ComplaintsforPirate Monkey Boat Rentals

• Initial Complaint

  04/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 3/12/23 I reserved a pontoon boat for 4/1/23. I was charged a total of ******. On 4/1/23 myself and 12 other family members arrived at Sunset boat rentals for our reservation. We were placed on a vessel unsafe for the water, the boat had oil leaking from the steering system and the boats hydraulic turning system wasnt functioning causing use to almost collide into another vessel sending several family members flying forward including my 7 year old daughter who almost fell overboard. The number left off the boat to contact was for another business, after finally getting in contact with ****** (manager on duty) he arrived at our location about 45 min later, he acknowledged the boat was unsafe for us to spend the day on prior to us leaving the harbor and apologized for allowing us to leave on the boat. We were given another boat to continue our day without any explanation of addition chargers/options. ****** was aware of the location we planned on reaching and did not convey there would be any issues with refueling or returning back to the harbor. Upon returning the boat ran out of gas 30 min from the rental location. ****** ( another employee of sunset rentals) arrived to pick us up. Once we returned ****** and ****** advised additional fees would be charged to my card for towing the vessels and gas for all vessels. Both men were very argumentative and did not provide any solutions or explanations as to why additional chargers were solely my responsibility as we were put in ***** way by being placed on a vessel that was not safe to operate. ****** agreed to have the owner of the business contact me to discuss. On 4/2/23 an additional charge was made to my account in the amount of ******. I did not receive a follow up call from the owner nor an itemized statement. I did not authorize the charge of ******. Due to the negligence and failure to take reasonable care and responsibility for 4/1/2023 mistakes. I am now requesting a complete refund from the business.

  

  Business response

  04/06/2023

  The customer rented a 24 pontoon boat from ** on 4/1/23 for a half-day afternoon rental, 12:30 to 4:30pm. The customer was launched on time and then called approximately ********************************************************************************** a calm manner. At no point during the day was any near collision (either a result of boat malfunction or operator error) mentioned to myself, my dockhands, or my manager. Because the original pontoon was not operating at the customers expectations and affecting his enjoyment, I sent my manager out with our 26 Bayliner for the group to transfer to at no additional expense so they could enjoy the rest of the day.
  
  My manager then drove the 24 pontoon back to the dock with no issues. Once back at the dock, my manager and I inspected the hydraulic steering system and found that 1) the fluid tank was full, 2) there was no leakage of hydraulic fluid and no presence of hydraulic fluid under the helm or around the pump, and 3) the boat steered correctly in both directions. The boat received its monthly maintenance inspection on 3/8/23 with no issues noted regarding the steering system. Additionally, the boat had been rented the day prior with no issues reported by the customer and has been rented every day since 4/1/23 with no issues reported by the customers. Therefore, I can confirm that the boat was safe to operate on 4/1/23 and there was no malfunction of the steering system prior to, day of, or since 4/1/23.
  
  As stated previously, there was no charge to the customer for bringing them a new boat. This was done as a courtesy.
  
  At 5:37pm, my manager called me to state that the customer had run the boat out of fuel. This boat has a functioning fuel gauge and a full 40 gallon tank of fuel when it was provided to the customer. Our normal policy is to have the customer call Sea Tow or other recovery service and pay them directly for the cost of recovering the boat, since monitoring fuel is the customers responsibility. The minimum charge for a towing company is $300 for the service call, plus their hourly rate which is in the range of $100 to $200 an hour, plus fuel provided. To help the customer avoid the high cost of the towing service, I elected to have my manager and dockhand proceed out and tow the boat back to the ******* When my manager arrived, they explained that the customer was responsible for the cost of fuel used, the cost of fuel for the rental boat, and $100 for the labor hours used to recover the boat (significantly less than what they would have been charged by a tow service). The customer was provided an itemized receipt of the charges which was emailed at 9:49am on 4/2/23 and opened by the customer as verified by our reservation system. 
  
  At no point were my employees argumentative as they have been coached in and are experienced at diffusing confrontational customers and focusing instead on the customers safety and gathering the facts when a situation arises. Further, a near collision was never mentioned to me until this complaint. The customer was calm when we spoke on the phone. I have no basis of knowing the circumstances surrounding any close call as the boat was entirely functional when the customer left and remains operational since. Obviously, I was not present to witness how the boat was being driven. When the customer reached out to me 15 minutes after launch, his issue was specific to the pontoon not handling the way he expected, not that it was unmanageable or dangerous.
  
  The rental agreement the customer reviewed and signed on 4/1/2023 states that the renter is responsible to keep track of fuel usage and will be charged a $125 recovery fee in addition to the cost of fuel used. Also, per the rental agreement, I was within my right to charge the customer a $100 per hour late fee as a consequence of running out of fuel. I chose not to do so, given how the customers day had been impacted. 
  
  While Im sorry the customer had a bad experience and the additional costs incurred, I am not liable for them running the boat out of fuel as the entire situation was handled within the terms of the signed rental agreement.

  Customer response

  04/12/2023

   
  Complaint: 19886011
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  At no point did the business contact me.  Im  appalled the amount of fabrication throughout the response. The Manager on duty ***************************** who identified himself as ******, verbally a knowledgeable his awareness that the first boat rented to me and my family was not functioning properly and the party who rented it prior expressed concerns to several employees. Also We went roughly 18 nautical miles with the second boat. And burned 36 gals of fuel that would mean the boat used 2gals per mile with a 200hp mercury outboard this is very high fuel consumption for a engine and boat this big. I have a 26 ft baja with a much larger 502 cabin inch big block and it only consumed around 1 gal every 3 miles not. 2gals per mile in a smaller boat with a smaller engine. The amount charged for fuel does not make any sense. The gas gage on the 2nd boat was not working. It appears more as the business isnt taking responsibility for their inoperable vessels and wrongfully charging the consumers.  I have rented the pontoon boat twice before the company was taken under new ownership and went to jewfish island and back without having to stop for gas.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  

  Business response

  04/17/2023

  I have nothing further to say as everything I stated in my response is factual and supported by documentation. Regarding the new claim that the fuel gauge on the second boat was inoperable, this too is a false statement. As recently as last week the fuel gauge was verified as operable during our April monthly maintenance checks by a professional third party maintenance provider. 

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