Click & Boat = Bait & Switch

[Sababa]

This is the story of my unfortunate decision to book a boat for a day charter through the listing site Click & Boat on our recent trip to Nice. Here is a picture of the boat we reserved and paid for in advance:

Rent Motorboat Nice

The boat belonging to Yohan can be rented from $950 per day in Nice. Click&Boat is the leader in peer-to-peer boat rental with more than 50,000 boats available.

www.clickandboat.com

Fancy, eh? But as we were leaving for the marina the morning of the rental, the owner texted us to say that the boat we had reserved was having engine trouble, and offered us this modest craft as a substitute.

Rent Motorboat Nice

The boat belonging to Jean-Marc can be rented from $500 per day in Nice. Click&Boat is the leader in peer-to-peer boat rental with more than 50,000 boats available.

www.clickandboat.com

Quite the downgrade. Since the substitute listed for $400 less than the boat we had reserved and paid for, I asked the owner if he would refund the difference. He said no, the price would be the same. We could take it or leave it. But what were we to do? We had reservations at a nice restaurant in Antibes and a day of boating planned with friends. He didn't speak enough English and I not enough French to argue about it, so I said I'd take it up with Click & Boat, and off we went to make the most of the day.

That same evening, I emailed Click & Boat customer service about the switch and asked that they refund the difference between the listed price of the boat we got and the boat we had paid for and reserved. After a few days, they responded that the owner's position was that we had agreed to take the smaller boat for the same price as the bigger one, and he didn't owe us anything. I sent them the text string in which I had made no such agreement, and pointed out that even if I had, it would have been without consideration as I hadn't gotten anything more than what I was already owed under the deal we'd already made. (For you non-lawyers playing at home, this is why going along with a last minute bait-and-switch doesn't bind you to a new deal—in America at least!)

Facts and law, sadly, made no impression on the fine people of Click & Boat, who stuck with the owner and told me to pound sand. I've gone ahead and disputed the charge with my credit card company and left one star reviews all over the internet for both the site and the listing.

Good people of Trawler Forum, be forewarned to stay clear of these sleazy buckets of bilge slime. And if you have any recommendations for a more reputable and reliable source for booking day charters in the Riviera for future reference, I'd be very grateful.

 

[O C Diver]

Did you talk to your credit card company? I would dispute it, and atleast make click and boat go through the hassle of your dispute.

Ted

 

[Sababa]

Did you talk to your credit card company? I would dispute it, and atleast make click and boat go through the hassle of your dispute.

Ted

Yes, as noted.

 

[Delta Riverat]

I don't hold much hope for your money back but thanks for the warning, I won't use those pirates either.

 

[ksanders]

This kind of last minuite bait and switch is all to common with "touristy" things.

We bought concert tickets on stubhub maybe a month before the concert in Las Vegas. Great VIP seats, the perfect evening planned.

The afternoon of the concert stubhub called me and told me that the seller could not supply my tickets, and was offering some upper level seating at a substantial discount. I told the person, I'd decide in a minute and found those same upper level tickets for sale much cheaper on another resale ticket site.

I refused the offer, and was refunded my money, but the pressure to accept the lower quality tickets was intense. My wife was already getting dressed for the concert.

I did some searching, was disappointed and literally had some great tickets come up at the last minute. Not in the VIP section, but just a few rows from the stage.

I bought them, and received my e-tickets literally as we were eating dinner before the concert.

It was a great show, but it left a really bad taste in my mouth because it was obviously intentional. The seller never had the tickets to begin with. He or she listed them for sale, knowing the pressure I would be under to accept sub par tickets just hours before the show with zero recourse.

The boat you rented probably does not exist. They do the bait and switch thing for a living, and the tourists are oblivious.

 

[tiltrider1]

Having owned several business that took Credit Cards I can tell you that the Credit Card companies are more likely to side with the customer and not the vendor. When filing your claim note that you did not receive the services you paid for.

That said, Click and boat will have the right to pursue you for the money but, at that point you will have the upper hand. They will most likely give you the $400 discount just to get some money.

