Beware Bellingham Boats in Bellingham WA

[Davidpriddy]

A quick tale of woe which you may wish to pass on to other Aussies wanting to buy a boat from the US. Please feel free to pass on this message. I am happy to talk to anybody to share my story.

After paying a $2,000 deposit to a business in the US called Bellingham Boats in Bellingham WA and putting our names down for a Seaswirl and waiting patiently for 3 years our boat finally came in.

We had agreement from Scott (the owner) that we could pull the funds together within 2 to 3 weeks. We got the money into their accounts but the low life, unscrupulous scum bag owner sold our boat to one of his mates even though they had a signed agreement from us and they knew that the money was coming.

We called them frequently to keep them up with what was going on. We emailed several times a day. We had signed contracts and sent them proof of funds transfer from the bank! They were sending us emails congratulating us on the purchase of the boat!

We have waited patiently for 3 years for these guys to get us a boat. We never complained. We never gave them a hard time. We were always patient. We sent proof of wire transfers of funds to Scott prior to the deadline he had set us. Their whole business knew the funds were on the way. But the absolute greed and scum bag attitude of Scott resulted in him forsaking a loyal customer (oh, and we referred a client to him from Brisbane who bought a 26 foot Maxum from them) and just ditching us for one of his mates.

The whole exercise with the Bellingham boats has ripped the guts out of me. We've waited patently for 3 years. Paid these guys a $2,000 deposit 3 years ago. They've had our money for 3 years. We even referred one of our clients to them and they bought a 26 foot Maxum cruiser from them. And then Robert Gillies (aka Scott) shafts us. Monday night this week was my wife and mine 8th wedding anniversary. My wife made a big deal on Monday night about presenting and finally getting this for me as my anniversary present. When I came into the office the next morning is when we received the email from Captain Greg saying they were sorry, they sold the boat on the weekend and they were going to refund the full $31,800 that was sitting in there bank account that we'd sent to them. It sure put a damper on what had been a very special evening the night before. My wife was in tears most of Tuesday.

I would recommend that you forward this message to all of your clients, friends and overseas potential client to warn them about the low life business of Bellingham Boats and to avoid them at all costs. These guys have wasted 3 years of my life and screwed us over.

David Priddy
Priddy Consultants
0418 271 193
david@priddyconsultants.com.au

 

[Sangstercraft]

I was wondering about that place. I read a thread from another guy on here who said the boat ad with them noted the hours were low (something like 200 hrs), but when he hooked it up to a computer it was over 1000 hrs. Thanks for the advice, I'll be steering clear of them.

 

[Sangstercraft]

Actually 300 hrs, but had over 4,000 hrs! here's the link:
http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum/showthread.php?22841-02-Sriper-at-Bellingham-Boat-land

 

[Rum Buddies]

damn is it that hard to find a decent boat in australia that you have to wait 3 years for a seaswril? They're nice boats but no way I'm waiting 3 years for one.

 

[Davidpriddy]

damn is it that hard to find a decent boat in australia that you have to wait 3 years for a seaswril? They're nice boats but no way I'm waiting 3 years for one.

I feel like a bit of a twit waiting 3 years. I trusted Bellingham boat land, scotty and Greg. My wife is American and she has family over in the Bellingham WA neck of the woods. We contacted them earlier today and they did some local digging on these guys. It turns out that Robert Gillies has been in trouble with the authorities before for trying to sell a vehicle that was not legally able to be sold due to some extensive damage that had occurred to the vehicle and been "patched up" illegally. I'm not up on the US laws on this sort of stuff. But he sold the vehicle 3 times and it kept being returned because it just wasn't drivable despite all the assurances of Robert. They copped a $10,000 fine for doing this. Apparently there's some interesting stuff on the way these guys run their business. I'll share it with the members once I've seen the official documents. It might make any unlucky people who, like me, have a deposit with Bellingham boat land get in contact with them and get their deposits back before they buy a piece of dangerous crap or get screwed over like we did.

 

[soundpounder]

If you have a legal contract and they breached it by not following thru on the contracted sale, you should be able to sue them. In any case, you shouldn't let these dirtbags get away with this without bloodying their noses a little.

I'm no lawyer, but I'm thinking that you could have them criminally charged for fraud as well.

Good luck to you...what a horrible turn of events!!

 

[Davidpriddy]

If you have a legal contract and they breached it by not following thru on the contracted sale, you should be able to sue them. In any case, you shouldn't let these dirtbags get away with this without bloodying their noses a little.

I'm no lawyer, but I'm thinking that you could have them criminally charged for fraud as well.

Good luck to you...what a horrible turn of events!!

Hi Soundpounder ... We'll look at our options. Researching Bellingham boat land and their other business I-5 Auto Group we know that they are doing unlawful and illegal acts as part of there day to day business. We are already in contact with the equivalent of our Consumer Affairs department in Bellingham WA and they being very helpful and seem keen to not see overseas people treated in this way. Watch this space!

 

[salmonkiller01]

If your having any issues getting a refund, hire a lawyer to work as your proxy. It may cost you a little but they will be able to look into your best options and they KNOW the law. Good luck and its just crappy when bad things happen to good people.

 

[Davidpriddy]

Wow I always looked down there at prices too good to be true...This sounds like a nightmare...

Hey high five. Yes, what should have been a joyous occasion has been a total nightmare. Robert Gillies has no consciousness or any sense of moral value. He would sell his mother to make an extra 5 bucks (or in this case to make an extra $2,000). I just don't want to see anybody else go through the same thing as we did. Bellingham boat land should loose it trading licence for such business antics. I hope that any overseas buyers like us save themselves the anxiety and heartache and put their hard earned dollars with a reputable agent/company and not some two bit back yard operation.

 

[soundpounder]

Good for you...go get 'em....!!