Swell UK Ltd Reviews 

These are the real reviews about this company. Ignore what you read anywhere else.

I made a large order with them for a complete aquarium set up. Despite what the website said when I made the order though, they were unable to confirm delivery on any of the items apart from the fish tank. Due to this, I chose to cancel my order.

Leon gave me written confirmation my order was fully cancelled and I would get a full refund in 3-5 working days.

A couple of days later for some reason Swell still tried to deliver the fish tank (only) to me. The delivery was rejected and the driver took the tank away with them. I emailed Swell to inform them of this.

Their response was this was done because another order was made for me, to which I told them that is completely false. They ignored my request to give me the order number for this new "order". They told me I will now have to wait until they confirm the item is returned to them before I get my order refunded....it was never delivered (ring doorbell as evidence). I contacted them again a few days later and they still maintain they are waiting for confirmation. They have now stopped responding to my emails.

I have now contacted the credit card company to get my money back. I'm just glad all communication with these crooks was over email and I have ringdoor bell footage the driver took the tank away.

Delivery is okay but the products are good so only buy if you’re willing to wait. Sent them an email the sixth for my purchase made on the third - I had worries about it coming late.
The response I got was: ‘I have escalated your order to our dispatch team for your order to be treated as a priority.’ However they did not as it arrived over two weeks later, despite implying a 3-4 day delivery, where I ordered at the start of the week.

The products are cheap rubbish, trying to get a refund is very difficult ignore emails and can’t get through on phone.

We went to the store in Dukinfield.
We have been helped a few time by a man called Jamie.
Just a thank you to Jamie for being so helpful will all my questions!
It’s nice to go to a place where the prices are competitive but also the main reason we always shop in the Dukinfield store is because of Jamie & his great customer service!

Still waiting for my order a week later, not dispatched. Customer services are ignoring me. Do not order from swell

stay well clear

Paid £20 for delivery which took over 5 days to arrive

Customer service then told me the £20 was not for next day delivery is for my fish?

Even though I didn’t order fish only
Plants

Basically day light robbery, I’ll claim it back from my bank

Absolutely terrible service — avoid this shop!

I ordered a fish tank and some plants from Swell UK on Friday before 4pm because my existing tank had developed a leak. As this was an urgent situation, I specifically paid for next day delivery, which stated that orders placed before the cut-off would be delivered on Saturday by 9pm.

Saturday morning I received tracking information, but the tracking didn’t work. No parcel arrived on Saturday, and there was still no delivery on Sunday. It wasn’t until around 9pm on Sunday that the tracking finally showed the parcel had been handed over to the courier.

By this point, the order was completely useless to me. My fish had been without a proper tank since Friday, so I had no choice but to go out first thing on Sunday and purchase another tank elsewhere.

I contacted Swell by email on Sunday to cancel the order, and again on Monday, and also tried calling their customer service several times but was unable to get through.

The parcel was eventually delivered on Monday, despite my attempts to cancel it before delivery. I now have a large unwanted parcel that I no longer need, because I had to buy a replacement due to their failure to deliver when promised.

What has made the situation even worse is the lack of customer service. My emails requesting the order be cancelled and collected have been ignored, and I have been unable to get through by phone. I am now having to consider going through my bank to dispute the payment simply to get my money back.

I completely understand that delivery delays can occasionally happen, but what is unacceptable is taking payment for a guaranteed next-day service, failing to meet that commitment when the order was genuinely urgent, and then failing to properly deal with the customer when they try to cancel the order. Their return policy is for the customer to pay for the return postage but its a massive box and will cost me a fortune when it is their error in the first place.

Very disappointing experience. I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere if you need something delivered by a particular date.

Ordered again from Swell, this time some pond plants and accessories, super quick delivery and good communication from start to finish, great service,

Pond liner and underlay with a 40 year warranty has failed. After sending photos and answering a plethora of questions they are now non responsive.
The warranty has proved to be a headline to attract a sale with no intention of fulfilling.
Avoid

First time ordering fish online and being delivered, so wasn't sure about the whole deal, but was informed of a slight delay due to high demand, I was a bit worried for the fish but the delivery arrived next day and courier kept me updated, the fish arrived in fantastic condition, packaged superbly and were very soon enjoying their new surroundings, a thank you to Holly and everyone else at Swell for their help and reassurance, I have already placed another order for miscellaneous stuff and the next fish order is only a few days away from being ordered as I need to order on a certain day to receive on a day suitable for me, so always check livestock order/delivery days, I can only comment on how my experience with Swell and have been open and honest, a pleasure to deal with especially as can't get some of the fish from normal retailers,
Thank you

Unfortunately the reviews are reflective of the service provided, when something goes wrong. Short order delivered, despite 3 emails and 14 days, no further forward. Guys please read these reviews and buy your products elsewhere. And for everyone else that has a problem, contact your cardholders and instigate chargebacks, you might get a better response!!

