Another online charter agency illegally copied our logo without consultation or permission and displayed it prominently in its advertisement.
They wanted to give the impression that they were a company that we had tested and recommended. However, the opposite is the case.
We would like to warn our customers about this company, as we are also aware of a number of cases where customers have lost their money. The scam is always the same with dishonest online agencies. Well-presented homepages claim to have access to 25,000 charter ships.
Deposits are accepted upon booking. But a few days before the start of the charter, the customer is informed that the ship is not available due to an accident or another reason. The contract with the fleet operator is terminated. You then wait in vain for a refund of the deposit. Complaint pointless, because the agency is based abroad, or with a letterbox company in Germany.
Myrentboat is the most recent example of recurring cases. You can read about some of the specific victims here on Trustpilot.
We therefore strongly recommend that you do not book with an unknown online agency, but with a local agency, in line with our newsletter last year entitled “Sail Global, book Local”. They usually know the fleet operators to whom they refer you and can also mediate in the event of a conflict. And in the unlikely event of fraud, you have easy legal access.
However, you can be even more certain of a problem-free charter with companies that have been checked by us. You can recognize these by our “CHECKED & TRUSTED” quality seal. The prerequisite for obtaining this logo for these companies is the annual submission of balance sheet figures, which we check, as well as an impeccable reputation in terms of service and business conduct, which our many thousands of customers inform us about.
In this context, we would also like to point out the “toxic clauses” with fatal consequences (yachtrevue), Link 1 & Link 2, which you should avoid with companies that offer the terms and conditions of the CharterFair contract with the International Yacht-Pool Terms & Conditions.
So be careful where you charter from and what you sign on your next charter.
Read more about this topic in the article published by pure coincidence at the same time without our knowledge.
more in Boote Magazin…
Dr. Friedrich Schöchl
and Yacht-Pool Team
