ComplaintsforBeach House Boat Rentals

• Initial Complaint

  07/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We made a reservation with Beach House Boat rentals for a 2 day rental (pontoon) for a total of $567.00. We made the reservation at https://www.beachhouseboatrentals.com/ and selected Wacca Wache Marina. We showed up to the boat rental location and Jay (manger) explained that the company did not rent pontoon boats from the Wacca Wache Marina, but only from the Dead Dog Saloon location. I am handicap with trouble hearing and a physical handicap, and he was clearly upset because I was asking him to repeat the information. Another family was waiting and he was clearly in a rush. My daughter asked Jay to be more polite to me when he was speaking and he immediately apologized and asked if he could help the other family first. We obliged. He returned and asked us to "hang tight" while he checked his rentals. We advised we were willing to go to the other location. We have rented from this location for over 7 years. After a few minutes, he explained he had a boat that held 9 people (rather than 11), but if the people were smaller and we had life jackets, he had a boat we could use. He explained that it was a nicer boat that would usually rent for more money. He also explained that South Carolina law for passengers was different for vessels over 20 feet, so it would be fine. Though nothing was clearly stated, he implied he was doing us a favor so we did not have to travel to the other marina. He flashed me something on an ipad and said he was processing the rental. At that time, I was charged $567.00. The next day, we returned the boat and was informed that I would be charged $201 for fuel cost. on July 8, a charge for $288 appeared on my account. Jay informed me it was an upcharge for the rental He also said he processed it all at the same time. The company agreed to refund half of the upcharge if I would remove a negative review. I advised I would seek an alternative resolution via BBB for the full amount. Jay advised this was all on camera.

  Business response

  11/01/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2022/08/10) */ Upon your arrival we let you know that you showed up to the wrong location. We had your pontoon boat available. It was launched that morning, specifically for you. It was sitting waiting for you as well as our employees waiting for you to arrive. You selected to rent a pontoon boat in our Inlet location. After you made the reservation online we called you back the next day to verbally confirm that you were picking it up at our Dead Dog location and keeping the boat at your own dock for 2 days. We specifically asked you multiple times if you will be picking it up behind Dead Dog restaurant? This boat is a multi-day rental only and we need to be specifically told as to where you plan to pick it up and keep it. You showed up to our Wacca Wache location in which we let you know that you had the option to drive 5 mins down the road to still go out on the pontoon that you rented. Or you could go out on one of the boats we had available at our Wacca Wache location. We fortunately for you had one boat available and you chose to go out on our Stingray 216 . This is a $60,000 boat vs the $10,000 pontoon boat that you initially rented. The pontoon boat you rented was our cheapest possible boat vs one of our most expensive boats. Therefore there is a price difference. You daughter informed us not to worry about the difference as she would be taking care of it. We informed you that we would charge you the difference. Your card was charged right then and there as we need to make sure the payment goes through before we allow a customer to go out on the boat. The payment may not have showed up on your credit card bill until 3 days later. You also signed a contract before you went out on the boat where the new boat information was entered as well as the new price of the rental. All this information was given to you and we were very flexible even though you showed up at the wrong location to ensure that you and your family were still able to go out on a boat and that your family could still have a great time on the water for the next two days. We were also told by your family members what a great time they had and that they were really enjoying the boat. Jay really went out of his way to bend over backwards to ensure that this happened. In all our years of running a boat rental business I honestly don't know how to respond to this. We tried everything we could to try to come to an agreement that would work for both parties. We were willing to meet you half way and offered to refund you half the amount of the upcharge. You nor your mother were willing to budge and came at us with hurtful comments and reviews. As I said in my response to your mother's review, we informed you when you arrived that you came to the wrong location. We had your pontoon boat waiting and ready for you at our Dead Dog location. We called her to verbally confirm that she understood that the rental was at our Dead dog location and she agreed and understood. When you arrived at the wrong location we gave you the option to still go to that location or we could give you a different boat at Wacca Wache. Jay not only told her multiple times there would be an upcharge for the different boat but a contract was also signed that stated the new price. You have rented from us multiple times over the years so you should know that we have all of our customers sign a contract. We have two locations so we call to confirm to make sure our customers go to the right location when booking a multi-day rental. For a comment to be stated that he should have spoken slower and louder is just absurd because he could not have possibly known she had any handicap. Your mother shows no obvious physical handicap that could be seen by the naked eye. He could not possibly know she had a problem hearing or comprehending and if that was the case and you were aware of this handicap the rental should not have been in her name for her to make the decisions. She was the one we spoke to when she agreed to pick the boat up at our Dead dog location. She was the one who said she did not want to go to the other location to use the pontoon for the day. You stated yourself that "she was having a hard time hearing and understanding" so for you to claim Jay never told her that there would be a charge to upgrade to a different boat is out of our control. And to imply we would purposely be disrespectful to a handicapped person is beyond insulting. She said you had a 2 day rental that was to be kept at your dock so the pontoon boat in the Inlet would not work for you. She said she wanted to keep the boat at her house at the dock on the river so we pulled some strings to make that happen for you. All of which took place during 4th of July week, our busiest week of the year. We gave you a discount on one of our most expensive boats because you were renting it for 2 days that could have been rented out to someone else for full price to help make your rental happen when we could have just easily canceled the reservation and you would not have a boat at all. In Jay's defense, when you attack a person's character calling them a thief and liar ending a phone call abruptly is warranted. He tried to maintain his professionalism as best he could. It's a shame that instead of remembering the fun time that was had by your family during the course of a 2 day rental the emphasize has been focused on he said/ she said and who is right and wasting your time fighting with us. When your husband and kids returned the boat they raved about what a great time they had and that is what we strive for. We want everyone to walk away happy and have a good time even if it mean taking a loss. That is what we were willing to do for you especially as a returning customer.

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