ComplaintsforNaughty Nauticals

• Initial Complaint

  07/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  We rented a boat with it's captain through Boatsetters for a 6 hour boat cruise on 7/3/2023 on Lake of the Ozarks for a family celebrating a 40th birthday party. The add states it has seating for 10 guests with below deck salon, kitchen, and bathroom. When the captain arrived he could not dock the boat himself. My husband, who is 73, and my two sons-in-law had to help him. When the nine of us got on board there was not enough seating room for all of us unless we used unsafe chairs he tied on the bow. Two adults and a toddler then got off the boat and couldn't go. My husband had to untie and push the boat off the dock. The captain proceeded to take us to see mansions. We told him we were very hot and wanted to swim. My daughter-in-law and two children, ages 13 and 11 went below deck because they were over heated. He didn't want them down there because he lives on the boat. It was disgusting and not like the pictures. My daughter-in-law got very ill because he was going so fast. He hit something hard. He finally stopped the boat and my son and the two kids got in the water. He wouldn't put the anchor down and floated far away from them. He almost crashed into other boats and boats were moving away from him. He left my family floating far away in the water for a long period of time until he finally put the anchor down which required my husband helping him and taking the wheel several times while he ran around the boat. We cooled off in the water and then told him to take us back early because I didn't trust him. He said we had to pay for gas for our use, which I understood. We went no more than 8 to 10 miles on the boat. He filled his boat up with 70 gallons of gas that I had to pay for in order to get back. 70 gallons for under 10 miles? He ripped us off. He could not operate the boat himself, he expected help, he was an unsafe driver, the boat could not safely fit 10 guests as advertised, he didn't want us below deck, ripped us off, and he put my family at risk.

  Business response

  08/01/2023

  I called her that morning and told her I was an hour away which is 20 miles away from her pickup point.  Customers pay for gas from port to port from when I leave my slip from my dock.  Gas is $4 a gallon so that is $8.00 a mile for 2 engines, that means one way to get to her pickup is $160.00.  Return to home base is also same cost.  I did not charge her for return to home base, that came out of my pocket.  Before accusing someone of fraud it is best to understand the fuel policy before making any fraudulent claims.  Concerning assistance on the boat:  Every charter for 3 years, people are more than willing to help me park a 37 foot boat, not once has anyone complained to a captain about any task they were asked to do.  Concerning complaining about overheating and wanting to get in the water:  It was faster to have people jump in the water and hover by than to set an anchor in high wind, which that day we had.  The customer used my equipment to float in the lake and put a big inflatable dock and different float devices in the water and then listens to her foul language complaining about everything I did.  It was her decision to leave early from the charter and return home.  They were picked up safely, dropped off safely and refueled safely with no problems.  In my opinion, the customer didn't fully understand what she signed up for and it is helpful that the customer does his/her homework before they make fraudulent claims.  Vendor requests to be paid for fuel vendor paid out of his own pocket.

  Customer response

  08/02/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  In his response, he clearly states that he cannot operate the boat by himself and expects help. No where was this expectation stated. I provided the add and it does not state that help is required. He told my husband that he won't hire a first mate because he would have to pay them $400.00. He gave orders to my husband to help him the entire time we were on his boat so he could run around and take care of the boat. I provided pictures to prove my husband had to take the wheel several times. I did not pay for a boat and a captain to provide him with help and him to give orders to my husband to help. We did not have the use of the cabin area as the add stated because he lives on the boat. No where in the add did it state that he lives on the boat so the cabin area is private. I provided this add in my complaint. His bed was unmade. It was a mess. We did not take out the food that we brought because it was disgusting. No where in the information that I was provided, and provided in this complaint, does it state that I am responsible to pay for his gas to get to our destination where he picked us up and for his return. He held us hostage to pay for the gas so we could get back We ended the trip 4 hours early because we felt unsafe. His operation of the boat was reckless and unsafe for us because other boats kept starting up their engines and moving away. We had to tell him that he was going to crash into boats. He left my family in the water and drove away from them because he did not want to move items on the top of the boat to put down the boat anchor. I provided a picture of my family far away in the water. The boat does not fit 10 passengers safely as the add states because he has make-shift, unsafe chairs tied down on the top of the boat. I provided pictures. As a result, 3 family members could not go.

  In conclusion, we did not receive the service that we paid for that included a captain and a boat. The captain could not safely operate the boat by himself and expected help, the boat capacity of 10, as the add states, is not true because he provides unsafe, make-shift, tied down chairs, as a result 3 family members could not go, use of the cabin is not true because he lives on the boat, nowhere did it state that I am required to pay for his gas to our destination and back and he held us hostage to pay for the gas so we could return, and he is an unsafe captain because he came close to crashing into other boats and drove away from my family in the water.

  This guy cannot provide the service as his add states. He may get by with all of this by having partiers on the boat, but he knew we were a family and should have declined providing the service to us because he could not safely provide it by himself, which is the service that we paid for. This guy is a rip off artist. 
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ****

*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. ↩