Complaint about a boat manufacturer

[seadaddler]

Yes Hunter

All I can say is I am glad purchased my second newhunter and not a boat from the B manufactor.I have heard of dealer problems with hunters but hunterusually comes to the rescue and does the right thing 99%of the time.I am not looking to start a war here but if the dealer isbad and the SC boat builder is not helping out than somebuyers need to know this and put out the word so maybe ifSC will wake up if sales is hurt.Nick

 

[ARNOLD]

Girlyman

I tink dat SCUBA Hottie is a girlyman.A really man would stand and to defending himself.I will be bach to twist his little neck!

 

[John Nantz]

Bill - that was a FUNNY one!

re Reply #18. I got a real kick out of reading your post and read it to my wife in between laughs. I gave extra emphasis to the part about guys being good at solving problems!!! I'm so glad you wrote this because she thinks when she comes up with a problem that I should NOT solve the problem but provide TLC. Arrrggghh.... how am I supposed to know THAT???Can't remember this obvious difference between the sexes ever being mentioned in any of my social 'science' or psychology classes and the politicians all say we are 'equal'! As far as I am concerned, this is one more item of absolute proof that the sexes are NOT equal.

 

[r.w.landau]

Bill, It was just a thought...

you and Arnold saw it and ran with it. With your explaination, scuba hottie is a she or he she.Posts like this make me crazy. There is no explaination of where the damage is or if maybe a bounce against a piling may have had something to do with it...I am no expert but I think that scuba hottie is leaving out alot of info.r.w.landau

 

[scuba hottie]

Clarification

For the record I am a female! Always have been and always will be till the day I die. I have been away and was unable to post, so my appologies.To further clarify I have been very polite with the dealer and the manufacturer. This has gone over 2 years now and I am sick and tired of being pushed around and even more so ignored, I guess I am just too nice.I have kept records of all conversations and individuals with whom I have spoken to and emails. The dealer has a reputation of poor service - they care more about selling (surprise, surprise). Wish I had known about/better before I bought from them. As for the manufacturer, I have been more than polite with them too and even introduced them to others who have had problems with service from the same dealer that sells their stuff. The manufacturer has done nothing but disappear and not return anymore calls or emails. I even spoke with the VP and the President. What do I do next - go to Beneteau France ?I'm not sure what to do here. As I mentioned you put your life savings into these boats only to be screwed over by the dealer and then surprisingly the manufacturer. I would love a simple solution, which would be for the boat manufacturer to step up to the plate and solve this but they don't seem to care and basically say, "if you have an issue then sue us". They say that cause they have endless amounts of money to outlast a lawsuit or to make it so long that one would bail out. This is not fair ! I regret ever getting the boat (although love it very much - it sails wonderful - I just want the issues dealt with and corrected or them to take the boat back and give me another without any issues.).What ever happened to "the customer is always right" or "100% customer satisfaction" ? I guess if I was a guy and had very deep pockets then this might have been different and would have been solved by now but that is not the case.My dream has become nothing more than a complete let down from the dealer and manufacturer.

 

[newly anonymous]

scuba hottie, the customer is NEVER right...

...in France.

 

[Ross]

You can and should find a lawyer who will take

this as a contingency case and if you can locate enough owners with similar complaints perhaps turn it into a class action case.

 

[Joseph Shirley]

If your damages fall within the limits of small claims court you can

take it there. That doesn't cost much and should be easy to win with your documentation. With a judgement in hand you can squeeze them pretty hard to pay for damages or tie up their inventory with liens.Have funJoe S

 

[Stu Jackson]

Sorry to hear about your woes, but

Joseph nailed it. Please read reply #16 again, and go back to some of the good advice you rceived in your earlier threads. You CAN fight City Hall, but ya gotta get organized.

