Shocking service from Mobile Marine Services - Craig Hanly
a warning for all my bassing friends
The following is not my opinion but a run down of events and the actual facts around very poor service and incomplete delivery from Mobile Marine Services that has so far stretched over a 3 month period.
In April 2010 I accidentally drilled a hole through the hull of my boat. I am sure I am not the first to do this and I am also sure I will not be the last anyway not too much of a big deal and I soon had it fixed better and stronger than it was before. However when I got under the boat to inspect the work I saw a nice big gash in the keel of the boat. It was a nasty one through the gel coat and into the glass and needed to be professionally repaired. I had also been having some problems with the boat cutting out whilst trying to get it out the hole shot.
This is where the fun starts. I contacted Craig Hanley from Mobile Marine Services, many of you may know him if not directly you would have seen his adverts in various forums, especially on this forum. I discussed the problems with him and gave him a complete niggle list of what I wanted done to the boat.
Here is a list of things that were agreed upon to be done.
• Keel to be repaired and re-sprayed.
• Keel guard to be fitted.
• Trailer lights to be replaced with LED lights.
• Small hairline cracks around gunnels to be repaired.
• Carpet to be replaced (due to the gunnels repairs it had to be lifted).
• LED lights to be fitted into the hatches.
• Running LED lights to be fitted.
• Trailer tie down welded to trailer to be repositioned as to not interfere with transducers.
• Motor serviced and cutting out problem fixed.
• Water pump impellor to be replaced
• Back pole light to be fixed.
• Boat polish to take out all previous sticker marks and to make it look brand new (R600 worth of a polish)
Mobile Marine Services sent me an invoice/quote that I immediately paid in full. Craig Hanely promptly collected my boat on the Monday 19th April with an estimation that I would have it back on Friday 2nd May (5 days). The 2nd May came and went but no boat was forthcoming. I was then promised the boat back before the 15th May and that I can make what ever fishing commitments I like as I would 100% have the boat back by the 15th. On that promise I made pre-fishing commitments and invited Robdog to fish with me. As you can imagine the 15th came and went and I had to disappoint people at the last minute because my boat had not been delivered as promised and Craig was not available or would not take my calls. I have 18 phone calls to Craig on record for this time period, most of which are only seconds long as they were ignored and dealt with by his message system. After many frustrated calls I finally received the boat back on the 20th May Just in time for 1 pre-fish at RDW before the monthly comp.
When I got the boat back the keel and the few hairline cracks had been repaired. However the keel guard was not fitted, the trailer lights had not been replaced, the carpet did not need replacing so wasn’t (but was paid for in full), hatch lights were not installed, running lights were not installed, trailer tie downs had not been repositioned, the motor had not been serviced, the impellor had not been replaced, the back pole light was still broken, the boat was filthy and full of paint dust and certainly had not been polished. In addition to what hadn’t been done, items that were on the boat were missing. The transom saver was not returned, the boat left with a full 70lt petrol tank and came back empty, completely empty, bone dry. The clamps on the deck for the rod tie downs were incomplete and had been removed but not put back on. The boat was also returned with oil tank disconnected, all batteries disconnected and all electronics disconnected from battery terminals and wound up and hidden, the latter three I only discovered on the water the following day.
An hour or two later, everything was reconnected and I was up and away and the boat went perfectly, like it always did. The following week Craig from Mobile Marine Services arrived at the house to service the boat, replace the impellor and give my boat a R600 wash before the comp on Saturday; however nothing else that had been paid for but was still outstanding was even attempted to be done. At the start of the comp I floored the boat, but something was wrong and the boat did not perform. We stayed at the venue the night before so we could be first in line to get our numbers and my fishing partner did a sterling job getting us position 7 only to be overtaken in a race to the river as the boat was some 30kmph slower. This was thought to be due to the in-correct spark plugs being fitted during the service that Craig had done. Not that a service was due as Craig had serviced it only 4 months previously, but heck in for a penny in for a pound with the intention that once all this had been done I would enjoy the boat without having to worry about anything for at least the next 12 months. However after using the boat for the 1st time at the Vaal CFC after the spark plugs had been changed back to the original ones the boat is still underperforming and will not go above 5000rpm and the original problem of the boat stalling during pull off is still there. So at the end of the day and several thousand rands later the original problem still isn’t fixed and it is actually worse off with new additional problems then before Craig had touched it.
