Alan de Enfield

You have been knocked unconscious - as you fell in, your head hit the pontoon, lock wall, side of a boat etc. Thats why we wear auto-inflate lifejackets !

It now sounds very much like the standard BMF brokerage sales contract. BUT they all say they do this: ".....all moneys deposit and balance are held in a “client trust account”. “Separate and distinct from the brokers own monies”. But, in reality, (Maybe not the broker you are dealing with), there are a number who do not actually do it - and no one enforces it until the broker cames on 'hard times' and dips into the client-account and we have another example of the 'Nottingham Broker' There are an increasing number of Phoenix companies who 'go bust' and set up again with a new name

You can buy the water activated device that inflates a lifejacket for about £3 to £5 on aliexpress with a bit of ingenuity I bet you could attach it to a horn similar to that on the hand held 'air horn' Add a 16gram CO2 cartridge and "Robert is your mothers brother"

And, recent history in the South West, and South East suggests that mains-water consumers should be concerned.

But a lot better than ""Domestos kills 99% of all household germs."

That is very unusual - there is normally a clause saying that if the cost of repairs exceeds an agreed % of the purchase price then you can walk away with your deposit returned. With the agreement you have (and due to the age of the boat this is unlikely) if the boat is needing (say) £20,000 of overplating would you be happy to walk away and lose your deposit, or would you be prepared to pay an additional £10k to buy the boat ? Are you sure there is no clause about "right to refund of deposit" ?

My hiking water filter is 1 micron absolute and the bumpf states : * The MINI removes 99.99999% of all bacteria, such as salmonella, cholera and E.coli; removes 99.9999% of all protozoa, such as giardia and cryptosporidium... * High performance filter fits in the palm of your hand, weighs 2 ounces and filters up to 100,000 gallons (30 times more than comparable filters)... I also put inline an activated charcoal filter to remove 'taste' from soil, peat, hydrocarbons etc I do not use UV

I have no knowledge on that - it just seemed to "die a death" Whichever way it resolved itself there would be unhappy & out of pocket folk - the seller 'sold his boat' and didn't get the money, or the buyer paid for the boat and didn't get the boat, The loan company who lent against securities (boats) he didn't own The multiple people who 'bought & paid desposits' on the same boat etc etc.

we do have one of those .........................

Not a good idea to suggest that in Australia following the mass shooting a few months ago ! But that aside, its hardly a boat that inland boaters would have much experience of Presumably you bought the boat 'unseen' ? Are you a living human ?

Yes - it seems a very strange suggestion. You might not have electricity, but you have several weeks worth of gas so you can still boil the kettle, cook your meals, wash, shower etc etc

Both BMF and RYA code of conduct states that brokers must hold customers payments in a 'customer account' which cannot be used for business expenses - however, as is not uncommon on the Inland wateways, this is not enforced, as seen by the case in Nottingham where the broker took several deposits on the same boat, even 'selling' a boat he had in for repair (not for sale) and spent all of the money keeping his business "afloat". He went bankrupt and it all came out but both sellers and buyers were done out if many £10,000s. BMF code of practice re customers monies Handling Customer Monies (Brokerage) Boat brokers must protect customer monies by using: A solicitor’s trust account (escrow account) whereby 1.1 A solicitor holds the money until the transaction is completed. This will require an agreement between the parties and the account will require all party signatures for funds to be released. 1.2 Confirmation of use of this method will be required by BMF from the member’s solicitor that such an arrangement is in existence initially and then at any such intervals as the BMF may decide. Members are also required to sign a declaration that such an account is being used to hold brokerage monies. Members will then be required to declare that such arrangements continue to be in place and that such an account is used to keep brokerage monies on an annual basis via the BMF turnover declaration form. OR;A separate client bank account whereby: 2.1 The member will set up a bank account exclusively for holding customer monies, preferably with a separate bank to that which holds the business’s other accounts. 2.2 Confirmation will be required from the member’s bank that such an account is in existence initially and then at any such intervals as the BMF may decide. Members are also required to sign a declaration that such an account is being used to hold brokerage monies. Members will then be required to declare that such arrangements continue to be in place and that such an account is used to keep brokerage monies on an annual basis via the BMF turnover declaration form. Suggested wording acceptable to the BMF for confirmation from the bank is shown in appendix A or available directly from the BMF. Summary of some of his actions : Justin Wigoder, prosecuting, said the company acted as a brokerage and helped people who wanted to buy or sell boats. It traded legally but ran into trouble in 2013 when it risked being wound up. "Mr Shakespeare's initial response was to legitimately take out a loan which totalled £126,000, secured against assets. However that sum did not suffice so he turned to dishonesty. "He secured a further loan for £140,000 from a separate company, using as security boats he did not own. They had simply been entrusted to his yard to be sold by him. "When that amount didn't suffice, he turned to the straightforward theft of selling the boats and keeping the proceeds to himself," said Mr Widoger. Some of the cash was transferred to another firm. One victim was pensioner Terence Emmerson, who arranged for the company to build a houseboat and later asked for it to be sold for £72,000. It was sold for £10,000 less than that. "He never paid the money but sent him a cheque for £30,000 which bounced," said Mr Wigoder. Michael Sanderson, 78, built a 58ft narrow boat named Speedwell and later arranged for the firm to sell it. The boat was sold for £43,000 but the cash was never handed over. A long thread discussing it is here :

Could it be the inverter squeeling "low voltage" when she turns the igition on ?

And if you think that having an MOT means you dont need do that (and more) you are deluded ! "The boat has a BSS so you don't need a survey !"