 

[ITMaster]

What has been said about being polite

paid off for me. I had a problem after warranty was out. My initial repair cost was going to be replacement to the tune of $3000.00 of one part.I contacted the "right person" with Catalina in Florida. He worked with me and got my problem resolved for less than half the 3K I was looking at initially, in fact close to a third of the cost, right at 1100. I am thoroughly convinced that I lucked out, but only due to several reasons.First, I was as humble and polite as I could possibly be. I wasn't threatening, I wasn't talking about lawyers, I appealed as one hard working person to another and as someone that had limited financial resources and as someone that was turning to them for help. I think that it is all about whom one makes contact with in the first place, if they have authority and resources and the "wind gods" being on your side and giving one a little good karma.I would think that the last person in the world that would have to go to the extremes they did would be Maine Sail though. It goes to show that my case was pure luck, cuz I don't know of anyone that would have as much good karma as he. Zodiac folks must be some class A jerks, thanks for the warning Maine Sail, that's one product I'll steer clear of in the future.

 

[John Nantz]

Old Saying: Nice Guys ('n Gals) Finish Last

I feel your pain and really empathize with your problem. Been there, done that. And more than once (okay, so I'm a slow learner).Trying to "work with the dealer/broker" goes just so far and if you've been wronged and you're not getting anywhere maybe it's probably time to run it up the flagpole.If you're not into law stuff maybe checking around for resources, starting with free ones, such at your county's web site. A while back I came across a section on our county web site and then there is the state web site, too. Attorney General/consumer (protection)? .... do some surfing and see what you can come up with. Maybe even check a local university if they have a law school. It's the end of the school year, maybe there is a student that could help???If you go this route, there is probably a time line that will have to be adhered to and if there is, find out what the critical dates are. Then there is the paperwork - must use the correct verbiage. In law there are certain terms that mean certain things, try to make sure the lawyer uses the proper term. Have some personal experience with this one!If the problem is with the manufacturer one should realize that laws in Europe are different than in the US and even though the Beneteau may have been made here the home office is over there. European law tends to apportion out the judgement according to the percentage of who is at fault, unlike in the US where it's usually and all-or-nothing judgement so that may have an affect on their decisions.If the problem is with the broker/dealer then it's also bad because they often are "poor" and don't have much in the way of assets. Plus, in this economic environment the dealer may be close to going out of business anyway. This is known as *stuff* happens.Also, be careful what you post on the Internet because the defense side could Google to find what you've said and potentially use that info.It's really bad and unfortunate when a dream turns into a nightmare. It may take a while but if it can give you some satisfaction, rather than just being nice and turning the other cheek, then go for it. At least what you learn may help in the future. Oh, and good luck.

 

[scuba hottie]

contingency case

Any suggestions for lawyers who would take on this case as a contingency case?

 

[Ross]

I can't determine where you are but you should be able

to find a lawyer more or less locally. God knows there are enough of them.

 

[John Nantz]

Talk to some local surveyors

Attorneys specialize just like doctors, engineers, and the like. They all have their areas of expertise so the first thing you want is someone who is in the particular area that you're having to deal with. The other thing is to know that they generally want to be paid for the fist consulatation. You might find one that would do this part for free.The next thing is to consider the attorneys location relative to the courthouse where they will be spending time in court, assuming it goes that far. As a minimum you should discuss their fees with regard to travel from their office to the courthouse. Even if they do it on a contingency basis they have to be paid one way or another, either out of the settlement or by the other party should they loose. You certainly don't want to go through all this and be essentially working for the attorney and you get ~ nothing.Another thing, it's hard to suggest an attorney when one has no clue where you are or what kind of issue(s) is/are involved. Plus, from what I've noticed, there are very few attorney or legal types on this board.Realize I don't know anything about the situation and the only thing I know is that it's related to a boat so in that case perhaps talking to some surveyors to see if they know any attorneys that deal in the kind of situation you have might be an idea. This is assuming, of course, that you've exhausted the other kinds of searches like the yellow pages, Internet, etc.In the meantime it would be good to get all the documentation organized so when you finally find someone to talk to you can impress them with what you have and minimize their time. Standardly, a three-ring binder with everything tabbed works well. For the purpose of just having a record, originals can be copied before holes are punched in them.Don't know what else I can add. These are just some random thoughts so hope this helps.