Used boat, beware of online scams

"I bought a used boat that didn't exist," or the importance of pre-purchase checks"

Determined to purchase a boat, Laurent allowed himself to get drawn into one of the many scams involving the purchase of second-hand units on the web. With his permission, Bateau-immatriculation tells the unfortunate story of a yachtsman who would have done better to be wary...

The perfect deal?

Laurent had spotted the perfect ad: a 2010 Sea-Doo Islandia jetboat in pristine condition. On a website dedicated to buying and selling used boats, the unit was offered for €12,500, half the price of other similar models for sale that the yachtsman had spotted in North America. Since the boat was also based in Malta, this would allow him to achieve significant savings, between the attractive sale price and the reduced shipping costs.

The seller owned a trailer adapted for the jetboat, which he was also selling. "It was perfect!" comments Laurent. Being naturally impulsive, it didn't take him long to make up his mind to buy the unit.

His story

"The first contact was made via email. All the exchanges we had, in fact, were done that way. I never called the seller directly; I didn't even ask for his number. I don't speak English very well, and it was simpler for me to exchange by email, with the help of a translator."

Exchanges multiply

Laurent's contact built trust with him. He sent numerous photos and videos of the boat, taken in an environment that could easily correspond to the Mediterranean Sea. Nothing raised any red flags for Laurent, who, until then, had no questions. The supposed owner also sent a copy of the boat's papers, as well as his identification—passport and driver's license—and Laurent learned more about him: he was originally from Mexico and owned a vacation home in Malta, as well as several restaurants in Spain. Everything seemed in order, and Laurent did not doubt the reliability of his contact.

At that point, he had two options: his contact suggested he come pick up the boat directly in Malta or use a maritime transporter to ship the unit via container, with the seller offering to handle the formalities. Residing in France, Laurent inquired about the ports where he could receive the boat and decided to have it sent to Genoa, Italy.

He provided his details to the seller. The latter informed him that the transporter would get back to him directly for the rest of the file. He would have to pay the full cost of the boat to the transporter, who would then pay the money to the seller afterwards, if the boat received was indeed in the announced condition.

Laurent explains

"I did receive a bill of sale. All the conditions were well detailed: an inspection would be done by the transporter before departure, and as soon as I received the boat, I would have 5 days to test it, look it over, and verify that everything was in compliance. If I found any anomaly, everything would be covered by the transporter. So, I called my banker, whom I know well, and asked him to make a transfer to Malta, to the transporter of my future boat. He didn't ask any particular questions and carried it out."

Once the transfer order was received, the supposed seller told Laurent he would deliver the boat the next day, on its trailer, to the transporter. Then, Laurent received a shipping acknowledgement for the boat from the transporter: the teams had taken care of conducting an inspection of the boat and had placed it in a container, ready to depart. The dates and times of arrival in Genoa were also indicated, where he would need to be present to receive the unit. Since the trip lasted several days, Laurent was expected at the port of Genoa 5 days later.

Delivery of the vessel

The yachtsman hit the road to arrive in Italy a little early to have time to scout out the area: "I was still in contact with the seller. I sent him an email asking how I should go about picking up the boat once I was there. The procedure to follow was clear and held up. I didn't ask myself any more questions! The port of Genoa is huge, but I found the place where the boat from Malta arrived. But unfortunately, the boat didn't have the unit I had just bought on it."

Laurent says that at that moment, the central office and port agents at the port of Genoa all worked hard with him to find the container that should have been under his name. Informed that another boat should arrive, also by container, on the next trip, and following the advice of the teams on site, he decided to stay in the Italian city for a few days.

Laurent then had the idea of contacting the transporter through another means: "I had always exchanged emails with the same contact. With him, I had received a link to track my container on a website that looked like a professional site. But when I actually contacted the customer service of the transporter I should have been dealing with, they unfortunately announced that the number I had didn't correspond to any file."

The scam?

The man who should have become the new owner then discovered the truth: the alleged seller, after sending him fake papers, had stolen the identity of a world-renowned transporter by reproducing their website and practices identically. And Laurent had never made the €12,500 payment to a trusted transporter, but directly to someone who would never deliver the boat to him.

Laurent concludes: "5 days was the time of the supposed trip, but also the number of days it took for my contact to receive the money before closing his bank account immediately after."

Our opinion

It's a very sad story that, unfortunately, we are not hearing for the first time. Because scams concerning the purchase of used boats on the web are, in the end, quite common.

It can never be repeated enough: when purchasing a boat, it is essential to proceed with several very important checks before signing a contract. This is to ensure the truthfulness of the file!

We recommend that you systematically check the correspondence of the information provided by the seller or owner with the official administrative situation. You can, for example, question the register, consult mortgage records, and check that the documents necessary for post-purchase administrative procedures are in good standing.

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