Bareboat charter boat collision

[diver14u]

Hi, I'm not sure if I'm on the right thread, but wanted to know what others would do if a bareboat charter boat (from Dream Yacht Charter) dragged anchor, collided with your boat, cracked your gelcoat and you had water ingress. The company admitted to the accident in full on email and promised to repair the damage, but senior management tell you to go ahead and sue and say "our lawyers will have a field day".

And no, we don't have insurance - long story about being in the hurricane belt at the time - which is probably the reason for the brush-off, but I know as much as the next guy that the only people who win when you sue, are the lawyers.

Any advice?

[GreenWave]

1) Write them an email and hard copy letter stating that your expecting full resolution. Tell them that authorities have been notified (you did get names and dates right)?
2) Prepare a Social Media campaign to slam them (with all factual info of course)
3) If you know who the charterers were- do same with them (see #1)

[tkeithlu]

THEY have insurance. Start with their insurance adjustor. You only consider legal action when the usual route (this is not exactly an unusual situation) fails to deal with the problem. I wonder how many bareboat charters had minor accidents last year.

[shadow]

Agreed! If peeps screw up and admit it, be man enough to take responsibility to do the right thing.. Hate when this crap happens..

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by diver14u

Hi, I'm not sure if I'm on the right thread, but wanted to know what others would do if a bareboat charter boat (from Dream Yacht Charter) dragged anchor, collided with your boat, cracked your gelcoat and you had water ingress. The company admitted to the accident in full on email and promised to repair the damage, but senior management tell you to go ahead and sue and say "our lawyers will have a field day".

And no, we don't have insurance - long story about being in the hurricane belt at the time - which is probably the reason for the brush-off, but I know as much as the next guy that the only people who win when you sue, are the lawyers.

Any advice?

I forward to an email to Loïc Bonnet, the founder and CEO of Dream Yachts with a link to and a recommendation that he read your post to the CruisersForum and suggested that he contact you by private message to find resolution.

Don't know if the company or if Loïc Bonnet will respond.

All the best.

[SVHarmonie]

Originally Posted by diver14u

Hi, I'm not sure if I'm on the right thread, but wanted to know what others would do if a bareboat charter boat (from Dream Yacht Charter) dragged anchor, collided with your boat, cracked your gelcoat and you had water ingress. The company admitted to the accident in full on email and promised to repair the damage, but senior management tell you to go ahead and sue and say "our lawyers will have a field day".

And no, we don't have insurance - long story about being in the hurricane belt at the time - which is probably the reason for the brush-off, but I know as much as the next guy that the only people who win when you sue, are the lawyers.

Any advice?

These situations are always hard to discuss, since only one side of the story is heard...

Dream Yacht is famous for playing “hard ball” in disputes, but I don’t KNOW that they are dishonest... If they really want to be jerks, given their homebase as a company you might find it very difficult to collect damages, even if awarded...

Of course EVERYTHING about this situation depends completely on WHERE this happened. Until someone knows what country the event occurred in, any legal advice is worth even less than usual internet advice.

I assume you have the information about the boat’s owner that was collected as part of the accident follow up. Dragging them in might be a useful PR strategy, as well as copying them on the “FU” letter from Dream Yacht.

And, just to be clear if you had “water ingress” the damage would seem to be a lot more than “cracked gel coat.”

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by diver14u

Hi, I'm not sure if I'm on the right thread, but wanted to know what others would do if a bareboat charter boat (from Dream Yacht Charter) dragged anchor, collided with your boat, cracked your gelcoat and you had water ingress. The company admitted to the accident in full on email and promised to repair the damage, but senior management tell you to go ahead and sue and say "our lawyers will have a field day".

And no, we don't have insurance - long story about being in the hurricane belt at the time - which is probably the reason for the brush-off, but I know as much as the next guy that the only people who win when you sue, are the lawyers.

Any advice?

How did it get to the "so sue us" stage? What did you ask for?

I guess the thing to do is to get the damage surveyed by a real surveyor, then start getting quotes for repair, then get back to the charter company with the quotes and confirm that they are ok with it and how they plan to pay the repairer, and if agreement... get the boat fixed.

Another option, if your boat is older/cheaper anyway, is to get your repair estimate, bring it to the charter company, try to reach some cash deal, and fix it yourself.

Lawsuits are a terrible way to pass the time, if you're not a lawyer.

[Captn_Black]

Originally Posted by diver14u

Hi, I'm not sure if I'm on the right thread, but wanted to know what others would do if a bareboat charter boat (from Dream Yacht Charter) dragged anchor, collided with your boat, cracked your gelcoat and you had water ingress. The company admitted to the accident in full on email and promised to repair the damage, but senior management tell you to go ahead and sue and say "our lawyers will have a field day".

