My story of Bad Service from the supplier of my boat and trailer from
SUNSHINE MARINE. Ltd
Units 1&2,
M&K Fahy Business Park,
King St Industrial Estate,
Middlewich,
Cheshire
CW10 9LF
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This is a story telling of bad service and poor customer attitude from a boat
selling business in Cheshire SUNSHINE MARINE that I had bought a new bare
boat and trailer for fitting out myself from in December 2007.
Vernon Wood a Scot local from my area of the Scottish Borders a partner in Sunshine Marines business. Deliverd the boat personally as he was visiting his mother who lives locally. I got what I thought was a good deal. He seemed a pleasent sort of guy.
PLEASE READ ON APPEARENCES CAN BE DECEPTIVE...................................................................
More on the World Sea fishing forum about Sunshine Marines poor service. CLICK
Pleased with my new angling boat Seahog Sea Jeep 15ft after kitting it out with a new engine and electronics . I took it out on it's maiden voyage on Loch Etive in late February 2008.
The boat was fine. Ideal for my needs.. However on the trip home trailing the boat I heard a thump from the rear and pulled over to see what had caused it.
I was shocked to see that the trailer keel roller spindles had bent, shearing off the split pins and the boat had dropped onto the trailer. Luckily the rubber rollers had stayed in place just enough to prevent the hull being damaged.
The Snipe made trailers 12mm diameter spindle rollers were not up to the job of supporting the weight of the boat and had bent. They were obviously not of sufficent strength to support the weight of the boat safely.
I wrote first by email to Sunshine Marine outlining the problem. I got no reply.
I also emailed and telephoned Snipe Trailers but apperently at that point they had just ceased trading.
After three days, I telephoned
Sunshine Marine to complain.
The companies representitive the same Vernon Wood who had delivered the boat
was most unhelpful and had a dreadfully attitude. He refused point balank
to accept there was a problem or offer to help me out with parts, or to repair
this unsafe trailer.
He wanted me to lift the boat off the trailer and send the faulty rollers back before they would accept there was a problem. They would then send me on the replacement parts!
Now to do this sounds simple, but it isn't!
To remove the rollers and brackets the boat ( weight 600kg) needs to be lifted from the trailer. I don't have the equipment to lift a boat from the trailer. The only way this could be achieved is to take the boat on this unsafe trailer to a marina (nearest one is a 40 mile drive)and float the boat off, anchor it, then remove the faulty parts from the trailer.
I would then have to leave the boat at the marina at my expense and then post the parts to SUNSHINE MARINE then wait for the return of these. Then........ drive the 40 miles back to the marina and fit the new rollers and winch on the boat and bring it the 40 miles back home.
This to say the least, would
be a very expensive and inconvenient process for me to do!
I thought it was totally unreasonable for them to ask me to
do that and said so....."This
is not my fault!" Was my response, " You have supplied an unsafe
dangerous trailer not fit for the purpose. Do you realise how dangerous this
fault is? This is your responsibility to rectify the fault!"
Despite pointing out the danger to myself and the danger other road users
were in due to this fault plus detailing the bother and expense I would have
to be put to and repeating over and over again the serious issue that
the 12mm keel roller spindles on these rollers where too weak and too FEW
in number to support this weight of boat. Vernon was intransigent, and
refused accepet any responsibilty or make any concession that the trailer
had a problem.
An argument ensued, but still an agreement could not be reached, The companies part owner Vernon Wood refused to agree I had a problem with the trailer.
Comments like - "we have not have had this trouble before," were offered. Then a complete reversal that," Snipe make rubbish trailers."" They have been getting worse over the years" etc etc........Despiet those comments from Vernon on the quality of the trailer STILL no agreement could be reached on what they should do and what was needed to make my trailer safe for use.
Some sense of order (surprise surprise!) was amazingly regained when I dropped the name of the Word Sea Fishing Forum in to the conversation. I threatened to post the issue of their poor service on the WSF forum...............
Vernon immediately backed down and said the parts would be sent.