With Craig still owing me R4900.00 for carpets that did not get replaced I was also promised that immediately after the comp everything else would be sorted out, lights, trailer, keel guard etc etc. To date everything else is still outstanding and Craig still owes me the money for the carpets and all that has been done is a very short 3ft keel guard for a 17ft boat in a totally uncomplimentary colour has been hap-hazardly fitted (but I have been promised that it will take it proper shaped when it heats up and bonds to the hull?). I have sent Craig numerous requests via e-mail, sms and left several messages on his phone as he will not take my calls I have made to him to ask him to please pay the money he owes me and to complete the work that was paid for.
2 weeks ago I did manage to get hole of Craig and as I was going to Inanda the following week he promised me that he would be there first thing in the morning of Thursday 8th July. Take the boat for a test run and fix what ever needs to be fixed. Thursday morning came and I received an SMS saying he was running a little late but without any further calls or SMS’s we waited at the house in vain as he never arrived. This is now nearly two weeks ago and I have still heard nothing more from Craig since then.
I am now left with now option but to hand this matter over to my legal representatives who will add legal fees plus sheriff fees to monies already owed* (*carpets, work not completed and products not delivered). I was asked to pay this money up front as Craig had to pay for the carpets and for the repairs etc which is understandable. However Craig from Mobile Marine Services never incurred the cost of the new carpets etc so should never of spent the money that was paid for this sole purpose. I am not sure legally but will find out later today, this could actually be theft, fraud, embezzlement or a combination of all three.
We are all adults and we all choose whom we deal with. This is intended as an example of what can go wrong and as such have only supplied the facts. I hope that everyone can learn from my lesson. What I have learnt is that if the person supplying a service and or product can not operate on a COD basis, do not do business with them regardless of what references you have for them, as more than likely they will have law suits against them and any deposits paid up front will go towards those law suits and or other expenses that have nothing to do with you.
THE END (for now, obviously I will keep you all updated as to what transpires and what the final outcome is)
a warning for all my bassing friends
The following is not my opinion but a run down of events and the actual facts around very poor service and incomplete delivery from Mobile Marine Services that has so far stretched over a 3 month period.
In April 2010 I accidentally drilled a hole through the hull of my boat. I am sure I am not the first to do this and I am also sure I will not be the last anyway not too much of a big deal and I soon had it fixed better and stronger than it was before. However when I got under the boat to inspect the work I saw a nice big gash in the keel of the boat. It was a nasty one through the gel coat and into the glass and needed to be professionally repaired. I had also been having some problems with the boat cutting out whilst trying to get it out the hole shot.
This is where the fun starts. I contacted Craig Hanley from Mobile Marine Services, many of you may know him if not directly you would have seen his adverts in various forums, especially on this forum. I discussed the problems with him and gave him a complete niggle list of what I wanted done to the boat.
Here is a list of things that were agreed upon to be done.
• Keel to be repaired and re-sprayed.
• Keel guard to be fitted.
• Trailer lights to be replaced with LED lights.
• Small hairline cracks around gunnels to be repaired.
• Carpet to be replaced (due to the gunnels repairs it had to be lifted).
• LED lights to be fitted into the hatches.
• Running LED lights to be fitted.
• Trailer tie down welded to trailer to be repositioned as to not interfere with transducers.
• Motor serviced and cutting out problem fixed.
• Water pump impellor to be replaced
• Back pole light to be fixed.
• Boat polish to take out all previous sticker marks and to make it look brand new (R600 worth of a polish)
Mobile Marine Services sent me an invoice/quote that I immediately paid in full. Craig Hanely promptly collected my boat on the Monday 19th April with an estimation that I would have it back on Friday 2nd May (5 days). The 2nd May came and went but no boat was forthcoming. I was then promised the boat back before the 15th May and that I can make what ever fishing commitments I like as I would 100% have the boat back by the 15th. On that promise I made pre-fishing commitments and invited Robdog to fish with me. As you can imagine the 15th came and went and I had to disappoint people at the last minute because my boat had not been delivered as promised and Craig was not available or would not take my calls. I have 18 phone calls to Craig on record for this time period, most of which are only seconds long as they were ignored and dealt with by his message system. After many frustrated calls I finally received the boat back on the 20th May Just in time for 1 pre-fish at RDW before the monthly comp.
