Would you be worried?

[goat boy]

I recently moved from the Gold Coast (and now cursing I left every day :)) to Karratha for work. I got an un-named (for now) freight company to move my boat over for me. Boat was picked up 04 Jan and was due to be delivered NLT 04 Feb.
Now in hindsight I can look back when it was picked up and sweat a bit that no paperwork was filled out on the day of pickup (damage etc, as happened for my car, which was quite in-depth). Anyway, 04 Feb came and went and nobody rung until a few days later to ask how the pick up of my boat went :-?...
And from there it's pretty much been a farce of nobody knows where my boat is (tracking shows it's in Karratha but it's not)....somebody told me it was in SA and delayed by bad weather(....) somebody else told me it was in Carnarvon but delayed by bad road conditions.....
Now nobody from the company rings me back to let me know whats going on and a call to the service desk to ask for tracking gets met with a dumbfounded call operator that can't understand whats going on in their tracking system....I've made an official complaint and that was met with 'oh we're looking at an investigation into whats going on in this case'
I don't know if I should be worried that something is seriously wrong or just a piss poor company that will get it here eventually when they realise their head from their arse
how would you feel??

[Marlin_Mike]

I would choose Option A: I would be very veyr worried.


Mike

[Linedropper]

Yeah I'd be worried. That is two week trip for a boat and it has been almost two months.

Is it a well known freight company or a smaller one? Don't need a name just wondering.

[Chas & Clarry]

Yep I'd worry.

Keep all evidence of all your calls and their acknowledgements of situation.

Ask for some written undertaking from a manager re current status and new ETA.

Consider ringing consumer affairs for advice maybe.

[FishHunter]

I would have callled the cops and reported it stolen already, that should encourage them to find it rapidly

[Jarrah Jack]

I'm with FishHunter. I'd report it stolen and contact your insurance company who should've been informed of the travel plans before hand. Also time to ask about the transport companys own insurance.

[Spaniard_King]

Yep as above treat it as stolen, no paper work will not help the situation... what evidence do you have to show they have your boat ????

[GBC]

I hope your situation is like lots from Karratha - she'll be right mate, and the freight will turn up. Not fun, but par for the course.

[moater]

Swift and Shift??

Pretty bad situation, hope it turns out alright.If someone wanted a boat shifted across the country I'd do it if the car and fuel were provided..plus a few dollars.I need a holiday (and $) and would fly to wherever and very carefully deliver the pride and joy, then fly back to Victoria.8-)

[goat boy]

Cheers guys. I do have proof they have it, by paperwork I meant they didn't do a damage report or anything before they took it (unlike my car, which was a pretty anal process). I've considered reporting it stolen, I'll put that to them on Monday if I get the run-around again.
In comparison, it took my car about 6 days to get here from when it was picked up

[z50man]

i'm worried and its not even my boat

[merseybluenose]

I would agree with what is being said, report it stolen and you might find they start taking this case a little more seriously when they have the Police asking questions. I would also consider giving them a letter of demand that details what you intend to do regarding suing them for replacements costs if the boat doesn't turn up. I was given some legal advice regarding a completely different type of matter however I think the same principle still applies, let them know you intend to take action legally, what you would be seeking as compensation (e.g. full replacement of boat model and all other items that may have been onboard), and also when you have stipulated this matter of finding the boat should have been completed by (maybe talk to the Police to decide upon this date). I think if you can show the powers to be that you have been reasonable in your expectations of the company delivering/finding the missing boat and you have clearly outlined what you intend to do if they do not come up with the goods then you will have little issue in being given compensation.........and then some.

[MudRiverDan]

First of all you need to elevate your phone call to the manager of the company, explain the fact your considering the boat missing.

No doubt you will get a call back soon enough.

cheers

[Reef Cruiser]

all i wont to know is how do you lose a boat ????? if it fell of the back of the truck .i think you the driver would know ...all the best ,i agree with fish hunter ,ring the police

[FisHard]

I'm in transport and I would be concerned :( as the boys have said: how dp you lose a boat??? A box or 2, maybe (not in my company ;) take steps now (police, boat insurer etc.) Have you googled the company name to see if other guys have had issues? Good luck!

[cormorant]

If the employer suggested them as a removalist I would have your employer follow it up after your next call. Employers give business like that their bread and butter and won't want to be suggesting a dud.
Before it gets too shirty nicely ask and get the office girl to fax you the screen print of the "current position"of your boat so you have something new in writing. . Logistics systems , when used properly, should know where it is and at least see where it stopped. Your boat wasn't the only thing on teh truck so get them to look at the other items and where they are.

Unless they are dodgy brothers it'll show up but set a short deadline with your discussions and a chat with the company owner should sort it if he ever wants anymore business in teh town. A half page add saying Lost boat by XX transport will get the locals talking!!

