Do you know these Boat Builders?

[Sas]

Polish for ' thank you' of course!!

[Nightwatch]

Arh! Yes, of course. Silly me.

[Diapason]

With regard to Viking Canal Boats Ltd, it may be helpful to some of you to hear of my experience with them.

I first met them at the Crick Boat Show this year (end of May) and my partner and I fell in love with the big show boat - a 70'x12' widebeam, which was well appointed and available at an attractive discount (£110k).

Briefly, we put down a £2000 deposit as a show of faith and agreed to pay the balance within a week. We'd just exchanged contracts on the sale of our house and were expecting completion in a week's time.

Meanwhile (we discovered later) Viking placed an advert in Apollo Duck on 1st June for the same boat at £119k. Perhaps they were hedging their bets, but to me this was blatant double dealing.

I was led to believe that the boat was securely in our grasp and I even purchased mooring at a marina and paid for the cranage from the lorry to the water (another £1200).

Unfortunately the completion date on the house sale was delayed and I was pressured to get a loan. This was unsuccessful and I arrived at the marina two weeks after the Show to find that Viking were making alterations to suit the requirements of the new owners (who had bought it quite innocently).

I have been unable to get my deposit and expenses refunded. The new owners are faced with the cost of moving their new purchase to another marina near London as Viking have left them to it. The boat will have to be hauled out on to a low loader and taken by road because it is too big to take it by river/canal.

Is this the behaviour of a responsible boat builder? I suspect there may be other victims out there, unable to get their deposits refunded and I suggest they contact me if they have had the same experience.