the phone I went to contact Ecotech support and the rep determined it must be my control board that was broken, so they shipped me a new one. After installing this new board the controller still did not work so I called Ecotech back again, was on hold for over 40 minutes and was finally greeted by a message stating I needed to leave a message because no reps remained to answer my call that day. Now boiling I called back today to speak to a rep and was told that regardless of my unique situation they can not issue a refund because I did not buy the pump from them directly. So let me get this straight, in order for Marine Depot to sell Ecotech products they have to agree to not refund open product, but now Ecotech is telling me im screwed because I purchased it from an authorized seller who cant refund me because of an Ecotech policy. Thus Ecotech makes the policy and then absolves themselves from the situation because they did not sell me the pump directly, even though its their policy that is stopping Marine Depot from refunding my purchase to begin with. Don't mind me if my/this logic seems extremely convoluted and self serving (only benefiting Ecotech) but this is the strange reality I now inhabit since purchasing this pump. Thus the only option that is apparently available to me is to send the whole pump in for service, in order to repair or replace the pump with a new one. For my own sanity I must take one moment to state that my $235 pump has "worked" for under 12 hours in the 3 weeks since it arrived.
As you can see this whole experience has driven me mad. ALL I WANT/ED IS A REFUND and no one has given me a good reason as to why I am not entitled to one. Also, If a refund would have been issued I would not be here writing a novella, rant, ode to my former sanity, etc., but I feel wronged and want anyone purchasing an Ecotech product to be aware that the second you crack that seal the product is yours FOREVER...
Now let me have some fun with some real life scenarios you might encounter when purchasing their products and what your available options are for recourse. What if your tank doesn't respond well? or you decide you don't like the pump hanging on the outside of the tank? Or the product doesn't live up to your quality expectations? Or you opened it and just regretted your purchase? Your only answers to these questions are apparently two bad ones. 1, you sell the pump for a loss on ebay etc. (by the way another awesome policy is the warranty is non transferring) or 2, it becomes a $235 paper wight. Neither of these seem to fall in line with my expectations for a company that sells premium products AND service.
As an angry side ramble (I am sorry this post continues to devolve), the Apple Watch I bought a few months back was promptly returned to the Apple store the second I realized how important GPS functionality is/was for my fitness tracking needs and while a great product it just didn't yet live up to my expectations. Apple's response was to immediately refund me (in full) for my purchase, no questions asked... Maybe this level of service is why I expect the same from a company like Ecotech. Maybe this is why I have and continue to spend gobs of money on Apple products (hi iPad Pro I am writing this on). The RMA hit Ecotech would have taken with my MP10 return/refund is pennies next to my ultimate spending potential. To illustrate my point that 350-500 gallon dream reef I will one day set up is going to need at least 6-12 Radion/Hydra fixtures, Multiple Vectra return pumps, multiple MP60/40/10 pumps and the list goes on. That bill could easily top 10K. Sure it may not be until 2030 but it will happen one day and all of that product could have been Ecotech.
Regardless, I want to sum up by saying that every customer service rep I have spoken with at Ecotech has been as nice and as helpful as their idiotic policies allow. It is unfortunate that I entered into every conversation with them angry and that their management has placed them in the unfortunate position of having no means at their disposal to honor my perception of what is expected given the circumstances. Also, to return to my rant in the previous paragraph, I own other Ecotech products (AI Hydra & Prime Lighting) and have been happy with them, which makes this policy even more questionable. It just does not compute to me as to why a company would drive me (a formerly happy customer that has spent over $1000 in the past year) not only to unhappy but unhappy to the point that I will permanently hold a grudge against their products AND angry enough to share my experience in a 2+ page single spaced rant to others. It is odd, at least to me, but I am not running the company. I just know that I will not be purchasing another Ecotech product moving forward.
For good measure I have one more angry ramble. By the time I send off and am returned a (hopefully) working pump it will have been over a month since I pressed buy for this pump and over 12 hrs of direct time arguing with Ecotech, fiddling with replacement parts, waiting on hold, writing reviews/rants etc.. And just to further point out how long this process has been, the pump I purchased this to replace finally quit right after I received the MP10, so I was forced to order a replacement (spending more money) and snagged a Jebao (for 1/5 the price of the MP10). It unlike the MP10 has been up and RUNNING for almost 2 weeks already and has left me no need for the MP10. Sure the cord is in the tank and it feels like a toy next to the MP but why would I switch this out for the MP10 since it is doing one thing the MP is/has not, moving water around my aquarium...
I hope this was helpful or at least informative to anyone considering Ecotech products and I hope my experience is never duplicated with another customer. Finally, If anyone at Ecotech has anything to say AND can fulfill my refund demand please contact me, my request # is 146374.
