Our stay here in St Lucia has been good
and generally without major complications. With regard to official
services, nothing to point out.
They been professional and always within
the limits of the law. While others
complained of being coerced into extra payments, we
can‘t say the same. This has not
happened with us, not even in the first request for extension of the
stay.
The same can be said about the people
and local businesses. In the supermarket SuperJ we had a small
problem with the credit card, which in most cases refuses to work and
have to have the data entered manually. In this supermarket they
refused to do it!
Now with the high season we begin to
see more opportunistic attempts to extract dollars from the visitors
with “helpers” even in the dock inside the lagoon! We only been
“robbed” in the first time we went to buy water. We were cheated
and robbed in some EC dollars at the petrol station in the canal into
the lagoon. We learn from the mistake and now only buy water at the
marina when needed.
However, our biggest problem to day
came from where we least expected, we even made a post (my last) to
say good things about the same company! They did us a great service
in the inspection of our liferaft but cheated us in the purchase of
second-hand dinghy.
When we visited the Liferaft and Inflatable Centre at their premises on the port side of the entrance
to the Rodney Bay Lagoon, we were first looking for a new dinghy. We
were inclined to buy an AB 9-foot, aluminum hull. But that would be a
huge hole in our finances so we asked them if they had any used in
good condition. The owner, a British national living here for
decades, said they had an AB 11-foot aluminum hull in in excellent
condition that may fit our needs.
On the same day we went to see this
dinghy and another one, with inflatable floor, that did not catch our
attention. Back at the office we also talked about the possibility of
replacing the tubes of our old dinghy with a Zodiac ones they had.
For this we left our boat and they lent us the AB11 to use until the
next day.
That night, afraid that the boat may
disappear, we decided to put him on the deck of Dee. For our surprise
it fitted perfectly. We thought it would be too big for the space.
This further reinforced the hypothesis of choosing a second hand one
because the company owner gave us his word that it was in excellent
condition with no loss of air and even offered a general cosmetic
work before delivering it to us. With a price around $ 2,000
(compared with about four thousand for the new small model), we
decided, even if my wife was not agreeing completly, to buy again a
second-hand dinghy.
We also had the concern about the
outboard. Ours is short shaft and the boat needs a long shaft but
after testing it a few days we saw no need to lower the stern. The
day we took the boat I remember mentioning that it seemed to be
little air in the tubes but the staff at the company told us it would
be better to have it with little less air because of the pressure
differences between day and night. After four or five days I began to
notice that there was even loss of air and it was not just due to
atmospheric pressure. This was referred to the company that continued
to insist that it would be the temperature difference. I nodded and
insisted a few more days to find that it was losing more and more
every day. One day when we came from the beach, the boat was wet in
the top of the tubes we noticed that one of the patches poured air,
bubbling in the water.
I went back to talk to the company and
they told me to take the boat to inspect the next morning. In the
late afternoon I went back to see if it was repaired and was told
that I had to go buy the materials to fix it because they only
offered the labor!
I demanded to talk with the boss, since
in the office was just a new worker that didn’t know nothing about
the dealings. During the conversation via telephone he denied
everything he had personally said in front of my wife when we talked
to decide whether we would buy new or used. Denied that he had
ensured that the boat was in good condition and did not lose air, and
even hinted that he might be in these conditions due to the use we
gave it!
After well considering what to do, we
opted not to go back to talk to them and not accept the “offer”
of free labor.
But we do not want to pass up the
opportunity to expose our case so that future victims can be aware
when dealing with Liferaft and Inflatable Centre.
Meanwhile, we know that the other
dinghy, the one with flexible bottom, has been sold and is being used
by a person with sailboat here. We hope he have better luck than us.
Although we have had a good service
with regard to the inspection of liferaft (possibly because it has to
be endorsed by the brand), the way they treated us in relation to the
dinghy force us to completely discourage the use of the services of
the Liferaft and Inflatable Centre in St. Lucia because they not only
deceived us but they are also agents of various brands, including
being the local agent of Budget Marine, which many of us use to
source parts and equipment.
