Locaboat .... Caution if renting from Locaboat on the Canals of France

We had many incidents that caused us concern because Locaboat did not answer e-mail when question and queries were asked.

They also did not honour a refund due to mechanical breakdown as per their contract.

The question are coloured Green
Locaboat responses are coloured Red

Note the few number of Red e-mail responses.

There are many other companies that rent canal boats that should be considered before going to Locaboat.

www.le-guide.com/boatrentalsfrance/index.html
We are spending 5 weeks with this company... will keep you posted on the service.
April 10th 2008.... The help and follow up to all e-mails has been excellent. We leave in 10 days to start our cruise aboard one on their canal boats. Stay tuned.

www.barginginfrance.com/
This site has most of the rental companies listed.

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From: Graham Scholes
Date: March 25, 2007 7:25:45 AM PDT (CA)
To: info <info@locaboat.com>

I did not hear from you regarding the last e-mail?
I notice that I had written down the wrong boat number....

Let me update you.
The second couple that are joining us have necessitate a larger boat.
The boat that would best suit us is the P. 1020FB

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From: Graham Scholes
Date: April 14, 2007 8:53:08 AM PDT (CA)
To: info <info@locaboat.com>

Have you responded to this e-mail?
I have trouble in the past with e-mail from you and want to make sure that my file number is not cancelled.

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From: Graham Scholes
Date: April 16, 2007 2:02:58 PM PDT (CA)
To: info <info@locaboat.com>

There may be a language problem here.... so I will try this in french....wish me luck!
Il peut y a un problème de langue ici…. ainsi j'essayerai ceci en français….me souhaiter la chance!

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From: info
Date: April 17, 2007 4:41:36 AM PDT (CA)
To: Graham Scholes <graham@woodblock.info>

Dear Mr Scholes

There isn't at all a language problem

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On 17-Oct-07, at 8:14 AM, graham@woodblock.info wrote:
Bonjour,

We wish to cancel the last week of our contract......
October 22nd to Oct 29th 2007

Upon arrival to your Agen depot we were advised that the River Lot
did not have enough water for us to cruise upon.
We did spend 7 days on the Baise which was grand.
We spend 2 days cruising the Midi Canal ( Garonne) and find
this it is not interesting.

It is on this basis that we are canceling the last week of our
trip.

For me to access the internet is limited please send any communications to
your Agen depot.

Thanks,

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> From: Graham Scholes
> Date: November 2, 2007 9:48:42 PM PDT (CA)
> To: info <info@locaboat.com>

Dear Sirs,

I sent the above e-mail after I phoned the Agen base depot,
explaining that I was disappointed by virtue of the Lot River being
closed and unavailable to navigation. It should be noted that I
indicated my disappointment to the staff when we first arrived at
the Agen depot to pick up the boat. It should be understood that
we chose to do the Baise and Lot canal system based on highly
recommended feedback by several persons. My profession is an artist
and I am particularly aware of my surroundings. The objective of
this trip was to record and collect reference material for future
projects. We did travel as far as Forquette sur Garonne thinking
that it would be an alternative to the Lot. This certainly was
not the case mainly due to the lack of interesting villages and the
monotonous scenes along the Garonne canal.

I initiated the cancellation procedure by phoning the Agen base on
Oct 15th and the only feed back from them during that phone call
was that I had to put my request in writing to info@locaboat.com.
The soonest I could to access a internet location was Oct 17th.

I find it difficult to understand why I was not informed during the
phone call that I could not cancel and expect my money to be
returned. The staff did not know of this, as upon arrival at the
base on Oct 22nd, it only became apparent when the personnel at
Agen phoned your offices. Nor was I advised during that phone call
of Oct 15th that there was an alternative choice available, that
being, we could pick an alternative route that was based out of
Argens to finish the last week of our holiday. This information
was not disclosed until we arrived back at the depot on Oct 22nd.
On Oct 19th, we had heard nothing to the contrary about our
decision to cancel the last week, (my e-mail asked that any
communications be sent to the Agen depot). We therefore changed our
Auto Rental agreement and the Air Flight dates to coincide with the
cancelled and shortened Canal cruise holiday. You can appreciate
that the offer made at the depot (on Oct 22nd) was too late for me
to consider the alternative which would have been quite acceptable.

I reported a mechanical problem on Oct 19th a.m. so the Agen depot
knew where and how to contact me. This was evident as the Mechanic
was to meet the boat in Nerac at 3 pm that day. At 6 pm an
employee of the Tourist Information bureau came to the boat to
advise that a phone call was received from Locaboat, and that the
mechanic would not be arriving until about 7 pm.

