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Product Review My experience with Wio

L

LondonAquascaper

Member
Joined
22 Feb 2021
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88
Location
London
As many people are aware, Wio are a new-ish company on the scene, and have launched everything from tanks, to sand, to lights. However, scaling a company fast is hard and this shows in my latest experience with them.

I bought a Wio 60 Shallow tank, and Wio Bamboo stand, which was delivered 2nd December.

The tank is great.... but the less said about the stand the better. For a start, one of the screws had no X thread in the top so couldn't be used, which means one of the shelves only has one screw. On top of that, its made from natural wood, which looks lovely, but makes the entire stand hugely unstable as the panels are all warped. Its so unstable that my friend joked it rocks so much its more like a cot, to put fish to sleep. I found another instagram friend with exactly the same issue.
  • 3rd Dec - I contacted Wio about this directly, to give them a chance to fix/respond to the issue. They replied straight away saying it was a defective unit and they will replace with a brand new one. Great I thought.
  • 7th Dec - Having not heard back, I contacted them again. They said it had been a holiday where they are located, but they would reply on Thursday (the 9th)
  • 13 Dec - I still had not heard back, despite the above, so contacted them again and said, look, its been 10 days since I reached out and still no resolution
  • 14th Dec - They replied asking for my contact details to solve the issue, which I provided....
And that was the last I heard, with it now being the 20th Dec. I am pretty sure that if I do not chase them again, I will never hear back and will be left with a faulty stand, so I guess, I will continue to chase them - but basically, it'll be the 5th time I'm reaching out to them now, with them promising to fix the issue.... but then nothing actually ever being done. Not really sure what else to do? Don't really want to blow up on Instagram but not really sure how to make more noise?

So, in essence, my personal summation of Wio as a company is: they make some interesting products, but if you buy one of those products and it goes wrong, then don't expect for the issue to get resolved without a load of work on your part, or perhaps at all.

I will continue to update this thread as things progress. I'm sure you'll all be on the edge of your seats!
 
That's a real shame about the stand. I have the 60f shallow tank from them and the quality is excellent and I have been eyeing up the stand, think I will give it a miss, really liked the look as well.

I know it doesn't help with the stand issue, but can you not return it to the store?
 
Hi,
Who did you purchase the Wio units from ? They seem to be based in Spain ? but very few contact details about them on their web site.

If you purchased from a seller in the UK then your Contract is with them and they have to sort your problem out. ie defective goods.
Hopefully you paid with a Credit Card so you should be able to recover your money from them, if the supplier does not play ball, though not sure how that works if you purchased from outside the UK.

Worth telling the supplier, Wio or otherwise, that if they cannot replace or refund withion a reasonalble time frame, ( less than 30 days ) then you will have to take the matter to Trading Standards ( if a uk based supplier) and the Credit Card company.
 
I don't want to name the retailer as it isn't their fault, however, knowing them, they will sort it out for me if Wio cannot help. I'm going to message Wio one more time and then have to go to the retailer.

Outside of the issues with the stand, its a bit of a joke considering it costs £200. It probably cost about £15 in actual wood (though I appreciate shipping/design etc is an additional cost in its production). I only bought it because I'm in London and I don't have access to power tools etc. The ADA equivalent is 2x as much.....but then again, it probably doesn't rock like a crib.....
 
Update!

Wio just phoned me (from Spain!)...... They are in contact with the retailer. They said that they will try and get a new one out to me, but if they do not have any in stock, they will be able to send one in early Jan.

Fair enough, Xmas is a busy time. I feel like they could have solved this pre-xmas had they got on the issue straight away, but equally, with all the stuff going on right now, you have to give companies the benefit of the doubt. Fingers cross they come up trumps in 2022!
 
LondonAquascaper said:
I don't want to name the retailer as it isn't their fault, however, knowing them, they will sort it out for me if Wio cannot help. I'm going to message Wio one more time and then have to go to the retailer.

