ComplaintsforTriton Marina

• Initial Complaint

  06/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Brought our boat to Triton Marina for a rough idle issue. Spoke with the owner **** who said he would get it done within the next week. They sent me an estimate for $3000 for what appeared to be non-related repairs. Boat is being traded in and I only asked for the idle issue to be resolved. I called **** and asked if the work on the estimate was really needed because it doesn't appear to be related to the idle and that the boat was being traded in &/or sold. He assured me the work needed to be done to resolve the idle issue so I approved it. The boat sat there for two months before the service tech called me to say the work was done but the boat runs rough. I explained to him the boat was in for a rough idle at which point he said he didn't know that and performed general maintenance. The work done for $3000 clearly was not related to an idle issue as **** assured me it was. In addition, the service tech didn't even know it was there for an idle issue and performed repairs that were definitely not needed at this time. The service tech then said it needed a distributor for the idle. They provided an estimate with 3 hours labor for a service that should only take 20 minutes. I questioned that but he said that the going rate. Obviously over charging the consumer again. They called me back in an hour to tell me the boat was done. Still charging me for three hours labor. We picked up the boat and found physical damage to the rear of the boat. We brought boat 2 hrs away and put in the water. Boat would not run and needed to be towed. Triton said bring it right back and they would take care of it. It went back to marina where it sat for another 2 weeks and they eventually refused to service because they "couldn't make me happy". They told me to get boat out immediately and left it covered in grease with engine parts not even put back on motor. The owner refused to repair damage or credit back any part of the invoices. There is more but no room

