Shady Business

I put money down by giving my credit card # over the phone on a boat posted at iboats. The dealer was Bee's Sports in MI. In return they gave me all title and registration information. 9 days before we were supposed to pick up the boat, they said they have another buyer and that we needed to overnight cashier's check. We weren't about to send cashier's checks w/o the good. So, we offered to drive that night and be there the next day. Then, they said everything was fine and that we could come the following weekend as planned. 2 days before our trip (MO to MI), they said the owners changed their minds and took the boat home. So, we contacted the owner. Yeah, you guessed it right! The boat was still for sale and it was still at the Bee's Sports according to the owner. They had another buyer probably willilng to pay more money (even though we agreed on the FULL asking price), and sold the boat to him. Once I confronted, they gave a sad excuse of how they weren't supposed to take the credit card and that they never ran it, etc., etc. You know I can find another boat, but it's the principle of things! Are we living in a society where everything goes any more and there is no right or wrong? Am I alone in thinking consumers deserve better?[/SIZE]

Re: Shady Business

I would sure be checking with your credit card company to see if any charges were made to it.
I would have a new card issued to be safe.
That is really shady what they did to you..

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...ya that stinks, i be PO'd for sure

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I sure hope you don't hold iboats responsible for such unethical behavior. . .not to mention a series of outright lies.

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No, I don't. I just wanted to get my story out so that others can be warned against the shady dealer!

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Having once sold boats at a brokerage in Florida, I would agree that what was done is unethical.

If the boat was subject to going back to the owner at any time, it was a brokerage sale, rather than a sale of used inventory owned by the dealer. What is supposed to happen is that you make an offer, the broker communicates with the owner and if the offer is accepted, the final deal is made once you sign a purchase agreement. Until that time, there really isn't a deal - its just good faith intention.

So, merely putting some money down on the boat isn't a firm commitment to buy it. That does not mean, however, that good business practice and ethics do not come into play. If everyone agrees that you will put an acceptable amount down on the boat, and will then show up 9 days later to close the deal, that's what should happen. Had you agreed to 4 days and then said it had to be 9, there might be an argument on the broker and/or owner's side of things, but that isn't the case.

Although no one ever wants to hear this, I would say that it is just as well that the deal blew up. Any broker who would do that to a customer is quite likely to be less than honest in other areas - like accurately describing the condition of the boat. You may have just dodged a bullet of significant proportions.

BTW, I looked up Bee's on the internet and they have been in business for 45 years. You might want to consider the possibility of this being attributable to a single, unethical salesman. That sort of thing does happen somewhat frequently. If it isn't the owner who you have been communicating with, you might insist that you talk to him/her.

My advice is to simply move on and find a boat that is closer to home, so that you can inspect it thoroughly before the deal making even begins.

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so what IS the principle of the thing ?,
that other people are imperfect and weak ?

my landlord put a deposit on a 40' boat the owner sold it to someone else , he says he would have upped his offer but the broker just wanted to move it.

So he just bought a 51' ...sight unseen no less.!
ain't life great?

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do you have a written agreement, or atleast an email agreement. i believe this could be considered fraud. i would also report the dealer to their state authorities, states attorney. make their day a little uncomfortable.

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Don't wast your time. Life is to short and to boot your message is getting out. There's always another boat and another season to find the right one, I'm sure there was a reason this deal didn't go through look at it as a godsend. You will find a better deal.

Regards;

Chris

Re: Shady Business

.
Every time this type of corrupt dealing is gotten away with the message is spread around, and more and more corruption will continue with others doing the same.

As time goes on this type of deal will just become a norm among crooked dealers.

Time will tell and people who are ripped of will spread the word, and those who cheat people will feel success in there life of adventure and getting by with it.

If you don't believe that watch the government, and it's politicians who sell the public anything and promise them the world, and hand them nothing but a bill they will never be able to pay the interest on.

When it costs them ( Shady Who-Dooders ) nothing they continue to rip off the public.

Many Business do it, and so do a lot of individuals of the public.

AKA ... Rodney Ripoff looking for Sally Sucker,
and if your boat don't float your sunk.

And you won't have a legal leg to stand on.

They teach this in many colleges business courses now a days,
and how to be sucessful at it.


bumpus
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Re: Shady Business

I think I would waste a little time, some paper, envelope and postage, sit down and write a very professional letter to the dealer manager, explain what happened and who you dealt with, you never know what may come out of it. If this dealer is a reputable dealer they need and probably want to know what is happening, after all it is their reputation on the line and they should have the opportunity to correct what is happening and hopefully they will.

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We hate to hear it when these kinds of things happen. While we don't hear of it often, we do hear of it. Please consider giving the dealership a call and ask for the owner. Talk to them and see what they have to say. They should at least be made aware of what is going on in their dealership. If the owner is rude then you are at a dead end. Let us know how it goes.

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It would be nice if iboats got involved to at least ask the dealer what happened. There are always more than one side to a story and being that iboats name is in the mix, there name could lend a powerful hand to the situation.

Just my 2 cents
Nick

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Thanks everyone for your feedback. Just so that you know, I did contact the sales manager, but was told they made some minor mistakes but that "I" am the one who crossesd the line by contacting the owner. Keep in mind we contacted the owner AFTER they told us the boat owner took it back to sell it themselves. My husband and I are "1st time buyers", so we were pretty green at this and just trusted that people would do the "right" thing, especially a dealer who's been in the business a long time. Again, I can move on and find another boat even with the bitter taste in my mouth, BUT I am sad to hear that this type of unethical dealings spread. They will continue to spread as long as we don't do anything about it. I plan to send a letter to the owner and state authorities, if for nothing else, for the future "1st time buyers" such as my children!

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BTW, I do have all of the e-mail communications which I will enclose with my letter.

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Good for you, osteenm. Keep the letter as professional as possible, stating facts that are backed up by the emails. Give times and dates (when you called the owners, etc.). Don't get into calling them names, just state how disappointed you were at the lack of professionalism and integrity to their word (nice ways of calling them unethical cheats without getting them on the defensive).

It will be interesting to see what happens. My guess is the owner will apologize and be be grateful that you pointed out dealings of an employee that did not put the company in the best light. The sales manager telling you of your wrongs going to the owner seem to indicate he knew what has happening and wants to cover his backside to the boss in case this goes any further.

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Good deal and as we have said, professional, nice, clean but get the point across. I have done this once myself, I worked on the letter for several days off and on until I had it where I wanted it, then mailed it to the dealer manager, in about three days I got a phone call at work, it was the dealer manager, all turned our well and we all came away happy. It can work.

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Any salesman or sales manager that would tell a customer that they had "crossed the line" for contacting the owner about a concern, is both a jerk and a lousy employee. As I mentioned before, those are also the ones who can often be found lying about a boat's condition and value.

BTW, have you checked your credit card company to see if the deposit was charged to it?

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Being that I am from Michigan I have experienced this "Sales Manager" first hand. I was looking to buy a small fishing boat a few years back and I noticed that they had a few listed that I was interested in. I called them to confirm that they did inded have these new boats in stock and the prices. I drove over an hour there and when I got there they only had one of the boats in stock and the price was significantly higher than what was quoated on the phone. I was dealing with the manager and he told me that the person on the phone must not have known what they were talking about. He was the one I talked with on the phone.

It is probably best that you found out this was shady before heading there. I ended up at a place about an hour in the other direction and have been happy since. I found that many dealers in my area were willing to talk to you about buying them, but they were high pressure sales and many of them bad mouthed their cometition to the point it was pathetic.