Hello Everyone,
Someone has tried to scam me out of buying a boat. It happened on 14Th Monday December 2020. Is a Liverpool boat, said to be built in 2006 (but it was built in 1999).
Three weeks earlier he was trying to force me to buy it without a survey but I could manage to do it paying 200£ (which I lost) as a deposit. We agree that I would get back the money if the deal didn't work so I trusted him (so naïve, I know).
The thing is that he is trying to sell (40000£) a narrowboat around London (built by Liverpool boat builder) built in 1999, saying that it was built in 2006. After the survey, the surveyor recommended me to ask for the HIN plate number (which it isn't anywhere in the hull plate). When I asked him for the HIN/CE plate number he was reluctant to give me it, but I said I wouldn't make any deal if I didn't see it, so he finally show me all the papers and I saw the HIN plate number which indicate that the boat was built in 1999.
For me it do matter the year in which was built as the older the boat the more problems get and for sure the cheaper should be, hence don't try to sell me an overpriced boat from 1999 saying that was built in 2006.
Be careful folk, he is trying to sell it around London, I wouldn't buy any boat without the HIN plate number, would you buy a car without the Identifier on the car chassis? if you don't get that unique identifier anyone can make up the year in which the boat was built. And for sure I wouldn't buy a boat without a recent survey.
I really hope this experience helps to someone to not commit the same mistake.
Best Wishes,
Antonio.