ComplaintsforHernando Beach Marina LLC

• Initial Complaint

  11/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On July 2, 2023, Hernando Beach Marina had a forklift over top of my boats **Top and a hydraulic line of some sort broke and ********* came crashing down on top of my t-top resulting in the top being cracked down the middle. ****, the Marina manager or whatever title he holds, called me to explain what had happened and how he is responsible for this and will get this handled in house. I reported it to my insurance company at that moment to have this accident on record. This entire process has been a fight trying to get my top fixed. It took **** 3 months just to figure out that my top was a plastic top and not a fiberglass top. So he told me that he will be replacing the entire top and will have to have a brand new one built for the boat since no one makes the plastic tops anymore. All this has been done only because of me making the attempt to call promptly every week. **** only reached out to me first a couple of times and only because I expressed to him how important it is to address this situation and to get it fixed. If it werent for my promptness, I doubt we would even be at this point. So, fast forward 4 months later, and today is now November 17, 2023 and **** called me last night to tell me that my top is fixed and ready to go. So I make my way out to the marina to get ready to load up the boat and I noticed the top is STILL NOT FIXED. It looks like a toddle mushed some play dough on the top and called it done. The cracks are still clearly visible. There are multiple s**** holes in it. And when I took a closer look, I realized that the **Top is the SAME plastic top as before. It wasnt replaced with a brand new top, like **** stated multiple times to me, no, it looks like the damage was just covered up with bondo and called it good. They didnt even try and make an attempt to make it halfway acceptable. This should not be my problem to fix since the Marina caused the damage. I didnt pay $25,000 for a boat to have a damaged **Top just Bandaged up.

  Business response

  11/18/2023

  This is in response to the letter written to BBB by one of our customers. On July 2nd 2023 the marina unfortunately had an accident when one of the hydraulic lines broke on one of our marine fork-lifts and caused the carriage to come down. This does not come crashing down but glides down as hydraulic fluid escapes the hose and or fitting. It stopped on top of the boats ****** The boat was removed from that spot and left less than 9-inch crack and indentation in a plastic top which sits on a T-Top frame. This also caused a small bow in the frame in the front. While a navigation light was damaged no other damages were present then and later. There were no gelcoat cracks and or frame cracks, creases, or weld brakes in the boat and or T-Top frame. In a proactive position, the marina manager contacted the customer within an hour of the event to let the customer know what had happened and that the marina would get it fixed. First, we had to find who built plastic tops for a **** Proline ****** Plastic tops are considered inferior to fiberglass tops and we could not find the original source or anyone that could reproduce a plastic top this effort did take a number of weeks. While we were in search of a solution, the marina advised the owners that the boat could still be in use while we waited for the solution. Second the complaint states that the customer called every week which is entirely false. There were numerous calls which I made pro-actively and as a follow-up to customers calls. As well as the customers calls. Through a lot of searching throughout the country for the Proline top manufacturer, the marina was finally able to locate a highly recommended business which has a great amount of experience with building T-Tops. The company informed us that they could not start this project until sometime in October and hoped for an October completion. They were not able to bring the completed top to the marina until the end of the second week in November. Top was put on the frame on November 14th and the finishing of the lights on the 15th. We contacted the customer on the 16th and per their request put the boat in the water on the 16th.The marinas service department reviewed the boat before I called the customer to tell him it was completed. On the 17th customer called to say the job was not done. The service department and general manager reviewed the top again and found that the top is new and the frame is secured and the job was a great success. I also called the manufacture of the hand-built top about the completely new top and he confirmed that it was new and made out of fiberglass.This new top is double layered with holes put in the exact spots of the original top. This new top has been matched with the same Seafoam gel coat coloring of the original top and is a lot stronger than the original material.There is no Bondo or putty patchwork this is a whole new top. The new top used the old top as a mold to make sure the new top was the exact fitting and size. I have sent an employee down to the fabricators shop 70 plus mile from here to pick up the old top so that anyone can compare and or prove to the customer that the top was replaced completely and with a better product. This new top is far stronger than the top being replaced. For the duration of October and November the marina also has not charged for storage. Attached are a few pictures of the old top sitting in front of the boat with a new top on and of the cracks. Also note old top had holes for screws. We welcome the BBB to visit our site and see to confirm what we have done.

  Customer response

  11/21/2023

   
  Complaint: 20884434
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Anyone who looks at this top can clearly see the original crack on this new T-Top. The finished product is not complete by any measure. There was no effort in even trying to fix the s**** holes from the original top. There shouldnt be this many imperfections on a brand new, newly built T-top. Someone needs to come out and evaluate this top in person and verify if it is indeed complete. In 4 months, the Marina Manager reached out to us only 3 times. The first phone call was when the accident happened, the second phone call was weeks and weeks later after I sternly expressed that I need to be notified/contacted at least once a week on the status on my top, and the final phone call was made to my wife, which was a voicemail claiming that the boat was complete. Also, the Marina did indeed charge us for storage for October AND November, but once I called them out on it, they only reimbursed us for Novembers payment and not October payment. Theres invalid information and many discrepancies in the marinas response to this issue. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

  Business response

  11/22/2023

  This could go back and forth with misleading statements from the complainer. I have made more than three calls to the Baldwins throughout the past months. Calls were made to *******'s number which is on file and ****'s number. Even called there emergency number which was to a parent. My calls originate from several different phone numbers. In addition, I have employees who have also made a few calls. Once again we had a long stretch of trying to find the solution for the plastic top since the old one was no longer made. Customer had access to the boat during the summer with the old top on it. Fall came and we were able to find a very respected fiberglass fabricator who builds tops. They started the work in October and finished in November. The old top was used as a mold for the new top. The new top is the same color as the old top but also double glass and way stronger than the old top. This is a far better top going on the **** Proline. The original complaint stated that there wasn't a new top and essentially calling me a liar and trying to deceive the customer about the top. We followed up with picture showing that the new top was on the boat and the old top standing next to the boat as proof of new top being built. It is true that while the top was being built I offered October and November storage free. We do billing automatically and they got charged, but was reversed. Due to adminstration oversite one month had to be done at a later date. 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