Please help stop this dodgy boatbuilder

Tiglet

Someone posting on another forum that I use has had a really terrible time thanks to a boat builder by the name of Maesbury Marine Services of Shropshire, run by a Barry Tuffin.

This is not the first time his name has been associated with complaints about the standard of his work, although I'm hoping it will be the last.

The owners of one boat built by him have put together a website detailing the problems they've had. They've also got a youtube channel, where you can see the standard of their work close up.

Unfortunately, the people who put this together have ended up losing a lot of money through this as the builder went bankrupt (again!) just as they were about to go to court . But I'm sure it would be some comfort to them if they could at least do as much as possible to prevent anybody else from losing out to this joker. So if anybody has any ideas that might be helpful, I'm sure they would be very gratefully received.

Thanks for reading this.

BFG_2

Scum like this should be taken outside and knee-capped....[is that a bit too strong??]

Tiglet

Well maybe, (just a little)

One suggestion that's been made is to contact the Advertising Standards Authority.

Tuffin's site is advertising their boat as one of his successfully completed boats, something the owners find particularly distasteful considering the standard of workmanship and the fact that they have lost over £30,000 from this horror story.

If you agree that it is disgusting that he should be using their boat to advertise his business, then please click the link above and tell the ASA what you think. Although the ASA deals with false advertising alone, they will pass other complaints on to Trading Standards, who are supposed to deal with complaints not directly concerning advertising.

The complaint I made raised the following point, which I hope the ASA should be able to address:

Tuffin's advert states

All boats are built to the Recreational Craft Directive specifications...

This is a legal requirement - it is illegal to sell a new boat that doesn't comply with this directive. In fact, the independent survey commissioned by Tuffin and Hydrophobia's owners states clearly that their boat failed to comply with this standard in a number of respects.

Thanks again

BFG_2

a website does not fall within the ASA's remit - it has to be an ADVERT [eg on the web that means a banner advert, ebay listing, etc]...but not their actual website.... [otherwise they would have millions of complaints.


They will say its the same as not regulatiing the inside of shops or their windows - and direct you to TSO's.

Bizarre, but there you go

trumpton

If this is a trader who trades, goes insolvent, then starts up again, it may be worth asking the Insolvency Service to look into him.

The Companies Investigation Branch can look into the way in which a company is trading:

http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/cib/index.htm

pendulum

I think £50,000 is a lot of money that most people wouldn't have parted with, without first checking out this guys reputation and previous work. Why didn't they go with a well established boat builder that came highly recommended in the boat building community? If I was to spend 50k on a luxury custom made boat, my first priority would be to find a skilled group of boat builders with a good reputation over a number of years, price would be secondary because if I had 50k to spend on a luxury then money isn't the top priority.

I think they took a risk and it didn't pay off unfortunately... they did get shoddy workmanship and a poor service and they deserved better for £50k, but to be honest they should have been more careful.

Tiglet

BFG: Thanks for the info about the ASA - I didn't realise that websites don't come under their remit. At least I suppose they'll pass them on to Shropshire Trading Standards, as you said.

Trumpton: His entry in the London Gazette says that he was self-employed. However, the website gives the name of a limited company. I understand that he's no longer a Director, having been replaced by his daughter. I've already suggested that the owners contact the Official Receiver in the hope that they will investigate whether he's a shadow Director. I'll pass on the link to the Insolvency Service - thanks.

Pendulum: I can't say how it was that they allowed themselves to get into the situation they did. What I do know, though, is that the builder concerned has built several boats for satisfied customers, from the budget end of the market to luxury craft (although it's a lot of money, £54k is actually at the cheaper end). He has also received favourable reviews for his boats in the press. However, Hydrophobia is (to my knowledge at least) the third of his boats that has gone badly wrong in this way.

I'm sure the people who bought this boat must be angry with themselves for allowing this to have happened but they are now doing all they can to see that it doesn't happen to anybody else. The information about his previous failures wasn't available because he is very quick to threaten legal action against anyone who tells the truth about him. One thread on another site has already been taken down, and the owner of another boat had to to delete a blog about the problems with their build. Maybe if that had been allowed to stand, this story would never have happened.

spuds_2

There are other sites like blagger.com where you can leave bad feedback about people. It's always helpful to warn others.

vicozzy

There's two side's to a story.so if you force the builder out of business what happens to those who are having boat's built

Hydrophobia

Hi, Hydrophobia here,

I know whats happening to those other boats, they are being looked at by the Trustees, a VERY worrying time. I want you to know that I exhausted EVERYTHING that has been suggested before I put my webpage up but no one cared enough to do anything, when something like this happens you are alone, even the LAW can't help when someone goes bankrupt.I got in touch with the ASA,Insolvency Service,Geoff Hoon (my local mp) Shropshire local paper, most of the Tabloids..twice, BBC's Watchdog..twice, consumer direct and trading standards.I was at a loss so decided to DIY it and it seems to be working thanks to people like Tiglet who give a damn.
Nothing can be done for me now,I didn't just loose £30k I lost my health (still on beta blockers) I almost lost my marriage through the stress of it all and we lost our dream of ever owning a narrowboat.
HOWEVER maybe I can stop this happening to anyone else, I have had to put MYSELF in the firing line in more ways than one when all I really want to do is go away and lick my wounds, so I would appreciate it if you didn't USSUME we made no checks on this builder, I can assure you we did. I have never bothered to defend MYSELF because I dont think I should have to, but just for your info my boatbuilder lost his top joiner and painter as he started my boat maybe that had something to do with it?
Thanks for listening.

trumpton

A quick google shows several different unhappy customers and the above posters web site:

http://www.maesburymarine.co.uk/

Prospective customers would do well to do an exhaustive google search and read before parting with any money.