  Business response

  09/01/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2022/06/29) */ 1) MR. *****'S BOAT IS VERY OLD & HASN'T BEEN USED OR MAINTANED FOR MANY YEARS. WE TOOK THIS WORK IN AS A COURTESY, AS MR. *****'S SISTER WORKS FOR MY HEART DR. & ASKED IF I COULD HELP THEM OUT. WE NORMALLY DON'T WORK ON BOATS THIS AGE/CONDITION AS IT IS DIFFICULT TO SATISFY THE CUSTOMER DUE TO ONGOING ISSUES ARISING. SIMPLY PUT: THIS BOAT HAS NEGLECT / OLD BOAT PROBLEMS THAT REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT REPAIRS. 2) OUR POLICY IS ANY WORK VALUED @ OVER $100 RECIEVES A WRITTEN ESTIMATE THAT MUST BE APPROVED PRIOR TO ANY WORK BEING DONE. 3) PLEASE FIND ATTACHED 2 ESTIMATES FOR REPAIRS (#5485 & #5525). ALSO FIND APPROVALS FOR THESE REPAIRS ATTACHED. AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE APPROVAL FOR ESTIMATE 5485, MR. ***** THANKED US FOR "HELPING OUT WITH THIS". MOST LIKELY AN INDICATION NO-ONE ELSE WANTED TO GET INVOLVED IN THIS TYPE OF REPAIR WORK. PLEASE NOTE OUR TERMS LISTED IN YELLOW ON BOTTOM LEFT OF ESTIMATES. 4) ALSO FIND ATTACHED INVOICE #XXXXX FOR $0, AS A COURTESY. 5) ATTACHED PLEASE FIND ORIGINAL INVOICE XXXXX & A REVISED INVOICE REFLECTING A CREDIT OF OVER $300 EXTENDED AS A COURTESY. 6) AFTER MR. ***** CALLED & AGREESIVELY SCREAMED @ ONE OF OUR FEMALE CUSTOMER SERVICE STAFF THAT HIS LAWYER WOULD BE GETTING INVOLVED, WE CEASED WORKING ONE HIS BOAT (HIS INVOICES WERE ADJUSTED TO REFLECT A LOWER PRICE AS A RESULT. 7) PLEASE NOTE, ONE OF OUR STAFF DID MIX UP MR. *****'S NAME WITH ANOTHER CUSTOMER WITH A SIMILAR NAME. THIS RESULTED IN MR. ***** HAVING THE BOAT PICKED UP AS "COMPLETED" IN ERROR. WE ISSUED A CREDIT FOR THE AMOUNT MR. ***** REQUESTED = $200 (SEE ATTACHED CREDIT MEMO XXXXX). 8) ALSO FIND ATTACHED INVOICE XXXXX NOTING YET ANOTHER ISSUE DISCOVERED DURING OUR REPAIRS ("TPS" = THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR NOT FUNCTIONING CAUSING ENGINE NOT TO IDLE). THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHY WE AVOID WORKING ON OLD / NEGLECTED BOATS - ONGOING ISSUES ARISE. 9) THE BALANCE OF HIS COMMENTS ARE NOT ACCURATE. Consumer Response /* (3000, 11, 2022/06/30) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The boat was brought in for an idle issue. The owner insisted almost $4000 in repairs needed to be done. I questioned these unrelated repairs but he insisted again they were related. Based on his experience and knowledge and my lack of boat engine repair, I assumed he was correct and authorized the repairs. Nothing they repaired resolved the issue. My boat was there for two months and also received physical damage that the owner refuses to repair even though they acknowledged it happening in their yard. Ironically, I took the boat to another repair center and they fixed it within a week's time by resetting the ECM computer. It was a $150 fix and boat now runs fine. Boat is a 1997 and not that old so the owner's statement regarding age and neglect is absolutely false. Boat is serviced every year as needed. Owner replaced multiple parts that don't even relate to a rough idle issue. Someone please tell me how a gimbal bearing is related to the idle? or the exhaust manifold that were already replaced only a few years ago. After doing to research, I have found neither of those repairs have anything to do with a rough idle and those parts were replaced negligently, especially after I questioned why these parts needed replacement, taking advantage of me as a boater with limited engine knowledge. I trusted Triton Marina to perform the necessary repairs but received multiple invoices for repairs that were unrelated. In addition, the owner stated the boat needed a distributor. It's obvious now at this point it did not since a simple $150 ECM computer reset resolved the issue. Invoices were not adjusted as owner states with the exception of a $200 credit related to their "last name" mixup which seems quite a stretch since my last name is pretty uncommon and to have two of us in the same marina at the same time for boat repairs is a rather far stretch. My boat is still physically damaged from it's time at Triton Marina but owner **** not repair it. It's clear now that ALL invoices received from Triton Marina are unrelated to the idle issue that is was originally brought in for. The mechanic working on the boat even told me verbally that he serviced the boat but didn't know it was in for a rough idle until after he tried starting the boat after the parts were replaced. He stated to me he wished he knew that in advance and also didn't know the boat was being sold &/or traded in which is a clear sign the repairs completed were not related to the original rough idle issue. It's obvious that they did not repair the boat based on why it was originally brought in for service and didn't even know why it was brought in for service until after telling me it needed $3000 in repairs. It is not unreasonable to request a credit on the unrelated repairs, the physical damage to my boat or the expenses I incurred when they "mistakenly" told me the boat was done when it wasn't and I had it hauled 2 hrs away only to find out they didn't repair it yet. I then had to have it towed and hauled back two hours to Triton Marina where they still didn't fix the issue and then told me they were not working on it any more because it was an old boat and they "could not make me happy" They could have easily made me happy by fixing what was needed to be fixed and not arbitrarily replacing general maintenance parts without even knowing why the boat was there in the first place. This is not rocket science and should have never reached this point. Triton Marina clearly replaced parts unrelated to the original idle issue and told me they were related. The boat was not repairing and not even running when they told me to pick it up either time. It was covered in grease with engine parts still sitting on the floor of the boat. The correct and professional thing to do for Triton marina was to credit back the unrelated repairs since their own mechanic admitted he didn't know, or fix the boat as initially requested. Instead it sat for a total of almost three months and was returned in worse condition than it arrived, all while charging me close to $4000 total for repairs. Business Response /* (4000, 19, 2022/07/29) */ LC 07/29/2022- The business' response has not changed from the initial response. Please see below: RE: BBB Complaint Case# 36190992 (Ref#XX-XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX-XX-XXXX) External Inbox Admin Attachments Jul 28, 2022, 2:13 PM (18 hours ago) to me HI **** WE ARE NOT SURE HOW TO REPLY TO THE LATEST COMPLAINT FROM MR. SNOOK, OTHER THAT WHAT WE SENT PREVIOUSLY. THANK YOU,

• Initial Complaint

  12/03/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Incident - April 22, 2021 Triton Marina broke our contract for high/dry storage of boat with valet boating. Contract began on April 15, 2021 and went through April 14, 2022. We paid $3276 for a one year contract for High and Dry Annual storage for boat, which we had purchased from Triton sales in October of 2020. Boat was surveyed before purchase and considered to be "water ready". Contract stated that "fee includes DAILY forklift service during boating season and the use of the floating dock for loading and unloading". We call daily during boating season to have boat in and out of water and stored inside. We paid more for the contract so that the boat would not be stored out in weather or in water when not in use. As new boat owners, we wanted to take the best care of our boat. On April 20, we took boat out for first time and everything went well. We returned in plenty of time for dock manageto remove the boat from water and return to inside storage in our designated spot. We notified office staff that we were finished for the day We left assuming the boat was safe in the storage spot On April 22, about 4pm, I got a call from Triton staff saying our boat was taking on water. When questioned why the boat was still in the water, we were given no explanation. When I went down the next morning, Triton refused to take any responsibility. They had removed boat from water three days late, after the damage was done. Boat was totaled by Geico Insurance as the engines had both taken on water and the cabin was mostly under water. In sum, Triton broke their contact 7 days into our boating season by not removing it from water as the contracted stated which resulted in total destruction of our property. Triton was responsible for the destruction of our boat and refused to admit any fault and refused to refund any money for the storage of the boat. We hired a lawyer to try to help mediate, but Triton refused to talk discuss with lawyer.

