Bad Service

I wanted to refurbish my boat and after many considerations I was referred to Down South by a reputable Fisherman that has been in the business his entire life, so I decided to take my boat to Down South, My dealings with Rob at first was pleasant and I thought we will have a good relationship, his a very knowledgeable guy and seems to know and understand what I want and need. His recommendations were valid and made completely sense.

Although the quotation of R62000 was steep, I stood by my choice to use Down South for this project and after all the person who referred me, his bread and butter is Fishing and his lively hood depends on boats, so what on earth can go wrong .....

Very excited on 10 June 2021, I left my boat at Down South for the work to start as soon as the project that he was busy with is complete, Little did I know this will be an ongoing excuse and the initial time frame of 2 months will become 2.5 years !

Weekly visits turned into weekly calls and weekly calls turned into monthly calls, excuses got more and deadlines set by Rob himself stayed on "another 2 weeks and we will be done" After numerous threats I received a call with long stories and promises that my boat will be complete in a months' time, needless to say nothing happened !!

On 1 November 2023 I receive a whatsapp message "I will have everything put on your boat tomorrow, including hanging the engines. There's a small amount of work to complete but I don't have the ability to do it anymore. I've spent so much in getting the boat to this stage and I no longer have the spirit to chase people. It should be ready for collection on Friday, I'll confirm once the engines are on"

Friday came and Friday gone no confirmation. On 8 November 2023 I received another WhatsApp message "Morning Louis your boat is ready for collection first thing tomorrow morning. All the stainless we removed is in boxes, steering is coiled up and engines are on. They're just giving it a wash now"

I went to collect my UNFINISHED BOAT on Friday 10 November 2023 to only get there and nothing as per above WhatsApp's was done, one of the guys in the shop felt I should take my boat as is without engines being bolted onto the transom. Once this was completed an hour and a half later, I had to ask for my Chevron board only to see it is damaged and the lights is all broken, another guy in the shop said they cannot fix it, numerous parts is missing which they could also not give to me as Rob was not present and on contacting Rob he just ignored my calls.

I WILL NEVER EVER EVER EVER RECOMEND OR REFER ANYBODY NOT EVEN MY BIGGEST ENEMY TO DO ANY BUSINESS WITH DOWN SOUTH MARINE !!!!