What a shocking service, Hannah do you know how to read an email? because you sent me the same AI generated email 5 times asking for pictures of a missing parcel. Now I am not Sherlock homes but when’s somethings missing you tend to not be able to get a picture. Do better Hannah!!

I ordered a betta fish, assuming it would arrive when they stated ( next day)
I'm still waiting and it's been a week they charge £20 delivery fee for this service as it's a live animal, and I can understand that but where is my live animal?
I could have gone to Thailand stayed in a hotel for a few nights, gone and fished for my own betta fish in the wild, and come back again quicker than there delivery system.
I tried phoning them with no answer, I emailed and got a short answer response saying we will look into this.
What a joke.

​Think carefully before ordering from Swell.

I ordered an aquarium cooling fan which turned out to be faulty. I provided video evidence of the defect as requested and arranged a return the same day I received it.

​The item was returned on 27th July, yet two weeks after it would have been received by Swell, there is still no resolution. To make matters worse, the support ticket was closed on their end without being resolved, forcing me to repeatedly chase for basic updates.

​Testing a simple returned unit does not take weeks. The lack of proactive communication and the delay in issuing a refund for a faulty product has been extremely disappointing.

This should be a straightforward matter, yet Swell are dragging it out. Very poor service and I would recommend shopping elsewhere.

Shopped with Swell UK a few times now and they always have the products I want at a reasonable price. Well packed items delivered with care. Hannah was very helpful at customer service.

Swell is great for plants and aquatic accessories,

Have bought items for my aquariums about x5 times.

Had some great deliveries and one super delayed one a few months ago.
Hannah in customer service helped me yesterday. Thank you!

I only ordered from this site as they advertised certain plants as coming attached to driftwood for instant placement in the tank. This I thought was great as it saved fiddly attachment myself…. Having paid a hefty delivery fee, the plants arrived not only not attached to driftwood but completely wrong! I contacted customer care immediately as these were obviously not what I had ordered.

At first I was told I was incorrect about the driftwood so pointed out this was actually written in the description. I then sent photos of the plants again showing that completely the wrong plants had been sent. Half a dozen emails later I finally got a refund but no apology or admission they were in the wrong.

Fast forward a few weeks and my tank is now infested with snails from the one bit of weed they sent which I could actually place in my tank (this was despite extensive rinsing). Honestly wish I hadn’t bothered and will never use this company again.

The uv lamp failed after 7 months. I was told to return it. 2 weeks later I had to chase it up and they said it had arrived there badly damaged. Eventually after more weeks wait and multiple messages I received a new uv unit. However they did not return all the necessary parts ie quartz sleeve and hose tail. They sent a hosetail and it doesn’t fit the unit! This whole debacle has lasted over 2 months and I’ve still got no uv unit. If you expect a good after sales and customer service after purchase of an expensive filter you will be disappointed. Very unhappy and I wish I could get a full refund or replacement unit but I know I won’t. I told swell I would be giving a negative review.

I've shopped with Swell for years however over the last months their service has been brutal. This time I purchased a not inexpensive UV clarifier for my pond. I was sent an ex display or customer returned item. After the usual unacceptable wait for customer service to reply the ignorant employee that did tried to claim that the unit "didn't look second hand" to her. I had to contact ths manufacturer to confirm that the item I received was not as us from factory. Swell then eventually facilitated a return which they've had in their possession since Monday. I'm still awaiting confirmation of my refund. At this stage they're essentially stealing my money. They've had it in their account for 3 weeks now. At first I was told it was a system error that held up my money being released and now the story has changed yet again. There's always another new excuse, never any accountability. Absolutely foul what you have allowed to happen to this business.

AVOID this company at all costs. This company does not care about it's customers, the level of customer service and communication is shocking the worst I've experienced. I ordered some Koi from Swell they never arrived, we emailed several times and it took days to reply and I rang up every single day and they had no clue what they were doing at all. Finally we were told the fish would be delivered a week later than planned. They day before they were due to arrive we had an email to say our order had been cancelled and we would be refunded and as an apology would receive a 10% discount on our next order. Why would we order from this company when they will happily take our money but not deliver. We have no faith in this company nor will we ever trust this company again. I would advise anyone ordering livestock to not order from this company.