I been getting a lot of messages about my dealings with AO so i will share my experience with them. AO is not very reputable and if i had to do it all over again, i would definitely go with another builder.
it starts out with the promise of doing the build in 8-10 weeks, at this point communication is good. 5 weeks in, he e-mails that the glass has come in and he will be starting the tank. 6 weeks in, AO e-mails that my 2 Sfiligoi pendants are in and that i need to send payment on the fixtures.... payment sent.
About 8 weeks in, i was on RC in AO's forum and found he was having a Sfiligoi sale.....now all along AO claimed that these are special order fixtures and he doesn't stock them. well it turns out that 2 of the fixtures were mine that i paid for. i contacted him and he claims it was his workers mistake and will be taken down immediately. at this point i am like WTF and i begin questioning the progress of the build. he then begins to stall, saying it is still 2 weeks away. i am now getting nervous with the situation and proceed to e-mail every week for an update. AO responses were becoming harder and harder to come by, then without notice there phones are down, e-mails are not being responded to and there is no posting on there forum.
i fear the worse.....AO went under so i called my CC and filed a claim. the day after AO contacts me that they were in the middle of changing locations that is why there was no communication. i then cancel my claim with my CC but my bank has already withdrew the funds from AO. AO contacts me again and says he cannot continue the build until the funds are replaced. i contact my bank again to find out what happened and they automatically hold the funds and it takes about 4-5 days for the funds to be cleared. we are now at the first week of Aug. so i ask for a delivery date and he says another 7-10 days.
now at this point communication is almost non-existent for the next 2 weeks and always with another delay. finally set up a delivery date, the tank arrives but i am missing the pendant, the t-5 bulbs that come with the unit are missing, the tank is missing the corner braces that were suggested by AO. it was the weekend so i would have to wait till Monday to address AO and when i do, he claims that they must have been lost and the corner braces are not needed on my tank......but wasn't it you who suggested them? my shipping label only has 3 boxes listed and 3 boxes i received. i question AO if he indeed did ship out the other pendant and i ask for a shipping invoice stating he shipped it. i do not get any response and at this point so i filed a claim with my CC. AO then says they will ship out the missing braces and t-5 bulbs but no mention of the pendant again.
to this date, i have not received any of the missing items or have been offered any explanation. i then proceeded to contact Sfiligoi about AO and how i can get another pendant. Sfiligoi were very sympathetic and have been receiving a lot of complaints about AO but at this point, they cannot get me another pendant without going thru a distributor. this has left me no choice but to go with another brand fixture and sell my current fixture.
now AO is MIA and there forum on RC is gone, i don't know what that means but i have posted on RC about these events and i feel bad for those ppl who gave AO deposits for custom tanks. my advice to anyone here is to stay clear from AO.
i am sorry for this long post but i hope it helps anyone out there thinking about using AO for there build.
it starts out with the promise of doing the build in 8-10 weeks, at this point communication is good. 5 weeks in, he e-mails that the glass has come in and he will be starting the tank. 6 weeks in, AO e-mails that my 2 Sfiligoi pendants are in and that i need to send payment on the fixtures.... payment sent.
About 8 weeks in, i was on RC in AO's forum and found he was having a Sfiligoi sale.....now all along AO claimed that these are special order fixtures and he doesn't stock them. well it turns out that 2 of the fixtures were mine that i paid for. i contacted him and he claims it was his workers mistake and will be taken down immediately. at this point i am like WTF and i begin questioning the progress of the build. he then begins to stall, saying it is still 2 weeks away. i am now getting nervous with the situation and proceed to e-mail every week for an update. AO responses were becoming harder and harder to come by, then without notice there phones are down, e-mails are not being responded to and there is no posting on there forum.
i fear the worse.....AO went under so i called my CC and filed a claim. the day after AO contacts me that they were in the middle of changing locations that is why there was no communication. i then cancel my claim with my CC but my bank has already withdrew the funds from AO. AO contacts me again and says he cannot continue the build until the funds are replaced. i contact my bank again to find out what happened and they automatically hold the funds and it takes about 4-5 days for the funds to be cleared. we are now at the first week of Aug. so i ask for a delivery date and he says another 7-10 days.
now at this point communication is almost non-existent for the next 2 weeks and always with another delay. finally set up a delivery date, the tank arrives but i am missing the pendant, the t-5 bulbs that come with the unit are missing, the tank is missing the corner braces that were suggested by AO. it was the weekend so i would have to wait till Monday to address AO and when i do, he claims that they must have been lost and the corner braces are not needed on my tank......but wasn't it you who suggested them? my shipping label only has 3 boxes listed and 3 boxes i received. i question AO if he indeed did ship out the other pendant and i ask for a shipping invoice stating he shipped it. i do not get any response and at this point so i filed a claim with my CC. AO then says they will ship out the missing braces and t-5 bulbs but no mention of the pendant again.
to this date, i have not received any of the missing items or have been offered any explanation. i then proceeded to contact Sfiligoi about AO and how i can get another pendant. Sfiligoi were very sympathetic and have been receiving a lot of complaints about AO but at this point, they cannot get me another pendant without going thru a distributor. this has left me no choice but to go with another brand fixture and sell my current fixture.
now AO is MIA and there forum on RC is gone, i don't know what that means but i have posted on RC about these events and i feel bad for those ppl who gave AO deposits for custom tanks. my advice to anyone here is to stay clear from AO.
i am sorry for this long post but i hope it helps anyone out there thinking about using AO for there build.
