Lagoon dealer withholding deposit after boat inspection.

[letsgetsailing3]

A charter is different from a sea trial.


This should have been pretty clear in the contract.

[revolutionseven]

Originally Posted by Cheyne

Did you pay for the 5 day charter separately from the deposit? Or do you think the charter would be free if you didn't buy the boat.

Yes the charter was at full price and completely separate from the deposit.

[garyfdl]

Sounds to me like it's time to get a lawyer.

[Piscis]

Would be nice to hear more details. As this route seems to be something i was thinking about to do... There is a Boat for sale still in charter... Charter it and decide. All depends on the paperwork you have done so far, i guess.
As mentioned previously, there are two contracts you should have. One for the charter and one for the purchase. Both might be linked somehow. More details are needed!

Good luck!

John

[Lovedog100]

I have to ask, why would you charter and leave a deposit? Personally, I would charter and then if I wanted to make an offer give a deposit. I also think that a bad actor should be named and shamed.

[Ozbullwinkle]

Originally Posted by Lovedog100

I have to ask, why would you charter and leave a deposit? Personally, I would charter and then if I wanted to make an offer give a deposit. I also think that a bad actor should be named and shamed.

I presume seeing that the boat was on the market the prospective purchaser must have initially really liked the boat & wanted to prevent anyone from buying it from under him while on charter. No doubt others would have inspected it in the past.

[goboatingnow]

What hasn’t been clear is what reason the dealer advanced to justify retaining the deposit.

[Calif.Ted]

California ?? File a complaint with the CYBA.
https://cyba.info/?page_id=346

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by revolutionseven

Hi All,

We recently did 5 days of sea trials on a used lagoon charter boat. After a close inspection of the boat we decided not to go ahead with the purchase. The Lagoon dealer is now withholding the deposit.

The sale contract is clear that if the buyer refuses the boat the deposit must be returned. So the dealer is in breach of the contract.

Has anyone had problems like this before. Any ideas on how to solve this?

I've read through all responses and what's missing for anyone to give you an answer is the reason given by the broker for with holding and the specific reason you have given for not proceeding and if that matches a condition noted in the contract. That's all it comes down to, it's all in the wording.

Not sure about in the US but in Australia these types of contracts are quite understandable by a layman.

It is wise to phrase the condition so that the results of the survey and sea trial must be acceptable to you. That way you don't have to provide any reason other than you found it unacceptable.

[letsgetsailing3]

If the charter was separate from the purchase contract, I don't think I'd mix the two up.

I probably wouldn't call the charter "a sea trial", as that might confuse it with wording in the sales contract. Make sure you're going by the letter of the sales contract. On the other hand, if the charter met the conditions as prescribed in the contract for a sea trial, then you could use it as such.

All of that said, assuming you have a normal contract (with the normal escape clauses), the seller should return your money within the provisions agreed in the sales contract, such as the return of the deposit as prescribed in the contract.

[Sbonder]

I’m a lawyer and recommend you go talk to a lawyer. There are too many details missing from your description for anybody, including an attorney, to give you meaningful advice. Where the dealer is and whether the contract has a venue provision will dictate the location of the lawyer you need. Whether there is a choice of law clause or arbitration clause may alter which lawyer would take the case. The amount of money at stake will also inform a bunch of these decisions. $50k is a lot of money, but you can easily spend that on a lawyer if the defendant fights, so you’ll need to have a strategy that makes sense for all of the above variables. Please don’t represent yourself, a lawyer that represents himself has a fool for a client. A lay person who represents themselves might as well just piss into the wind and burn some money.

[David Mathis]

Attempting to save money by getting free legal opinions from this forum is likely to provide the quality of advice equal to your payment. Contact an attorney to resolve your legal issues.

[jeepers]

Paid for a Charter as well as post a Deposit? Seriously?

You should have gotten some advice prior.
Especially, if the Charter in any way was involved as a sea trial.
Undoubtedly it was.

If you cancelled the offer to purchase you should still pay for the Charter.
BUT.. If you did buy said described vessel after chartering it. Then the Charter costs/ fees should have been waivered or in part refunded. They have no incentive to negotiate.

NB. Did the bulkheads fail as a your reason to walk away? Well known fault!!!

[Interlude 1]

Request in writing a reason in writing from the dealer for not returning your deposit. If they do that and they still refuse your deposit and you can’t resolve the issue and you are still unhappy unfortunately you can begin with government consumer advocacy or you may need a maritime attorney. Get it all in writing and reread your contracts paying attention to detail. Too much to digest on this forum. Legal issue.

[FastSailor]

Yet another cautionary tale from a buyer without professional representation.

Any agreement used to purchase a vessel without a clearly defined “Acceptance of Vessel” process with defined dates and disposition of deposited funds should be avoided.