R & D Boat Supply
Predatory Mechanic—Extremely dishonest

We took our boat for service on 3/14/09. The day we dropped it off Ken Daniel, owner, was not in. His representative was told to provide an oil change, flush anti-freeze, & check the lights. We asked for an estimate, but were told by this rep that he couldn't provide one. We were advised to call back and talk to Ken. Having used R&D several months prior for "winterizing", we relied on the ballpark provided then for an average "de-winterizing": approx. $400. My husband repeatedly called R&D, speaking to Ken each time, for an estimated completion date & cost. Each time we were consistently told there were others ahead of us and he'd let us know.

Finally, in the first week of April, the owner called my husband to say our prop needed attention and explained that not having it filed could cause additional damage. Again, a quote was requested. Mr. Daniel was unable to commit to a price, but guessed about $160. My husband authorized the work. On April 15 we received a call that the boat was done—except for the prop. Again, we requested a price & anticipated a bill around $560 max! He said he'd call back on the 16th with the total. He did not. We visited R&D in person on 4/18/09. The boat was not ready, as the prop had not been returned from being filed, and the price for completed work that we were finally given was for $1258. Admittedly, I was upset. Mr. Daniel remained ambivolent and cavalier. He indicated that he spent many hours trying to fix our lights (@ $65 per hour). When I asked why he didn't call to notify us of their challenge, thus permitting us to opt out of paying for them to experiment, he said, "You told me to fix 'em. I did." I asked why he delayed in telling us the charges and he said that he didn't know how long each job was going to take and he won't give estimates. He indicated he didn't have time for estimatespeople who boat just know what to expect. He started indignantly asking how many hours I thought he should charge to grease a lower shaft and change oil. He also threw around part names and indicated that he had $40K worth of work he was doing right now, so our job—even though it was an exorbitant amount of money to me—was insignificant to him. He advised that people with boats pay these amounts all the time and that somehow I should know this and I, therefore, was wrong to expect him to justify the cost. He flat out said that if we couldn't afford him, we should sell our boat and use a friend's. While I was trying to say that it is customary in the service industry to provide an estimate when one is requested, so the consumer has the option of NOT incurring unwanted charges, he spoke over me and told me I wasn't listening because I didn't know the names of the parts he'd previously tossed around. This is an example of a predatory mechanic taking advantage of the trust placed in him by consumers. He childishly seemed to chide us for not understanding boats in lieu of explaining why the charges were as they are. He was obviously insulted and indignant when we questioned his rate and indicated that he charges $20 less per hour on service than most in the industry; however, he refused to indicate exactly how much time he spent on the boat. He failed to provide an estimate, ran up exorbitant charges and antagonistically expected me to tell him how many hours I thought were justified. He took advantage of us and even refused to give us our boat when we asked to pay the ridiculous bill and leave. We thought about going to the police, but went home to calm down first.

The following Monday, my husband called Mr. Daniel (4/20) and told him that we, again, simply wished to sever our relationship and pick up our boat. He refused once more. Although he accepts credit cards, he was argumentative and told us that he wouldn't take ours. He said cash was the only way we could pay and, even so, we could not have our boat today. He, as of the time of this complaint, is stalwartly refusing to give us our property, tell us where our propeller is, or accept a valid form of payment. Per Mr. Daniel, the reason he won't take our credit card is because he knows we'll contest his charges with Visa. As is habitual with Mr. Daniel, he was supposed to contact whomever it was he sent our prop to on 4/20 and return a call to my husband that day to indicate when he expected delivery of same. He did not.

On 4/23 Mr. Daniel finally called my husband to say the propeller was back on the boatafter we told him NOT to do one more thing to our property. He was beyond the scope of unprofessional and totally rude. He again, demanded cash.in an effort to protect ourselves from this individual of questionable moral character, we told him we'd bring a Cashier's Check. He told Scott that would be fine. An hour later he called me to perpetuate his lying tendency and relay, My bank says they don't accept Cashier's Checks. The only thing this individual is proficient at is hanging up on his customers. He threatened me with, Tell your husband to bring cash or you won't get your boat! And hung up the phone. Scott complied with his request and took him cash merely to retrieve our boat before he vandalized it. Mr. Daniel provided him with a service record charging 11 hours to flush anti-freeze, change oil and replace two lights on the trailer. The parts bill consisted of $10.00 for lights. $30 for zinc andget this. For 5 quarts of oil, at $3.54 each, he charged us $177.00 instead of $17.70. He refuses to give us back the money he admits he overcharged and is the most horrible, insulting, simple-minded creaturehe's not human.

In fact, enough time has now passed that we received a copy of his written response to our complaint with the BBB and, when he wasn't bragging about himself, his only other option was to flagrantly lie from the first paragraph to the last. He completely fabricated multiple occurrences. This man not only shouldn't be in business, he should be in jail.

Company: R & D Boat Supply
Country: USA
State: Maryland
City: Cambridge
Address: 22 Washington St
Phone: 4102280674

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