I found the fine print on your document regarding “Trip
Cancelation Plan” confusing. It should be better clarified. The
reference to “reservation cancellation” article was confusing. I
could not find any defined article of this nature. I did see the
term used within the TRIP CANCELLATION paragraph but no article on
this subject.

I ask that you consider my request of a refund of the last week of
our Canal holiday.

Regards
Graham Scholes

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After 6 weeks and a few followup e-mails I finally got this reply to my Nov 2nd e-mail ....

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From: info
Date: December 13, 2007 7:07:29 AM PST (CA)
To: graham@woodblock.info

Dear Mr Scholes

We had sent a reply to you but I now believe that you didn't receive it so I'm sending a copy of what we had sent then
As you will see Olympe proposed a refund of 214 Euros but we can deduct this amount from your next holiday should you prefer
I look forward to hearing from you

Best regards
mandy.bourne@locaboat.com

I did not believe this. The e-mail system is such that if an e-mail is not delivered the sender gets a notification of the occurrence. As far as I am concerned they never send me an e-mail.

Dear Mr. Scholes,

Further to your mail, for which I thank you and which has received my full attention, I have requested a detailed report from our bases concerning the various aspects of your complaint.

Firstly, I am very sorry about the technical aspects. The repair of the fixing struts on the alternator and the belts immobilised you for one complete day. This means you are entitled to a reimbursement of 214 euros.

Concerning the problem of blue smoke, our mechanics did not notice anything abnormal but in order to reassure you they worked quickly to change the filter and injector.

Right from the start of your cruise, you asked our hostess at the base in Agen about returning the boat earlier. Our clients are free to return the boat when they wish. This does not entitle the client to be reimbursed. You contacted our commercial team who confirmed this to you. They also made another offer, thinking this might suit you.

Our brochures state very clearly that rivers can be subject to closure due to flooding or drought, in particular on the River Lot (page 23 of the brochure).

The Canal Latéral à la Garonne and the Canal du Midi were open and could have given you a great amount of satisfaction.

We have the impression that you left the boat for personal reasons.

Therefore, I suggest that you send your card number to our commercial department so that we can reimburse the amount of 214 euros.

Best regards, Olympe Pafsides

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Note..... Did not know where to locate the “Commercial Department”

On 12-Jan-08, at 10:27 AM, Graham Scholes wrote:

> > You advised that I could claim 214€ for the lost day due to repairs
> > on the Penichette we rented.
> > You did not advise how I go about doing this.
> > I note that you have not responded to my e-mail of Dec 23rd....
> > Now that the holiday season is over, would you please respond.
> >
> > Regards
> >
> > Graham Scholes

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From: Graham Scholes
Date: December 14, 2007 9:52:50 AM PST (CA)
To: Mandy BOURNE <Mandy.BOURNE@locaboat.com>

I want to acknowledge your offer to refund the 214€ for the lost of a day of traveling. If my maths are correct the figure should be 219€

You should also know that it took us a 3/4 of a day to limp along the canal at very low speed. I felt that the motor was in serious state and did not want to stop in the middle of nowhere. l strived to reached the Condom port which was convenient for your mechanics to service the boat. You should be aware that the sound (of the alternator and broke struts) caused much noise and I was concerned for your equipment. The oil light was on all that time and we idled from time to time to cool the motor and insure severe damage was not occurring. I chose not to shut down the motor as I felt it may not have restarted and we would have been stranded in an awkward location on the canal. You can see that I showed concern and compassion during this incident.

For the record the blue exhaust smoke was another concern and this was verified by a passenger and myself when the mechanic arrived to make repairs. It was again a matter of concern and my nature to not abuse your equipment. It was a small matter but a repair was made and it cured the problem.

As far as this statement.....
“Right from the start of your cruise, you asked our hostess
at the base in Agen about returning the boat earlier“.
This is absolutely not true. Why would I want to cut our holiday short when I had spent 6 months planning the trip which included 6 days in Paris, 3 weeks driving and staying in B&Bs through France, 3 weeks on your canal boat, 1 week driving back to Paris, the 4 weeks of car rental and the Air Flight back to Canada.

I did show and express my disappointment that we could not do the LOT, but I sure said nothing about returning the boat earlier. As I had never been on a cruise of this nature before I could not possibly prejudge until I had experienced the canals.