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Learning from Our Mistakes During Our Stay in St. Lucia
and generally without major complications. With regard to official
services, nothing to point out.
They been professional and always within
the limits of the law. While others
complained of being coerced into extra payments, we
can‘t say the same. This has not
happened with us, not even in the first request for extension of the
stay.
and local businesses. In the supermarket SuperJ we had a small
problem with the credit card, which in most cases refuses to work and
have to have the data entered manually. In this supermarket they
refused to do it!
see more opportunistic attempts to extract dollars from the visitors
with “helpers” even in the dock inside the lagoon! We only been
“robbed” in the first time we went to buy water. We were cheated
and robbed in some EC dollars at the petrol station in the canal into
the lagoon. We learn from the mistake and now only buy water at the
marina when needed.
came from where we least expected, we even made a post (my last) to
say good things about the same company! They did us a great service
in the inspection of our liferaft but cheated us in the purchase of
second-hand dinghy.
to the Rodney Bay Lagoon, we were first looking for a new dinghy. We
were inclined to buy an AB 9-foot, aluminum hull. But that would be a
huge hole in our finances so we asked them if they had any used in
good condition. The owner, a British national living here for
decades, said they had an AB 11-foot aluminum hull in in excellent
condition that may fit our needs.
dinghy and another one, with inflatable floor, that did not catch our
attention. Back at the office we also talked about the possibility of
replacing the tubes of our old dinghy with a Zodiac ones they had.
For this we left our boat and they lent us the AB11 to use until the
next day.
disappear, we decided to put him on the deck of Dee. For our surprise
it fitted perfectly. We thought it would be too big for the space.
This further reinforced the hypothesis of choosing a second hand one
because the company owner gave us his word that it was in excellent
condition with no loss of air and even offered a general cosmetic
work before delivering it to us. With a price around $ 2,000
(compared with about four thousand for the new small model), we
decided, even if my wife was not agreeing completly, to buy again a
second-hand dinghy.
outboard. Ours is short shaft and the boat needs a long shaft but
after testing it a few days we saw no need to lower the stern. The
day we took the boat I remember mentioning that it seemed to be
little air in the tubes but the staff at the company told us it would
be better to have it with little less air because of the pressure
differences between day and night. After four or five days I began to
notice that there was even loss of air and it was not just due to
atmospheric pressure. This was referred to the company that continued
to insist that it would be the temperature difference. I nodded and
insisted a few more days to find that it was losing more and more
every day. One day when we came from the beach, the boat was wet in
the top of the tubes we noticed that one of the patches poured air,
bubbling in the water.
they told me to take the boat to inspect the next morning. In the
late afternoon I went back to see if it was repaired and was told
that I had to go buy the materials to fix it because they only
offered the labor!
in the office was just a new worker that didn’t know nothing about
the dealings. During the conversation via telephone he denied
everything he had personally said in front of my wife when we talked
to decide whether we would buy new or used. Denied that he had
ensured that the boat was in good condition and did not lose air, and
even hinted that he might be in these conditions due to the use we
gave it!
opted not to go back to talk to them and not accept the “offer”
of free labor.
opportunity to expose our case so that future victims can be aware
when dealing with Liferaft and Inflatable Centre.
dinghy, the one with flexible bottom, has been sold and is being used
by a person with sailboat here. We hope he have better luck than us.
with regard to the inspection of liferaft (possibly because it has to
be endorsed by the brand), the way they treated us in relation to the
dinghy force us to completely discourage the use of the services of
the Liferaft and Inflatable Centre in St. Lucia because they not only
deceived us but they are also agents of various brands, including
being the local agent of Budget Marine, which many of us use to
source parts and equipment.
Email This
BlogThis!
Share to Twitter
Share to Facebook