Boatshed Experience

[Garyb1307]

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  

[Mike Hurley]

55 minutes ago, Garyb1307 said:

 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. 

Bit late now but this is why you have inspections/surveys before purchase.

[Nut]

trading standards 1st port of call then claims court. there are certain letters to write in a certain way asking for a refund good luck I hope you nail them to the mast

[Chewbacka]

1 hour ago, Garyb1307 said:

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  

If you have clear written assurances then as above talk with trading standards, however if all they say is good condition given the price and age then .........

Sounds like you did not even start the engine before purchase, so did you instruct the seller or broker to do a basic sea trial and report to you?  If so you have a stronger case.

[Richard10002]

Were Boatshed the owners, or merely brokers?

Edited September 1, 2018 by Richard10002

[ditchcrawler]

They look to be brokers https://suffolk.boatshed.com/

[Arthur Marshall]

Part of their T&Cs:

" All particulars detailed on Boatshed websites and offices are intended to give a fair description of the vessel but their accuracy cannot be guaranteed, these particulars are not a part of any contract or offer ...The prospective purchaser is strongly recommended to check the particulars and where appropriate, at his own expense, to employ qualified agents to carry out surveys, structural and/or mechanical & electrical."

[Richard10002]

6 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

They look to be brokers https://suffolk.boatshed.com/

Yes... but, in this case, were they selling a boat they owned, or on behalf of someone else?

 

If the latter, it’s hard to see how they can be liable for much/anything, and the OP should be asking questions of themselves or their surveyor, (if they used one).

[ditchcrawler]

3 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Part of their T&Cs:

" All particulars detailed on Boatshed websites and offices are intended to give a fair description of the vessel but their accuracy cannot be guaranteed, these particulars are not a part of any contract or offer ...The prospective purchaser is strongly recommended to check the particulars and where appropriate, at his own expense, to employ qualified agents to carry out surveys, structural and/or mechanical & electrical."

Just like all Brokers 

[MtB]

4 hours ago, Garyb1307 said:

We have asked boatshed for a refund and they have immediately gone legal and refusing to speak to us.

 

I'm not surprised given you probably didn't actually buy the boat from them. They act as agents for local boat owners wanting to sell.

 

As there are (or were) simply a website listing boats photographed and described by 'local agents' (rather like on line estate agents), it is highly likely you purchased the boat from the previous owner who employed boatshed to market their boat for sale. 

 

What paperwork do you have and what does it say about who the seller is? 

 

I guess there is a possibility boatshed have started buying boats themselves and selling them on. If they have, and you bought one genuinely sold by way of trade by boatshed themselves, I think you get a lot more protection and that disclaimer counts for nothing. The boat MUST be described honestly when bought from a business. I think the same might apply with a private sale too but in this case you need to find out the name and address of the seller first from boatshed, which maybe an uphill struggle.

[alan_fincher]

1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

I think the same might apply with a private sale too but in this case you need to find out the name and address of the seller first from boatshed, which maybe an uphill struggle.

Surely even if it is a brokerage sale the paperwork must declare details of the actual owner, not just the brokerages details.  I don't think such information can be omitted.  Certainly when we both bought and sold Chalice through brokers, the buyer's paperwork showed name and address of the actual seller.

I know little about "Boatshed", but have always assumed it is a series of something like franchises, sharing a common name.  Hence I suspect whilst there will be forum members with experiences of (say) Boatshed Grand Union, because this is mainly a canals forum, few will have any experience of Boatshed Suffolk.  I'd be surprised if all were not entirely separate legal entities, so knowing anything about one will probably not help with another.

EDIT - Just checked, and my assumption was correct........

 

Quote

 

Boatshed brokerage businesses

Boatshed offices each operate under an individual license. Each office is a separate, legal entity with its own business and name, operating within its locality. As licensees of the Boatshed system, all offices have standard working practices, standard procedures and use standard agreements and contracts, so that each office maintains the highest levels of customer service and professionalism - concepts at the heart of Boatshed since it was formed by Neil and Mandy.

 

 

Edited September 1, 2018 by alan_fincher

[LadyG]

if I am any doubt, the first Q is..

do you own this boat outright, 

unless YES, or another answer which is clear who does own it, I pass.

Edited September 1, 2018 by LadyG

[ditchcrawler]

1 minute ago, LadyG said:

if I am any doubt, the first Q is..

do you own this boat outright, 

unless YES, I pass.

It definitely going to take you a long time to find a Narrowboat at a brokers if that's the case.  The only ones I can think of are aimed at the London live aboard market

[MtB]

 

37 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

Quote

 

Boatshed brokerage businesses

Boatshed offices each operate under an individual license. Each office is a separate, legal entity with its own business and name, operating within its locality. As licensees of the Boatshed system, all offices have standard working practices, standard procedures and use standard agreements and contracts, so that each office maintains the highest levels of customer service and professionalism - concepts at the heart of Boatshed since it was formed by Neil and Mandy.