 

[slowgoesit]

And if your bank is anything like my bank, you can't dispute just a partial amount. Dispute the entire bill. I did on a large bill about 3 years ago. The company still owed me for some equipment, then went out of business, I disputed within 30 days, the company never responded, the CC company refunded me the entire amount. I went out and purchased the missing parts elsewhere.
Bottom line, as tiltrider stated, the reason for the dispute is "You did not receive what you ordered". NOT they switched boats, or provided a smaller, less capable boat, but "You didn't receive what you ordered." Include a copy of the original order and the price.

 

[Sababa]

Fortunately my bank does allow you to just dispute the difference between what you ordered and what you received. We will see how that works out.

 

[SteveK]

Implied consent was given when you accepted the substitute.
Most of us in your situation would have done the same thing under the circumstances.

 

[kthoennes]

I took a week long business trip a few months ago and stayed in a posh hotel in New Jersey. Booked through Expedia. Of course you still give the hotel a credit card for incidentals, and when I got home I discovered both Expedia and the hotel charged my card for the room. I tell that story because the other posts are right about disputing a portion of a charge, or even a minimally complex situation. After zero success with Expedia and the hotel (each pointed me to the other), I filed a dispute with my card - and got credited both charges back. I tried to tell my cc company I did not expect to come out of this with a free hotel room, I only wanted one of two charges refunded (didn't care which) but nobody wanted to hear it.

 

[slowgoesit]

Fortunately my bank does allow you to just dispute the difference between what you ordered and what you received. We will see how that works out.

I believe you are missing my point.
Stating you did not get what you contracted for is a Black/White claim. Either you did, or you didn't. Easy to prove, and Easy for the CC company to make a decision.

Claiming that you got LESS than what you contracted for, even if you can point to a cost for the boat you reserved, and boat you received, is more of a Grey issue. Harder for the CC company to start divvying up the charges.

In the first example, you claim you didn't get what you contracted for. Evidence: Your original purchase confirmation, vs they provided to you. The CC company decides in your favor, then you can offer to pay the charter company for the boat you actually received. Your call.

Personally, I would probably wait for THEM to ask for it, but if you offer to pay it, then it's business as usual for them. You just paid for the boat provided. In the event the entire charge is refunded, they get smacked (lost money), and may think twice about doing this again. . . . Once again, your call.

 

[Sababa]

I’m not missing a point. I did tell them I did not get what I contracted for. The seller provided a substitute for what I contracted for, which I accepted. In that circumstance, my “expectation” damages under contract law amount to the difference in value between what was promised and what was delivered. The credit card company understands this and provides the option to make only a claim for the difference in value in this situation. I’m a lawyer (not just of the sea variety) and know what I’m doing. Or so I say when I’ve probably already spent more time than the claim is worth pursuing it as a matter of principle.

 

[SteveK]

so why did you accept a lesser value boat for the original price?
why did you not tell them to refund full amount until the boat you want is available? you chose to take the ride as you had a place to be at so you accepted what was available at the same price without negotiation.

I wish I had a dollar for every rental car that was not the one I clicked on.

 

[Sababa]

so why did you accept a lesser value boat for the original price?
why did you not tell them to refund full amount until the boat you want is available? you chose to take the ride as you had a place to be at so you accepted what was available at the same price without negotiation.

I wish I had a dollar for every rental car that was not the one I clicked on.

I did not accept the lesser boat at the original price. We were at the dock, ready to go, with a whole day planned when the substitute was offered. There were no other boats available, and no opportunity to negotiate over the price.

Nor was there any need to. We had a deal to provide the original boat at the original price. He failed to perform on that deal and offered a substitute boat of lesser value. Although he was demanding it, I never agreed to pay the original price for the substitute boat. If I had, that agreement would not be enforceable, because it would lack consideration—you have to give something of value in excess of what a person is already entitled to in order to modify an existing contract.

Nor does my taking the substitute boat that was offered relinquish my right to obtain the difference between the performance on the contract that was agreed to and that which was given. That is exactly the situation in which expectation damages come into play in contract law. You don't have to refuse partial performance on a contract to retain your legal right to the value of full performance.

You need to find a better car rental company. I've never encountered one that will charge you at the original rate when the car you booked is not available and they substitute an inferior car.

 

[Mako]

Click and boat will have the right to pursue you for the money but, at that point you will have the upper hand. They will most likely give you the $400 discount just to get some money.

This sounds like the way this will eventually be solved, through a negotiation.

