Do not rent a boat from these criminals.
I cannot stress enough that you should never give these people any of your hard earned cash. We rented a boat back in October and everything seemed to be fine. No problems on the pick up day, although the safety briefing is a little intense, you get on the boat terrified you may break or damage something and if you do it will cost you a fortune to fix.
The boat seemed pretty good but it did drink over $200 worth of fuel and we only went to Captiva and back, double the amount we were told it would cost. The real problems started when we got back to the 'marina' (it's not a marina, it's a canal they park a couple of boats on) to return the boat. No one was there to check the boat in so I called the office number and spoke to the wife of the owner who assured me that she trusted that the boat was in excellent condition and if we could post the keys through the door she would make sure our security deposit of $500 would be refunded.
On returning home I discovered that the security deposit had not been refunded. I called the office number and again spoke to the wife of the owner and was assured that it was just an oversight and it would be sorted out in a couple of days. A week later still no refund, they clearly have caller ID because they then refused to answer any of my 16 phone calls and numerous emails. After 6 weeks of trying to get a response I eventually called my credit card company and reported the whole situation to them. Another 4 weeks later I eventually got my money refunded by my credit card. There are a few reasons why you should not rent a boat from Paradise Boat Rentals Cape Coral.
1. If they know you are on vacation and will be returning home they will keep your deposit knowing you can't go to the office and get it back.
2. The boat uses an enormous amount of fuel. Possibly poorly maintained engines.
3. You will be given a set of instructions and a briefing that will put so much emphasis on looking after their boat that you really can't relax and enjoy your day.
4. It takes nearly 2 hours to get to the open sea. If you are staying in Fort Myers Beach rent a boat on the island. They are more expensive but you will save the difference on fuel and you'll be on the ocean in a matter of minutes rather than hours.
5. Don't be sucked in by all of the freebies. There were no iPod leads or rings available.
6. They lie and cheat. I am not the only person they have tried this deposit scam on.
We have spent the last 25 years holidaying in the States and have never ever been treated like this. They are cheating cowards who prey on unsuspecting holiday makers, they are criminals, do not rent anything from them.
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