Hope it works out

[Muddy Toes]

I had my old boat transported from Brisbane to Karratha a few years ago now. It was about this time of year and it ended up turning up after about a month and a half.Originally it was only meant to take a couple of weeks but because it came over the top of the country the seasonal rains held up the truck for a few weeks.
So just my 2 cents worth is that it might be held up in Carnarvon due to bad road conditions as does happen quite often up here.Good luck mate....I'm sure it will turn up somewhere.

[fin101]

I must say that I had nothing but trouble and a big lack of service from all of the so called boat transport companies that I had contacted to bring a new boat from Victoria to Sydney, so much so I went and picked it up myself, glad I did actually. I enjoyed the drive, knew the person towing it was not on drugs, (me) had appropriate insurance etc etc. I never received replies to my e-mails, 4-5 days later I would, no phone replies, no paperwork, one bloke rang me when I was at the dealers picking it up 2.5 weeks after I called them. I found myself chaseing them up for every detail, some of them had very little insurance cover, one mob who transport caravans /campers only had insurance for just over $ioo.ooo, my boat was worth more. I know it's a bit far to go in your case, but for anyone trying to get boats from say QLD to Vic or Sydney do it yourself, I can vouch for the lack of paperwork too, no way would I be giving my boat to some inept company to take anywhere without the right documentation, few cowboys in this game I think. $1500 a boat x 6 from vic to syd is 9.5hrs drive not bad money.

[death_ship]

Sorry accidental dislike. Bloody iPads

[Triple]

Did you know how many hrs were on it? Maybe they are just waiting for a few nice days on the broadwater before transporting ;)

[goat boy]

Ok so I rang this morning and did the usual calm thing and asked for a tracking update on my boat. Got the usual reply 'Oh the system looks screwed up, not sure where it is, sorry'. So I laid it out and told them I was going to report it stolen if I don't get a definite report of it's whereabouts or take delivery by this afternoon. What do you know, within about 40mins my phone was ringing off the hook and wow...the boat is actually in Karratha...nobody knows how long for but hey, it's there....
So I go to pick it up and you know that sinking feeling when even with bad eyes I can tell from a distance it looks different....long story short, it has sustained quite a bit of cosmetic damage, gouges back to bare aluminium, marks everywhere (a friend commented to me it looked like they had used it to store stuff in on the trip (I had to empty as per regs), ripped bimini and storm cover (storm cover actually ripped to shreds), all the press studs for the clears are now gouged off each side...... I won't mention their name cos I now gotta go through claims for my damages.
I feel so cheap, they didn't even buy me dinner before bending me over...

[cormorant]

Claim off the company or off your boat insurance?

A lot of boat insurers need permission to allow it to be transported so be careful about how you claim .


A not happy Jan moment - what were they hoping for a cyclone so they could say that did the damage?

Hope you get some satisfaction or at least some vasso

[fin101]

Sorry to hear of your dramas, bet it was in a holding yard, I rest my case, like I said a lot of non careing , non professional cowboys out there. For anyone else contemplating useing one of these companies be careful. I would love you to name and shame them, why would it have any bearing on your claim???? still cannot believe you had no paperwork yet let it go.

[Linedropper]

That sucks about the damage mate but at least you found your boat. Sounds like they were trying to figure out what to do about the damage and keeping you in the dark.

Not going to help you right now but I used Corden Transport to get my car and then a few months later my boat across the country. I prepared it the best I could by strapping it down to the trailer well, supporting the motor etc but they went the extra step and covered the outboard cover with some old carpet to protect from stone chips. Only discovered this when I picked it up from Brissy. If you ever need to get your boat back over this way I highly recommend them.

[goat boy]

Yeh I'm just waiting on them to get back to me now. I submitted a tonne of photos first thing today and despite them telling me they would get straight on it I never heard back. I live in hope that perhaps they will contact me before I feel the need to chase them up again but I doubt that will happen. I will name them once it's over, I would hate for anyone else to get burned by them. I'm a pretty calm and relaxed kinda guy, some people would be throttling someone at this stage I reckon :D
Either way, it's going out for it's maiden Pilbara run this weekend

[murf]

Great to hear you will be back on the water :) but with a sour taste in your mouth :(

all the best with the claim

cheers Murf

[gpz1991]

I would agree with what is being said, report it stolen and you might find they start taking this case a little more seriously when they have the Police asking questions. I would also consider giving them a letter of demand that details what you intend to do regarding suing them for replacements costs if the boat doesn't turn up. I was given some legal advice regarding a completely different type of matter however I think the same principle still applies, let them know you intend to take action legally, what you would be seeking as compensation (e.g. full replacement of boat model and all other items that may have been onboard), and also when you have stipulated this matter of finding the boat should have been completed by (maybe talk to the Police to decide upon this date). I think if you can show the powers to be that you have been reasonable in your expectations of the company delivering/finding the missing boat and you have clearly outlined what you intend to do if they do not come up with the goods then you will have little issue in being given compensation.........and then some.

I agree with all above contact you solicitor, issue a letter of demand, if this gets no result, contact you insurance and police in both locations.

Good luck hope it ends well for you