Having said that, Sababa, you stated that "I asked the owner if he would refund the difference. He said no, the price would be the same." and then you accepted this. Okay you got screwed because you were under pressure and time constraints and weren't willing to walk away. But you accepted. Based on this story I wouldn't say the operator was sleazy, just a typical tourist-trap operation, and we've all lost money in those situations.

You are protecting yourself by disputing the charges, but IMO it would be unethical to eventually pay the operator zero for his efforts and services rendered. Hope it negotiates peacefully for you.

 

[SteveK]

You need to find a better car rental company. I've never encountered one that will charge you at the original rate when the car you booked is not available and they substitute an inferior car.

sorry, I was making a comparison. I never said I accepted a lesser vehicle. I was always given a choice of vehicles and even once given the lower price since I chose it. Often I would get an otherwise upgrade at no extra cost.

You accepted the boat offered at the paid price. Do let us know when you win back the difference.

 

[sjisailor]

What a terrible experience!

Looking at the Click & Boat links from the OP, I notice two interesting things that are very fishy: (1) the boat that was booked has 15 reviews, but only from 2021 to 2022. None since 2022. (2) the actual boat provided has 0 reviews.

That is strongly suggestive of a repeated bait & switch pattern and not a genuine substitute due to problems. If it were a one-time problem, I would expect more recent reviews on the boat that was booked AND at least some reviews on the replacement boat.

Next bit of internet sleuthing: I used Google Lens to do a "reverse image search" on the photo they have of the boat in the first listing. That leads to marketing images all over the internet, such as here: Sundance Marine | Luxury Boats | Sandringham, Melbourne | Invictus GT280 In other words, the renter has copied and posted marketing images rather than actual photos. That's another strong red flag of possible misrepresentation.

(FWIW, the same happened to me once with an AirBnb in Munich, which I luckily caught in advance. I thought, "that seems too good to be true" and I did an image search on their photos. They turned out to be from luxury condos in a different place. After proving that to AirBnb they [AirBnb; eventually] let me cancel with no penalty.)

My takeaways / reminders to myself are (1) make sure there are recent reviews. (2) when in doubt do a reverse image search and see if that raises concerns.

Anyway thank you for sharing the poor experience and warning, and good luck with the bank!

 

[gwlang58]

Uhhh...your original post:

But as we were leaving for the marina the morning of the rental, the owner texted us to say that the boat we had reserved was having engine trouble, and offered us this modest craft as a substitute.

Your post when challenged about why you accepted the replacement:

We were at the dock, ready to go, with a whole day planned when the substitute was offered.

 

[Sababa]

Yes, he offered it to us when we were on the way, and then again at the dock. He could have offered to us the day before. It would still be a last minute bait and switch. My credit card company agreed and refunded us the difference.

 

[Sababa]

It’s kind of astonishing to me that several people on this thread think I should have been on the hook for the full price because I didn’t walk away when he offered up the substitute at the last minute. That’s not how the law works, and it surprises me that anybody here thinks it does or should.

 

[slowgoesit]

Glad you got this resolved, at least for yourself. Unfortunately, it would appear that this is the normal business practice for this charter company, and people will continue to get taken advantage of by false advertising . . .

 

[Mako]

That’s not how the law works, and it surprises me that anybody here thinks it does or should.

Are you referring to the laws of France or America?

 

[Sababa]

Are you referring to the laws of France or America?

U.S. for sure, which is all my credit card company cares about, though probably French too, as contract law is pretty similar across jurisdictions. He is welcome to sue me in France if he thinks we made a valid contract to pay the original price for the smaller boat when I took it after he switched them at the last minute.

 

[BruceK]

It’s kind of astonishing to me that several people on this thread think I should have been on the hook for the full price because I didn’t walk away when he offered up the substitute at the last minute. That’s not how the law works, and it surprises me that anybody here thinks it does or should.

It is astonishing. Some argue "legalities", like "you accepted it". I`d call that victim blaming.
Where is the human sympathy for a fellow member who did not, on any view, get what they paid for. And was refused the obvious price adjustment anyone with a sense of fairness would readily offer. Well done to your credit card provider.

 

[ronobrien]

Did you talk to your credit card company? I would dispute it, and atleast make click and boat go through the hassle of your dispute.

Ted

He said that he did in his post.