Affordable Quality Lighting
Reviews and Complaints

Decided to check online for company reviews of AQ Lighting. Why? My wife and I are currently doing a complete kitchen remodel and after Google searching for lighting I found this company. I reviewed their offerings and spoke directly w/ Tom P. at length about what I wanted and his suggestions. I "found" him by asking more pointed questions about products then the phone rep. could answer. Was told Tom P. is the "go to" guy for technical questions. Tom was very specific about product details of the lighting I was interested in (PS-113 raw copper LED floodlights w/ brass mounting base and the appropriate dimmable transformer needed and a dimmer switch) and walked me through what was needed to build an entire suite I needed. After viewing other online choices I placed my order with them through their rep. Larry.
The items were needed ASAP as my electrician who was scheduled to install them bumped up that date. Needless to say because of that AQL's free shipping on orders over $199 by standard ground freight delivery times wouldn't work for me. Larry informed me that FEDEX overnight air would get the items to me 1 day ahead of schedule at a cost of $194 : California to NY. That added over 30% to the total cost of my order ! For a package that weighs roughly 15 lbs I think the government ought to investigate FEDEX under the RICO act.
Fast forward to receiving the items. Of course FEDEX delivered the items to my doorstep the minute I stepped out for about an hour. Upon picking up the box I noticed many punctures around the container. Here we go I thought to myself. I opened the box and was "momentarily" relieved to see that my items were carefully wrapped with bubblewrap. Upon removal of such I became the unfortunate recipient of shipping damaged floodlights. VERY expensive upgraded floodlights. In fact 3 of the 6 lights had enough damage as to be unusable for display.
I immediately called Larry at AQ Lighting to inform him of this. He requested I email him pics of the damaged items. I not only did that but forwarded the same to Tom P. Within 5 minutes I rec'd a call directly from Tom P. who said he would gladly sort through their "remaining" inventory to get me the replacement pieces needed so I could disassemble the damaged lights myself and repair them myself. He mentioned in passing these lights are extremely popular and in fact just sold 300 of the 500 units he last ordered to a Marriot Hotel in Hawaii. Not being rocket science to accomplish a parts swap I willingly agreed provided they overnight the new parts for Saturday delivery. This was when the electrician would be arriving to do the job. At $118/hr he's not going to be standing around at my expense for any amount of time longer than needed.
Tom P. informed me that since it was now early Friday morning (their time on the West coast) and that they have abbreviated working hours that day (they close at 3pm PST) my order would be expedited before the packers left for the rest of the week. They are closed weekends I might add. He promised the order would be packed and shipped for arrival the next day. Hours later at 6:05 pm EST in NY I checked my emails finding two from AQL and two more from FEDEX. AQL emails confirmed that items were being packaged and subsequently shipped. FEDEX emails were confirmation of shipping order being placed by AQL and then notification the AQL told FEDEX to halt the shipment. No notice or courtesy call from AQL about why? So now being 5 minutes after their offices closed I cannot contact them and am forced to have only half my lights available for installation. I am not a very happy customer right now. I attempted attaching pics of the shipping carton and damaged items here but site won't accept images for some reason. I wonder what I will be told by AQL when I call them first thing on Monday morning? Stay tuned for update.

Certainly a very unprofessional company.

A very unprofessional company to say the least.

I have been ordering from AQLighting on and off since 06' depending on the season and economy. I have been agreeing to those terms and conditions for years with out even paying attention or reading them. The reason I never paid attention is because I am a honest person, and my first instinct is NOT that someone is trying to screw me over. Every company (Especially electrical stuff) has terms & conditions and or policies. I have been saving money for years with theses guys. I have had great customer service, knowledgeable and professional. Everyone has a right to have their [censor] covered, doesn't mean you're getting ripped off.LOLv

Most of these comments echo my experience. Affordable quality lighting is neither affordable nor quality and worst of all the customer service is arrogant, rude and misleading. For me the worst is their boast about their BBB status; I decided to cut my losses with them and not pursue but would be interested if anyone has been successful in pursuing legal avenues. David

I agree the terms are... interesting. But I also must say that I have had no issues with three orders now. Any you can tell who I am as I have provided my name, and company website from which you may get my phone number and everything else. Other people may sign/say/state whatever they wish, but in order to add validity to my complaint with SOCAL aka SUNRISE, etc., I identify myself. I have even been called to confirm.

I will also be the first to say that the fixtures are not ...say...FX quality, but the pricing is MORE than reasonable and the fixtures are very good, making it easier for people to do full yard lighting. I suggest you talk to Tom yourself.

Gary

Because you can't tell who is real and who is not, I read Affordable Quality Lighting terms on off their own web page and from that alone could tell what scam artist / schiesters they must be... its all double talk conditons. I know enough to know when people write the policies they have its so they can get out of responsibility.

Do yourself a favor and READ their terms, conditions, shipping time, etc.. You will be able to make up your own mind without hypothesis-- it's right there in black and white.

I just ordered more lights form them for a client to look at before deciding on redoing her entire backyard. The order process was simple, the online chat and one telephone call were great. I even changed the order and Tom took care of it.

No delivery yet, but I anticipate smooth sailing.

