Sunday 18th June 2017.
We recently took a £1000 deposit for a beautiful one owner Narrow Boat.
The potential buyer (I. Kng/AKA. Grumpy Trika) had been rude and aggressive and intimidating towards our staff. He shouted derogatory comments and slander about our company across the car park while a member of our team was with a customer. The customer was actually appealed at his rude and aggressive behaviour and has actually stated this to us in writing.
He insisted that if we did not do things his way then he would let everyone know what a bad company that we were even though we had not deviated from any of our processes or anything that we had agreed to do.
He constantly wanted us to change the way that we had successfully done things for decades. He insisted that he new better.
It is difficult it you offer several times to talk to someone about any concerns that they may have if they will not talk to you.
As a company we, as do many other companies have a zero tolerance towards aggressive or rude behaviour towards any of our team or people that threaten to slander our company with unfounded and untrue facts and derogatory comments if we do not do things there way.
We have worked hard as a team over decades to make our Company as successful as it is today. We have sold 1000s of boats and we sell in the region of 350 boats a year and 99.99% of the buyers and sellers are delighted with the excellent service that our company and team offer. However every year there are always a handful of people that insist that things are done their way. These are normally the people who shout JUMP and when our response is not HOW HIGH then they write an untrue, inaccurate, unfair, review and put derogatory comments about our team or company even though we have not done anything wrong. We have just followed the processes that we had all agreed to.
Our processes are clearly detailed on our web site and very transparent for all to see. If anyone does not agree with any of these processes then we clearly are not the broker for them. However 1000s of buyers and sellers and 99.9% of them are more than happy with our processes every year. It is unfair to accept them and even sign to accept them and then threaten to slander our company if we do not do things their way. Just as this buyer has tried to do. The processes are there to protect both the buyer and seller.
We always deliver what we say we will and we never deviate from the processes that have been in place and worked for decades. They are there to protect both buyers and sellers. If we do get it wrong then we always put it right.
We are constantly reviewing our processes to see if we need to make any changes to make us an even better company.
We will return a deposit as per the following which is detailed on our web site:
Deposits are refundable if the vessel has a full out of water survey carried out by an independent surveyor and faults are found with the hull or the engine that exceed more than 5% of the asking price of the vessel.(Within 4 weeks of giving deposit). We will need to see the survey detailing any faults for the hull or the engine that equates to the 5% as listed above. Otherwise deposits are not refundable if a buyer pulls out of the sale.
The buyer had signed at the deposit stage to acknowledge and accept the above.
There was only a few hundred pound of work that was required on the vessel based on the outcome of an independent survey. There was no work required on the hull or the engine equating to more than 5% of the asking price of the vessel. The buyer had already had more than the cost of the repairs reduced off the price of the vessel and therefore the deposit was not refundable if the buyer withdrew from the sale.
The buyer also refused to give us a copy of the survey detailing the work required based on the outcome from the independent survey. He wanted us to accept a 2 page clipping that he had put in an email with no relevance to the boat or the surveyor who carried out the survey.
We have a duty of care to our sellers and it clearly states on our web site that we require a copy of the survey if a buyer wants us to renegotiate the price based on the outcome from an independent survey. We cannot just accept a buyer’s word.
The buyer has withdrawn from the sale because the seller would not agree to give more monies off the price of the vessel based on the fact that they had already reduced the price by more than the cost of the works required from the outcome of the independent survey. Which was just a few hundred pounds. The buyer threatened to slander our company if we did not give him his deposit back.
If a company does not return a deposit it is used to cover their costs. We do sometimes return deposits even if the above 5% term is not met and this is partly based on attitude. We will not be threatened into returning a deposit. On that basis we obviously have not returned and will not be returning this buyers deposit or any part of it.
Our managing director has agreed to donate all the deposit (£1000) to Macmillan. This was not about the monies from the deposit but about someone’s attitude and threats towards our company. Please see the donation receipt below.
We would like to thank the 1000s of genuine happy buyers and sellers who have chosen us as their preferred broker based on our company ethics, morals, standards and processes that work.
We are members of the British Marine Federation and we have to follow a strict code of practice, which we do.
You can see what a few of our genuine buyers and sellers think of our excellent brokerage service by seeing the What Our Customers say on our web site. These are genuine reviews that show the full names of the buyers and sellers and the name of the boat that they have either purchased or sold via our excellent brokerage service.
Thank you
The team
Update Thursday 28th June 2017.
We have today received an email from this buyer stating that if we give him 50% of his deposit back minus the money that he owes for the trailer then he will cease making public comments about our company and cease legal preparation. He is also refusing to pay the money that he owes £250.00 + VAT for the trailer payment. This payment is now overdue.
We will not be refunding the deposit and we will not be forced or blackmailed into doing so. We will be perusing the payment for the outstanding invoice for the trailer payment.
Update 23rd July 2017.
This beautiful one owner Narrow Boat has now been sold again. The boat was surveyed again and the result of the survey was fantastic. Deposit taken,boat surveyed, contracts completed and exchanged, and handed the boat over within 3 weeks. Now that’s what you call service. We would like to wish the new proud owner many years of happy boating. You were all an absolute pleasure to deal with. Thank you for all your kind comments.
Thank you
The team
