Garyb1307

It does seem strange that even Ebay offers protection for its customers if the item for sale is not as advertised, as they too are effectively brokers. Yet boat Brokers can advertise something, add a caveat that they are not liable in any case, then sell something that is not as advertised and walk away with zero responsibility. Kind of odd and something that people should be made aware of. Its not a nice introduction to the boating world to be honest. Seriously cool boat. Thank you. GB

Goodness, my tale of woe does not seem as bad now... I used to live in Croatia, Zagreb, it has a beautiful coastline, i spent two weeks down at Pag Island. Thank you for your much valued feedback. Seems like using a broker is of no value what so ever, other than giving a misleading perception that you will be given independent advice and will be protected. People should be made aware of this, which is unfair on the general consumer and a mine field for newbies. I will let Trading Standards do their investigation and see what i get in writing from my lawyer.

Hello Alan, I do understand your point, however if the boat is not as advertised, not just a little bit, but significantly then they are misrepresenting the item being sold by them. You cannot just add small print to say that buyer beware, as i have an email from them saying that they believe the seller is accurately representing the boat. It turns out that he did not accurately represent the boat, far from it, he misled me significantly. However i do not think that there was any collusion and maybe Boatshed were also misled. However the moral of this story is that you have zero protection going via a broker and never expect a broker to give you sound advice. As someone who has never bought or owned a boat before, i feel very let down by Boatshed. Disgruntled of Moscow...

Hi Alan, Yes, they confirmed in an email that the boat was as advertised, which was well maintained and serviced and mechanically sound. I have spoken to both citizens advice and trading standards. So basically, if they are selling something that is not as advertised, they are breaking the law and misleading the consumer. Yes, i was somewhat silly to not check the boat first, however i felt assured that using a broker would give me some comfort. So at this point, i have appointed lawyers and Trading Standards have taken up the case and are looking into what Boatshed are advertising, as if its not factual and the item for sale is not as advertised, then it is up to Boatshed and not the owner, who failed to turn up to the handover twice and no, we never got a river trial, as he never sent us the keys for the engines until after Boatshed has transferred the ownership to us. So imagine how i feel, when i bought a boat as a surprise for my son's 21st Birthday and i ended up with something that has a broken engine, broken drive, and everything else that came with it. I have heard of such things happening with cars, however i did not think that boat people would act in such a way,

To be honest, i totally relied on the word of boatshed, as i live abroad and its a 3000 mile one way trip to check for myself. So i double checked and asked for the personal word of Phil, from Boatshed, and he assured me of the mechanical integrity and mechanical function of the boat. My research led me to believe that the cosmetics are less of an issue, however, if you have mechanical issues, regarding the engines, drive or electrics then your at serious risk. I felt assured by Boatshed, so moved forward with the purchase, then the owner failed to turn up to the handover and sent the keys, however he did not send the engine keys. As a result the boat could not be trilled, tested or even moved. After several weeks of delays, my son eventually had to go and collected the keys from the owners home, by this time after the legal transfer, and by this time it was too late to find out the truth, which is that the boat is mechanically broken, one engine does not work, there and diesel leaks, the injectors are broken, the engine mounts are broken, cables are broken and this is before a full survey. I cannot be certain that Boatshed knew of the fact that the boat was not as advertised and was in fact only worth a few thousand pounds, as a project. However, what is certain is that Boatshed did not check any of this, before assuring me of the situation. As someone who is new to the boat world and never owned a boat before, its been a steep and very harsh learning curve. GB

Does anyone have experience of buying a boat via boatshed Suffolk. I recently purchased a boat and as i live abroad, i had to trust them to a large extent. Unfortunately after being assured that all was good, we picked up the boat after purchase and one of the engines does not work, the reverse drive does not work and following independent inspection, we were informed that its in a very bad condition with broken engine mounts, diesel leaks, broken injectors, broken cables, and a host of other problems. We have asked boatshed for a refund and they have immediately gone legal and refusing to speak to us. I am not sure what to do, can anyone advise us? Many Thanks, G