And no, we don't have insurance - long story about being in the hurricane belt at the time - which is probably the reason for the brush-off, but I know as much as the next guy that the only people who win when you sue, are the lawyers.

Any advice?

On a side note, I can tell you from experience that even if you had insurance that your insurers may not be willing to pursue claims on your behalf if that fact is not specifically stated in your policy. Fortunately I'm steel hulled

And yes, as stated above, unfortunately, a social media campaign seems to be the best way to get action without lawyers these days.

[NorthernMac]

Originally Posted by diver14u

Hi, I'm not sure if I'm on the right thread, but wanted to know what others would do if a bareboat charter boat (from Dream Yacht Charter) dragged anchor, collided with your boat, cracked your gelcoat and you had water ingress. The company admitted to the accident in full on email and promised to repair the damage, but senior management tell you to go ahead and sue and say "our lawyers will have a field day".

And no, we don't have insurance - long story about being in the hurricane belt at the time - which is probably the reason for the brush-off, but I know as much as the next guy that the only people who win when you sue, are the lawyers.

Any advice?

You document/film/record them taking responsibility?

I’d wager their insurance will hear that and just pay out.

[Dsanduril]

You don't say in what country this occurred, but I'd take my complaint to the local port authorities, whoever they may be, and ask them what sanctions could be placed on the boat and/or the company. Could be you could get a lien on the vessel, or prevent the vessel from sailing again until resolved, or.... It will likely be an uphill battle as the charter company is probably a "good customer" and generates revenue, but worth at least asking and doesn't take a lawyer.

[S/V Illusion]

Unfortunately, the story after the statement “and no, we don’t have insurance” is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Deciding to not have insurance has consequences.

And attacking them on social media can have consequences as well.

Sorry to hear about your plight.

[bstreep]

This really surprises me. NOT. Dream Yacht, as others have said, has a reputation of playing hardball. The base manager in French Polynesia made it very clear to us when we had a problem. And we were reminded that our contract said we'd only be able to take legal action in Mauritius.

They also require anyone that settles with them to sign an agreement not to post bad reviews. We found that insulting. That along with the few hundred $$ they offered us in return for pretty much ruining our 2 week charter in FP.

So, I took the public route. Feel free to read about it, and send us your full story and I'll publish it: https://dreamyachtcharterssuck.com/

[Captn_Black]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Unfortunately, the story after the statement “and no, we don’t have insurance” is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Deciding to not have insurance has consequences.

And attacking them on social media can have consequences as well.

Sorry to hear about your plight.

Not suggesting a direct attack. Take time to write a report of you plight, and garner public support. Their business relies on good publicity. Perhaps start a Go Fund Me? Something like that, of course mention them, but try to do so in a way that doesn't force them into a confrontation, give them the chance to be "the good guys". Maybe you can enlist help from someone here who already has a social media presence once you have written your report. I have some journalism experience, and a dislike for bareboat charterers, feel free to PM me for advice.

[bstreep]

Originally Posted by Captn_Black

Not suggesting a direct attack. Take time to write a report of you plight, and garner public support. Their business relies on good publicity. Perhaps start a Go Fund Me? Something like that, of course mention them, but try to do so in a way that doesn't force them into a confrontation, give them the chance to be "the good guys". Maybe you can enlist help from someone here who already has a social media presence once you have written your report. I have some journalism experience, and a dislike for bareboat charterers, feel free to PM me for advice.

You need to have experienced a situation with DYC to know what they are like. They have no real interest in making unhappy customers, happy. They just offer them a nominal payment to keep quiet, and move on. And in this particular case, they have figured out that the OP does not have insurance, so there's no insurance company (with attorneys) to go after them. So, in what we have found to be typical DYC fashion, they've said "get lost".

My guess is that the OP has given them every opportunity to do the right thing, and they haven't. And they really don't care. They don't.

Cheap prices + cheap boats = enough happy customers that they don't care. They have grown so quickly that they are the largest charter company in the world. They have big pull with the manufacturers, and buy them cheap and in bulk. They spec them with no options - actually without many standard features - sell them to investors, and then literally keep them in the fleet with duct tape (see my link). Unlike The Moorings, Sunsail and others who actually spec boats from the manufacturers to be built for the charter trade, DYC boats, in our experience, have not held up well. The boat we had was well less than a year old. If I had been the owner and seen it, I'd have quite literally cried at the condition of the boat.

https://dreamyachtcharterssuck.com/

[barnakiel]

They crashed you. You do not need an insurance. They need an insurance. If they play reluctant, get a lawyer write them a letter.


I have seen a similar situation two years ago in the Caribbean. The charter company fixed the damage in within a week, at their charter base. They also provided a copy of the bill to the owner - listing materials and work done.



Good luck.



b.