  Business response

  12/08/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2021/12/08) */ **BBB note: A response to this complaint was submitted by the business as a separate document that is accessible online. If you received this notice via email, please click on the "Write a Response" button to visit the unique online caselink, then, open the appropriate attachment. If you received this notice via postal mail, please type in the caselink into your web browser and open the appropriate attachment. If you have any questions, please contact your caseworker. Consumer Response /* (3000, 8, 2021/12/13) */ RE: BBB Complaint Case# 3******* (Ref#XX-XXXXXXXX-********-X-XXXX) External Inbox *****, ****** <******@udel.edu> 2:24 PM (1 hour ago) to me My complaint has not been resolved. Triton Marina sent a letter from their lawyer stating things that they said are wrong with boat. Most are not true. Boat was in excellent condition until it took on water on their watch. They never addressed that fact that they broke the contract. We paid $3176 for a yearly boating contract for Hi/Dry boat storage. The contract stated that they will take boat in and out of water everyday if requested during boating season. The reason is to keep boat out of water when not using it, keeping it from water and weather. All boat owners know it is better for the boat. On April 20, five days into boating season, we took boat out. When we returned, we asked them to put boat back into high/dry because we may not be back for a few weeks. On April, 22, I got a call from service manager at marina saying the boat had taken on water. When asked "why is boat in water", they never responded. They had failed to honor their contract, resulting in the loss of our boat. Insurance company totaled boat and could not find a reason why it took on water. Triton is trying to say there was something wrong with it, but that is insignificant because the boat should NOT have been in water, via our yearly contract. Triton is responsible for the loss of our boat as they did not honor contract. We are asking for prince of storage back, $3176. Bottom line: If they had honored their contract and taken the boat out on April 20, it would not have sunk on April 22. Their argument that something was wrong (which was never proven), so therefore, it was not their fault is extremely flawed. My theory is as good as theirs. Maybe someone damaged the boat while it was in water for 2 1/2 days when it should have been safe in high/dry storage. Boat could not have taken on water if it was not in water. And Triton was responsible for removing it from the water on April 20, 2021. They failed to do their duty. Business Response /* (4000, 29, 2022/03/14) */ ill ******* 8:13 AM (4 minutes ago) to me THANKS FOR YOUR EMAIL. I HAVE REVIEWED THIS FILE FOR THE 4th TIME. HER ATTORNEY CONTACTED ME THREATENING LITIGATION I CONSULTED MY ATTORNEY & HE RESPONDED TO HER ATTORNEY (WE PROVIDED YOU COPIES OF BOTH LETTERS) AS NO LITIGATION WAS INITIATED BY HER, I ASSUMED THE MATTER WAS RESOLVED BY MY ATTORNEY'S LETTER TO CLARIFY OUR COMPANY POLICY - IF WE DO SOMETHING WRONG / MAKE A MISTAKE WE CORRECT THE ISSUE. I DO NOT BELIEVE WE WERE WRONG / MADE A MISTAKE. MY ATTORNEY AGREES & IT APPEARS AS THOUGH HER ATTORNEY DOES AS WELL AS NO LITIGATION WAS INITIATED AS SHE THREATENED. WE WANT HAPPY BOATERS, ITS HOW WE MAKE A LIVING. WE'VE BEEN SUCCESSFUL DOING SO FOR OVER 2 DECADES. REGRETTABLY YOU CAN'T PLEASE EVERYONE, AS THIS ONGOING ISSUE SHOWS.... I HAVE NO INTEREST IN ADDRESSING THIS ANY FURTHER, AS I VERIFIED WITH MY ATTORNEY WE DO NOT NEED TO - WE'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG AS WE'VE INDICATED AT LEAST 4 TIMES. MY TIME IS LIMITED AFTER HAVING 3 BACK SURGERIES OVER THE LAST 3 MONTHS, STILL RECOVERING A BIT & CATCHING UP ON THE PILE OF PAPER ON MY DESK. HAVE A GREAT DAY !!!! STAY WELL / SAFE

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