Possible scam?

[David Payne]

Whilst browsing the on-line yacht adverts, a friend of mine noticed that the internal photos used in an advert for a yacht for sale in Fort Lauderdale were the same as those used in the marketing of a yacht that she had just bought in Kent, and the external shots were the same as a yacht she had considered in Liverpool. So presumably there is a scam that goes something like this: Anyone travelling any distance to view would "secure" first with a deposit only to find that the boat and broker don't exist.

Alternatively the purchaser could be shown any random boat that is not for sale, simply moored, the owners might find a broken lock, but that is not that unusual. Most of us expect a broker to have a posh office, a bit like an estate agent, but not all do. One very reputable broker in the west country operates out of his home, so I imagine he just meets his clients near to the boats to be viewed.

Since the photos used were those of the broker/yard from which she was buying, she reported her findings to the yard. To her amazement they told her that many people put deposits on boats blind, some even buy boats after a survey without seeing the boat themselves. I imagine many people commission surveys by the nearest surveyor to the boatyard, so an incestuous relationship with the broker is quite possible. The scam could be compounded in some cases therefore by the use of a fictious surveyor.

Can you think of any other explanation for the use of pinched photos?

Does the forum think this type of scam is commonplace and how would you go about buying a yacht in a distant location? I ask because I hope to be buying later this year and many of the potential boats are overseas.

David

 

[jwilson]

Whilst browsing the on-line yacht adverts, a friend of mine noticed that the internal photos used in an advert for a yacht for sale in Fort Lauderdale were the same as those used in the marketing of a yacht that she had just bought in Kent, and the external shots were the same as a yacht she had considered in Liverpool. So presumably there is a scam that goes something like this: Anyone travelling any distance to view would "secure" first with a deposit only to find that the boat and broker don't exist.

Alternatively the purchaser could be shown any random boat that is not for sale, simply moored, the owners might find a broken lock, but that is not that unusual. Most of us expect a broker to have a posh office, a bit like an estate agent, but not all do. One very reputable broker in the west country operates out of his home, so I imagine he just meets his clients near to the boats to be viewed.

Since the photos used were those of the broker/yard from which she was buying, she reported her findings to the yard. To her amazement they told her that many people put deposits on boats blind, some even buy boats after a survey without seeing the boat themselves. I imagine many people commission surveys by the nearest surveyor to the boatyard, so an incestuous relationship with the broker is quite possible. The scam could be compounded in some cases therefore by the use of a fictious surveyor.

Can you think of any other explanation for the use of pinched photos?

Does the forum think this type of scam is commonplace and how would you go about buying a yacht in a distant location? I ask because I hope to be buying later this year and many of the potential boats are overseas.

David

Again and again we find photos and our own graphics of boats we are selling, or have sold on http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/ being re-used by other brokers and charter operators to represent other examples of the same class. Where it is a brokerage we can almost always get them removed (if we find them) but some of the Turkish charter operators/agents just ignore our complaints.

I suppose it's our fault for providing better quality photos than almost anyone else in the business !

We have quite a few times sold boats sight unseen - based on photos and conversations with the buyer, usually but not in every case followed up by a survey. It helps that I tell potential buyers what I know is wrong with any boat, if there is anything, as honestly as I can.

In answer to how to buy a boat in a distant location, we often suggest buyers ask a local surveyor to view for an hour on their behalf, and report back by phone. This often works well - sometimes better to pay an hour's time for a surveyor than waste two days and travel/hotel costs yourself. We have a pretty comprehensive list of surveyors on our website at http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/surveyors.htm and we will not suggest an individual surveyor to a buyer.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Again and again we find photos and our own graphics of boats we are selling, or have sold on http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/ being re-used by other brokers and charter operators to represent other examples of the same class.

Coo, are you Yachtsnet then? I hope these problems don't lead you to take down your archive, as it's one of the best guides to boats of different types I have found.

 

[Plevier]

Coo, are you Yachtsnet then? I hope these problems don't lead you to take down your archive, as it's one of the best guides to boats of different types I have found.

+1

 

[MikeBz]

+1

+2!

 

[[3889]]

They don't stop at photos. When I was looking at buying a boat last year through a broker on a large lake in the north of England the entire inventory had been lifted from another vessel's advert - something I only discovered after a 100 mile drive. Still, what do you expect for only 8% comission

+3 for Yachtsnet, anyway.

 

[DoubleEnder]

I put a deposit on a boat I hadn't seen on the strength of an advert and a phone call to the broker. The boat was in USA, I was in UK. I flew out to see it and it was all ok. Though it turned out that the subsequent survey was not unbiased, it probably wouldnt have changed my mind. I'm not unhappy. The broker was a well known and long established shop, to be fair.

 

[Boathook]

Nice site and good photos.