Outside of the issues with the stand, its a bit of a joke considering it costs £200. It probably cost about £15 in actual wood (though I appreciate shipping/design etc is an additional cost in its production). I only bought it because I'm in London and I don't have access to power tools etc. The ADA equivalent is 2x as much.....but then again, it probably doesn't rock like a crib.....
Click to expand...

Sorry, but you are wrong, it is the Sellers fault as you bought it from them , so the UK legal sales contract is between you and the UK seller.
( you cannot sell items to folk and then say you have no responsibilty for their quality)

Not asking you to name the UK seller, but it is Their responsibility to remedy the situation.
Did you buy from their Shop in person or Online, you tend to have an easier route to reject and return the goods online, but in your case as its clearly not fit for purpose.
Whatever you do , do not attempt to modify it in anyway ,as they can then decline any return/refund

If you bypass the UK seller and go direct to the Manufacturer, which may involve time delays you may loose your rights with the UK seller.

Strongly suggest you act quickly and formally contact the UK seller to sort thing out or risk loosing your £200 !!

Just seen your last post as typing this -
Would still contact your seller to ensure you are being told a true story, but as Wio is out of stock think we would suggest you need to return it to the UK seller for a full refund, including carriage.
Do you want to wait several weeks + for a product thats you and others know is not of merchantable quaility and in your own words looks to be worth about £!5 ?!

Don't be a push over, They are Wrong, You are Right, so demand your legal rights and get your money back now !
 
Update, have also been in contact with the shop as per the advice above, who have also been in contact with Wio.

They confirmed, new one being delivered in Jan. Bit slow but I've managed to fix the current cabinet with a load of foam stuck on with super glue to the bottom. Seems mostly stable. I should be able to source another screw to replace the one without a thread at some point too.
 
First time I've heard of this brand! Their tanks look nice, as do their lights. They have some interesting sands options too. I have to be honest though - I'm not sure I would put a heavy glass box filled with water anywhere near those stands! The lack of a back of any type must mean they're not particularly stable, and the pictures on their own website suggest the tops don't provide a flat surface to support the tank:

Stand.jpg


To the OP, @LondonAquascaper - Whilst I whole heartedly agree that they should have been correctly included in the pack, if you wanted a solution before Christmas, it looks like they use standard Confirmat wood screws:

www.screwfix.com

Confirmat Screws M7 x 50mm 100 Pack - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Coarse thread. For use in lightweight carcass assembly where a right angled joint is required. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.
www.screwfix.com www.screwfix.com

(Obviously you'd need to pick the correct size)
 
The Wio stand looks great, but looking at the photo I'm bit worried concerning the stability.
An aquarium is heavy and I see no structural stiffening. All forces seem to be on the joints, eg how to planks are screwed together.
Looks elegant, but not designed by an engineer.
 
Matti said:
The Wio stand looks great, but looking at the photo I'm bit worried concerning the stability.
An aquarium is heavy and I see no structural stiffening. All forces seem to be on the joints, eg how to planks are screwed together.
Looks elegant, but not designed by an engineer.
Click to expand...
Tbh I have zero concerns about its ability to support the aquarium, its solid wood and those two pieces could probably support 10x the weight being put on it. The larger stands in their range Hbd additional support
 
LondonAquascaper said:
Tbh I have zero concerns about its ability to support the aquarium, its solid wood and those two pieces could probably support 10x the weight being put on it. The larger stands in their range Hbd additional support
Click to expand...

Agree there is no concern about the upright sides being strong enough to take the 40kg + weight of the tank, water, substrate etc, its the sideway stabilty that is reliant on the fixings of four main members.
Most cabinets have some form of back bracing which offer diagonal strength.

000982.jpg


If its going to be totally free standing suggest you add a plywood backing or some suitable struts, or if up against a wall some suitable wall to stand fixings to hold it in place.
 
It has central shelf that holds the two vertical sides together quite well. I am honestly not concerned about its strength - its only got 40l on it... as long as its stable.
 
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