Gary Fuller
30 years electrrical contracting
penlightelectric dot com

I have used this company twice for orders of more than $300. Both times they delivered in good condition in a timely manner everything that I ordered. They charged my credit card for the total amount only once.

I do not know if the company has changed hands since the above complaints or if it is a different company all together, But I am definitely very satisfied with their products and service and I plan to use them again.

I must say that I have reversed my feelings relative to Affordable Quality Lighting. They blow So Cal Lighting away and whoever Tom is, he works very hard to insure things are right. I did buy fixtures from him and I have no complaints. If I could remove my previous comment, I would.
Gary Fuller

Poor customer service is understatement.
You had better have lots of patience and too much time to deal with rude sales and service!

I bought from them a few years ago when they were contractors choice. i had a problem with quality of product. I went to their facility for an excahnge or refund. They required me to make an appointment first. Had to wait two or three weeks. When I arrived I had to wait a long time. They had two visible employees. The male was a thug type. I was very uncomfortable dealing with him. The place was wierd. I came away pretty sure it was a business that scams the unwary. Look at their Terms of Sale. I've never seen so many gotcha clauses. Buyer beware.

As a Fraud Analyst for Bank Of America for the past 2 years, formally Countrywide Home loans for 6. I have dealt with many people throughout my young career. I have also dealt personally with affordable quality lighting a couple of times, Three times actually. They have an enormous amount of product options therefore I'm trying to understand why someone would have their little heart so set one fixture they would wait 8 months for it just to be upset that it has upgraded to a better one. (Who wouldn't want something better than expected?) Isn't Lighting a luxury?...why would a few extra dollars be so be so devastating?
Obviously people must continue to complain just to feel complete and satisfied in their lives. These people are not necessarily unhappy people, but by complaining about every little thing that bothers them, they actually feel better. In other words, they burden other people with all their problems and worries, making those people feel bad, while they in turn end up feeling great. There is nothing wrong with complaining, we all need to do it now and again, but the trick is to not over do it. The above posts are way over done.
Post Script: The (past employee) post is Not valid*** Will was my sales rep and a Great friend for many years.

Found this link with more complaints about affordable quality lighting: Affordable Quality Lighting — Fraud, Buyer Beware

Affordable Quality Lighting is a complete scam. I ATTEMPTED to purchase numerous light fixtures in April 2009. Per the website, the item was in stock. I called and was told they would be in stock within 3-4 WEEKS. I called throughout the summer and was told the same thing. Finally in September they said the item had been discontinued and was being replaced with a new, upgraded version that was significantly more expensive. However, the website still lists the old item as available and in stock.

Additionally, for a small, new company their restrictions on virtually every aspect of the ordering process is ridiculous. Before they will even give you a phone number you must complete a checklist...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Also, their hours make it impossible to contact them and heaven forbid that they be open five days a week. Online purchasing is supposed to be simple, quick and easy--the opposite experience that I have had. I AM NOT A COMPETITOR NOR A CUSTOMER. At this point, I would rather pay more than get anything from this company. If they are this bad when you are purchasing, I cannot imagine how they would be if there was an actual product problem.

Joe,

I really doubt all these posting are from a competitior. You are protecting your company. I love how you make it seem like you have been in business for 34 years? OMFG, that is such a lie. People, go here and you will see:

http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowAllList?QueryCorpNumber=C3058629

Affordable quality lighting has not been around for 34 years, they have been around since 12/2007.

Would you like me to go on Joe and point out other lies as well?

Bottom line people, look at all the complaints on this company on the internet. the /link removed/ is full of them along with other boards as well. Affordable quality lighting used to be a company call contractors choice lighting. All they did was pull a corporate name change because of all of their BBB complaints. Take some time to research contractors choice lighting and I am sure you will see "Joe" and "Tom" posting on message boards as well.

Have to wonder why such a busy and great internet company, or so they claim has to be lurking around the internet defending themselves. I will tell you why, they screw people over.

We at affordable quality have had no such experience with any client. This is a false complaint filed by a "competitor". If this was a real customer we ask that you reveal your name and invoice number. We have 34 years of pure excellence and our triple A record with the BBB will prove that. Our thousands of documented testimonials will also prove our commitment to our clients. By the way forums like this do NOT verify the credibility of the posting and they do not give us companies a chance to prove our side before posting false comments. However the BBB (Better Business Bureau) does confirm the legitimacy of any complaints before posting them. For example if you really had a problem with a company you would send your complaint to the BBB and they would ask for a legitimate invoice number, email and complete mailing address of the person complaining. Then they would send a copy of the complaint to the business allowing them to answer. At that point the BBB will start a mediation process and if the business does not abide by the BBB standards and make the customer happy then the BBB will post a negative on that business' record. Now the fact that the entire BBB process is NOT followed by these types of forums makes it easy for ANYONE, especially a "competitor" to anonymously post false claim such as this one. Think about it people. If you are an educated adult you will be able to read between the lines and realize the difference between a false and a real claim. We have been around so long and our service and prices cannot be duplicated so the only recourse our "competitors" have is to file false allegations. It would be nice if they could try and compete on a fair level but obviously they can't otherwise they wouldn’t resort to such uncivil levels.