 

 

Edited 32 minutes ago by alan_fincher

 

 

So it remains clear as mud as to whether each individual office acts as a broker or if they are buying and selling boats themselves by way of trade. Could be either I guess, so advice to the OP remains the same. Read the paperwork and see who you actually formed your contract with.

[LadyG]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

It definitely going to take you a long time to find a Narrowboat at a brokers if that's the case.  The only ones I can think of are aimed at the London live aboard market

Sry. that is if I have had some obfuscation, I appreciate most brokers don't own their own boats. Some do own some old sieves.

[Garyb1307]

16 hours ago, Chewbacka said:

If you have clear written assurances then as above talk with trading standards, however if all they say is good condition given the price and age then .........

Sounds like you did not even start the engine before purchase, so did you instruct the seller or broker to do a basic sea trial and report to you?  If so you have a stronger case.

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

[Naughty Cal]

Boatshed are a brokerage. You will have no come back from them.

 

You should really have gotten a survey on the boat before handing over the money.

 

Harsh as it may seem the only person at fault here is yourself. It may be an expensive lesson to learn but such is life.

[Bee]

A bad business for Garyb, who now faces a big bill and/or a load of hassle and has a boat that doesn't work. At least with a private sale you can talk to the owner - even if its on the phone - and know that he or she is aware of the state of the thing and if he is telling lies you can send the heavy gang round to put the frighteners on (I jest, but only a bit) Brokers simply cannot know what they are selling, if I have a boat with a failing engine or serious problems and I want to get rid a bit sharpish then a broker is the ideal way to flog it.

[alan_fincher]

I also suspect the OP will have little come back here, but I feel for them, and don't think anything is added by people giving "it's your own fault", answers.

I'm assuming all the assurances they had with the broker were verbal, because I doubt Boatshed will have been daft enough to make claims in writing about the boat that are not true.

If there are letters or emails that make claims that are blatantly untrue, then I'm not totally convinced it would be impossible to pursue a legal claim against them, but you will not get very far I think if you can say no more than "they (verbally) told me this", because all Boatshed have to do is claim they did not.  (Unless you have any independent witness to a conversation, of course).

 

[LadyG]

I always use email to communicate with business, I have learned from bitter experience.

[Arthur Marshall]

Will there not be a legal comeback against the seller, though? The boat must have been described in incorrect terms for the purchaser to have gone ahead with the sale.  Whether the costs involved, and the fact that recovery of any money awarded may well incur further costs, is a moot point., and, I suppose, should be weighed against the current actual sale value of the boat or the cost of all the repairs.

[Neil2]

FWIW I've had dealings with "Boatshed" which, as has been clarified, is really just a network of franchises.  I've had contact with a variety of franchise holders and it seems many of them either have day jobs or are retired so you're not dealing with full time boat brokers.  I think they rely on sales to get their commission, so clearly it is in their interest to secure a deal.  Furthermore when you consider the vast range of boats Boatshed advertise, it's very unlikely the franchise holder will have experience of every single type, and one I met seemed to know very little about boats generally...

 

In short it's a case of buyer beware or rather be very, very afraid.

 

I feel sorry for the OP but the bare facts are they bought something sight unseen without making some fairly basic checks and relying on a bucket load of trust in human nature.  We all know where that gets you in the boating world.  

[BruceinSanity]

42 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I always use email to communicate with business, I have learned from bitter experience.

This^^^. We’ve always insisted on email where any kind of contract is involved, meaning there some insurers, for example, we won’t deal with.

[BruceinSanity]

27 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Will there not be a legal comeback against the seller, though? The boat must have been described in incorrect terms for the purchaser to have gone ahead with the sale.  Whether the costs involved, and the fact that recovery of any money awarded may well incur further costs, is a moot point., and, I suppose, should be weighed against the current actual sale value of the boat or the cost of all the repairs.

It’s a sale by private treaty, so totally a case of caveat emptor. The only case I can see would be the criminal one of obtaining money by false pretences and I doubt if the cops would interested.

 

Part of me feels very sorry for the OP and part irritated. If he’s got a son in the U.K., surely he could have arranged a survey on a high value purchase. Boatfinder are clearly just like Apollo Duck in practice, basically, an advertising system and nothing more.

[MtB]

A couple of points. 

 

1) Naughty Cal has asserted Boatshed are a broker but offers no evidence to support this. Others say it’s a franchise so each office is a separate business but again, no evidence of which boat shed office is involved so again, no way of establishing if the seller is a boat shed business or they were agents for a private sale.  

 

2) the OP has still not clarified what their sales paperwork says about who they bought the boat from. 

 

3) the OP has implied now this was a small/cheap boat so we may not be talking about a lot of money, so getting lawyers involved may not be viable. Yet a twin engine boat is unlikely to have been cheap. 

 

4) a twin engine boat is unlikely to be a canal boat. 

 

5) their naivety at buying sight unseen feels odd. Is this a wind up?