Victim Location 48383
Total money lost $200
Type of a scam Rental
On 8/1/2020, we rented a Pontoon boat and 2 paddle boards from Mac’s Marina Inc in Whitmore Lake, MI. We paid $420.29 for an all-day pontoon rental and 2 paddle board rentals. While driving the boat, we hit the bottom of the lake once and they claimed we damaged the boat’s propeller so severely they would need to replace it. When we pulled back in to the dock, the first thing the employee did was go to the back of the boat immediately to check the prop, announce the damage, and then state that we would have to pay for it. It was obvious it was part of the employee’s regular routine – board the boat, go to the back to look at the prop, announce the damage, tell customer they’re being charged another $200. The prop had minor scrapes where paint was missing. There was no real damage to the prop that would render it useless and then require replacement, yet they charged us $200 for the replacement of the prop. What is most disturbing is that this business has a long history of running this scam — if you look at other reviews on Yelp, Google, Facebook, Yellow Pages, etc., you will see many accounts very similar to ours, dating back several years. The group before us that day had the exact same experience, according to their review. It’s not a coincidence, it’s a pattern of behavior, and an unfair business practice where they rip people off on a daily basis. They take no responsibility for maintenance of their equipment, as evidenced by the old (1970s?), rundown pontoons they rent. On the rundown pontoon we rented, the old, inefficient motor took several minutes to start. We should’ve known we were going to have issues. When we suggested that the prop can be painted over, or repaired, and that should be a general cost of doing business, they scoffed at us. They rejected the idea that repairing (or replacing) the prop was their responsibility. They immediately told us they were putting another $200 charge on our credit card, with or without our approval, that it is part of the contract we agreed to, and we can expect the additional charge.
Not only are they running a scam, they have zero customer service skills. We spent $420 in rentals that day, and had another day scheduled the following week for another $420. Instead of seeing the big picture of accommodating, not alienating, a customer bringing them over $840 worth of business in less than a week, they chose to hit us with a bogus $200 charge, talk down to us, act rude and dismissive, ignore me and take phone calls as I spoke to them, raise their voices, and then, in the end, lose our business. Not only are they scam artists, they are rude and utilize outrageous unlawful business practices, taking advantage of their customers. They’ve been doing it for years, and it is a disgraceful pattern.