I did not make any mention of returning the boat early until I made the phone call about Oct 16th or 17th. My e-mail of Oct 17th (confirming the phone call) clearly defines my reason for the cancellation. You have a copy. You should know that the personel at the Agen base confirmed my appraisal of the the Midi Canal as compared to the Baise and the Lot. The statement made was ...”Not as interesting as the Baise and Lot Canal” was made before we started the trip. I can offer a witness to this statement in the form of my Sister in Law and her husband.

The situation regarding the accident that my daughter had.... (see documentation in my last e-mail) might seem a little bogus to you and I am prepared to have the document notarized to prove the incident. This was just cause to cancel the last week of our holidays and come to her assistance....
She was off work for 3 weeks and was in great need of help with the three children.

I await compassion from you, regarding this matter.

As I mentioned I am endeavouring to book for a 4 week trip, (my wife and I) next spring.... April 26th to May 24th on the Burgundy Nivernais Loire. I would be pleased to see a credit for this trip as soon as possible. Sorry for the rush but there are several rental companies that are offering a special if an order is placed before Dec 31st 2007.

Looking for a prompt reply.

Graham Scholes

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From: Graham Scholes
Date: December 23, 2007 9:27:11 AM PST (CA)
To: Mandy BOURNE <Mandy.BOURNE@locaboat.com>

Dear Mandy,

8 days ago I sent the e-mail below.
I anxiously awaiting your response....

I need to make a decision about my next trip by 12:00 pm (noon) Pacific Standard Time, Dec 27th 2008

I have offered to notarized the documents re my daughter mishap.

My lawyer has reviewed the documents and has declared that I am in compliance with your trip cancelation policy which we had purchased.

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Note..... Did not know how to contact the “Commercial Department” and after two e-mails gave up requesting this information.

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From: Mandy BOURNE <Mandy.BOURNE@locaboat.com>
Date: February 4, 2008 1:35:36 AM PST (CA)
To: Graham Scholes <graham@woodblock.info>
Subject: Réf. : FINAL REQUEST... File number 703016

Dear Mr Scholes,

First of all I would like to say that we have replied to your emails and that it isn't in the interest of Locaboat,

who have existed for more than thirty years not to take peoples complaints seriously.

If you look at our booking conditions you will see that the the trip cancellation plan is valid only in the case

of a cancellation before departure and not once the trip has started. We also made you a proposition during your trip

in order to try to accomodate your wishes

Regards

Mandy

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Response From: Graham Scholes
Date: February 4, 2008 10:01:21 AM PST (CA)
To: Mandy BOURNE <Mandy.BOURNE@locaboat.com>

Dear Mandy Bourne,

I have all the e-mail that have not been answered.....
Here are a few......

You offered us a rebate of 214 Euros for the loss of one day. I asked how to access that credit...NO ANSWER

I sent documents that proved the happening with my daughters 2nd degree burn, that fit with the conditions of the cancellation contract. I can have these (and offered) to have them notarized. NO ANSWER.

I suggested that a credit would be appropriate on a trip we are making May 2008 ..... NO ANSWER
(We have booked this trip, with your competitor, for 4 week on the Loire).
You have missed a opportunity (3 weeks rental) because of your NO ANSWER policy as you stated.......

“First of all I would like to say that we have replied to
your emails and that it isn't in the interest of Locaboat.“

You should understand that this day and age because of the Internet it is not about the “Company“ or as you put it “interest of Locaboat, it is about the “Customer”. You would be well advised that if you plan to say in business for another 30 years then I would recommend you reconsider the company policy because it is not acceptable with present day business practices.

You will have to clarify the offer/proposition made *during* our trip. I have no record of such a happening *during* the trip. Maybe the offer you are referring to was the use of a boat in another part of the canal made by the agent at Agen base station AFTER the trip on Oct 22nd. We arrived at the base 6 days AFTER our car rental/air flights/hotel rooms were changed.

My phone call Oct 15th to the Base (who advised that I had to send you a follow up e-mail Oct 17th) confirmation that initiated the conclusion of our trip received ..... NO ANSWER. Had you responded to that e-mail, showing consideration to your customer, then certainly the matter would not have escalated to the poor business practice that is going to be posted to the Web

Do you recall the e-mail at the start of our negotiations.... I had a difficult time trying to get ANSWERS and wrote the following.

The above affirms that communications with Locaboat is a major problem and not in-keeping with good business practices.

In conclusion .....
You may have been in the business for 30 years and until recently customers had no method of keeping you on track or re-course in terms of fair business practice.... Well, the internet has changed all that and your past practices are no longer acceptable.

I look forward to satisfaction within the next 12 hours after which the details will be posted to the Internet.

Respectfully,

Graham Scholes