When I got the boat back the keel and the few hairline cracks had been repaired. However the keel guard was not fitted, the trailer lights had not been replaced, the carpet did not need replacing so wasn’t (but was paid for in full), hatch lights were not installed, running lights were not installed, trailer tie downs had not been repositioned, the motor had not been serviced, the impellor had not been replaced, the back pole light was still broken, the boat was filthy and full of paint dust and certainly had not been polished. In addition to what hadn’t been done, items that were on the boat were missing. The transom saver was not returned, the boat left with a full 70lt petrol tank and came back empty, completely empty, bone dry. The clamps on the deck for the rod tie downs were incomplete and had been removed but not put back on. The boat was also returned with oil tank disconnected, all batteries disconnected and all electronics disconnected from battery terminals and wound up and hidden, the latter three I only discovered on the water the following day.
An hour or two later, everything was reconnected and I was up and away and the boat went perfectly, like it always did. The following week Craig from Mobile Marine Services arrived at the house to service the boat, replace the impellor and give my boat a R600 wash before the comp on Saturday; however nothing else that had been paid for but was still outstanding was even attempted to be done. At the start of the comp I floored the boat, but something was wrong and the boat did not perform. We stayed at the venue the night before so we could be first in line to get our numbers and my fishing partner did a sterling job getting us position 7 only to be overtaken in a race to the river as the boat was some 30kmph slower. This was thought to be due to the in-correct spark plugs being fitted during the service that Craig had done. Not that a service was due as Craig had serviced it only 4 months previously, but heck in for a penny in for a pound with the intention that once all this had been done I would enjoy the boat without having to worry about anything for at least the next 12 months. However after using the boat for the 1st time at the Vaal CFC after the spark plugs had been changed back to the original ones the boat is still underperforming and will not go above 5000rpm and the original problem of the boat stalling during pull off is still there. So at the end of the day and several thousand rands later the original problem still isn’t fixed and it is actually worse off with new additional problems then before Craig had touched it.
With Craig still owing me R4900.00 for carpets that did not get replaced I was also promised that immediately after the comp everything else would be sorted out, lights, trailer, keel guard etc etc. To date everything else is still outstanding and Craig still owes me the money for the carpets and all that has been done is a very short 3ft keel guard for a 17ft boat in a totally uncomplimentary colour has been hap-hazardly fitted (but I have been promised that it will take it proper shaped when it heats up and bonds to the hull?). I have sent Craig numerous requests via e-mail, sms and left several messages on his phone as he will not take my calls I have made to him to ask him to please pay the money he owes me and to complete the work that was paid for.
2 weeks ago I did manage to get hole of Craig and as I was going to Inanda the following week he promised me that he would be there first thing in the morning of Thursday 8th July. Take the boat for a test run and fix what ever needs to be fixed. Thursday morning came and I received an SMS saying he was running a little late but without any further calls or SMS’s we waited at the house in vain as he never arrived. This is now nearly two weeks ago and I have still heard nothing more from Craig since then.
I am now left with now option but to hand this matter over to my legal representatives who will add legal fees plus sheriff fees to monies already owed* (*carpets, work not completed and products not delivered). I was asked to pay this money up front as Craig had to pay for the carpets and for the repairs etc which is understandable. However Craig from Mobile Marine Services never incurred the cost of the new carpets etc so should never of spent the money that was paid for this sole purpose. I am not sure legally but will find out later today, this could actually be theft, fraud, embezzlement or a combination of all three.
We are all adults and we all choose whom we deal with. This is intended as an example of what can go wrong and as such have only supplied the facts. I hope that everyone can learn from my lesson. What I have learnt is that if the person supplying a service and or product can not operate on a COD basis, do not do business with them regardless of what references you have for them, as more than likely they will have law suits against them and any deposits paid up front will go towards those law suits and or other expenses that have nothing to do with you.
THE END (for now, obviously I will keep you all updated as to what transpires and what the final outcome is)