Quote from
Vernon Wood: "Please if we do that will you please not put our name on
the WSF forum?" I agreed at this
point, that as soon as I got the parts to make the trailer safe, and had completed
the work, I would return the faulty components to them.**
(see below)
The upshot was that I got SOME of the parts needed (3 X 19mm
plain roller units to replace the unsafe 12mm units) to make the trailer safe.
These were posted to me and they arrived the very next day. The package
though was short of one essential bow V roller to complete the job. There
was no note of explanation enclosed to explain the missing front V roller.
With great
difficulty that involved days work for myself and my son, with a great deal
of ingenuity, we managed to raise the boat high enough off the trailer using
a car jack to fit the new roller bracket parts.
However I still needed one V roller for the bow keel section
to make the trailer sound enough to support the boat properly and make the
trailer safe to transport the boat!
So once again I telephoned SUNSHINE MARINE and once again spoke to Vernon Wood to ask what had happened to the missing V roller and bracket? "It was out of stock it will be with you in a few days" So why did you not put a note in the package to keep me informed? "He thought it best to get what he had off to me. He didn't have time to do a note." Fair enough. The part would follow..............
4 weeks passed. No roller/bracket arrived.
I phoned Sunshine Marine again and spoke to Vernon Wood. Again rather than offering me help or compensation, or heavens above an apology! He kicked off again and I was given the runaround of excuses yet again!
The part I was told, was on the desk ready to be posted, but they were still awaiting the return of the faulty parts for inspection before it would be sent out!!!!!**
Not surprisingly I was unhappy with this response, and once again said that SUNSHINE MARINE need to look at their customer service it is disgraceful! He continued to argue and be unhelpful......My reaction to this was to say I was through with this constant phoning to get something done and with this stressful arguing all the time.
I had had enough of this nonsense, talking to them was just a waster of time and that I intended this time to post the full story on the WSF Forum naming the company that had given me such bad service.
And that is exactly what I did. The post was similar to what is written above.
Here it is. CLICK Now Deleted for some reason? I understand Sunshine Marine complained to the WSF owner Mike Thrussell jnr and it was removed. The story above is the truth. So was that post.
(Link to the latest WSF thread on the subject CLICK )
WELL SUNSHINE MARINE YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS COMMENT ON YOUR BAD SERVICE REMOVED!
A letter received from them on April the 17th 2008. Don't bother phoning we won't talk to you!
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Now just in case you think I am making a mountain out of a molehill?
PLEASE READ ON......And give some thought to what might have happened had I not heard the thump from the rear while towing the boat and pulled over safely to a stop?
What
were the potential consequences of the failure of the rollers failing to support
the boat securely that is being trailer ed at speeds of up to 60 mph?
Best scenario is the boat falls on to the trailer and my hull is
damaged. I pull over and stop safely.
Worst scenario: The boat slips off the trailer because
the hull splits along the keel, & folds inwards. The side rollers are
no longer keeping the boat stable and so the boat collapses, falling to one
side or the other.
The safety straps are no longer tight, and no longer holding the boat to the
trailer.
The boat is in danger of falling off the trailer, and is only held by the
winchrope and the safety chain at the bow.
The boat is now flailing about, & there is a distinct possibility that
the outboard motor, and auxilliary motor, hit the ground and are ripped from
the transom.......
There is traffic to the right and behind me...............The rest of the
picture you can fill in for yourself.
How many people are in danger of being hurt or losing their life from an incident
like that.........? It does not bear thinking about.
SUNSHINE MARINE YOU NEED TO TREAT THIS COMPLAINT ABOUT MY TRAILER WITH THE SERIOUS ATTENTION THIS DESERVES!
SUNSHINE MARINE - HOW MANY MORE BOATS ARE OUT THERE THAT YOU HAVE SOLD WITH THIS SAME TRAILER????????
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Update 14/4/08
I have never to date received that roller
to make my trailer safe. Or any letter of apology.
______________________________________________________________________
David Norwich. Fountainhall. 14/4/2008
Link to the latest WSF thread on the subject CLICK