Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

I have had a bad experience with Lane Weir at Sterndrive Inc. Here are the facts.

In October/05 I upgraded the 454 mag in my Donzi 22 Classic to a 540, and was in the market to upgrade the outdrive to a Bravo XR. At the time Sterndrive had an attractive offer on these units and so, despite warnings, I called Lane Weir who told me that his current inventory had been sold but that he was assembling orders for a further 30 units of which he said approximately half had already been spoken for. As a result, I placed an order with him on November 11/05. How complicated could it be? I was surprised that he required me to pay the full price, plus an unannounced 3% "handling fee", rather than merely a deposit, but I assumed this indicated a quick turn around for the transaction. No mention was actually made of any specific delivery time.

On December 5/05 Mr. Weir e-mailed me that he would have the unit in "late this week or early next week", and would ship it to me within a day of two of delivery. When no delivery or further correspondence had been received from Mr. Weir by December 21/05, I e-mailed him for a status report. He indicated that if the wait was causing me a problem he would be glad to refund my payment, but otherwise delivery would be "late next week" to my door.

No delivery was received, but on January 7/06 Mr. Weir e-mailed to say that he had received the unit and it would be shipped out "the first of next week".

When no delivery was received by January 26/06, I e-mailed Mr. Weir for an explanation. Following no response I called him on January 31/06 at which time he confirmed that the unit had been sent to me by "Freightliner", because he didn't trust Fedex or UPS. He could not provide me with shipment details because these were "in the front room", but he undertook to call me back in 15 minutes. When I had not heard anything by the end of the day, I called him again at which time he indicated that "after researching it", he was "misinformed by his shipping department", and that the unit had not in fact been picked up yet but that he would do so in the "next day or two" and would personally absorb the additional cost of having the order rushed to me by "Thursday at the latest".

When no delivery was received by February 3/06, I e-mailed Mr. Weir for an explanation. Again following no response, I called him on February 7/06, at which time he told me that he had been having problems with his e-mail server, but that in fact the unit had been shipped by UPS and read me the tracking number. Unfortunately, when I tried to follow this tracking number it turned out to be bogus, and when I called Mr. Weir on this he said that he was aware of this and was going to go right down to the UPS depot and "straighten the matter out". I asked him if he had in fact delivered the unit to UPS and he confirmed that he had done so personally.

When no delivery was received by February 9/06, I called Mr. Weir who then told me that, for some reason, UPS had no record of receiving the unit that he had dropped off for delivery, and furthermore that he had no other unit available for me (although I noted that he still continued to advertise the same deal on his website). I didn't bother to press him on why he would drop a unit for shipment without receiving any paperwork, or try to make any logic out of his other preposterous statements, and we decided that at that point he would simply refund my payment.

The next day I received an e-mail from Mr. Weir explaining that the "mix-up" had been due to the press of business as well as a death in his family and that, as it turned out, he had discovered that he had dropped off my unit at DHL instead of UPS, and accordingly would now be in a position to ship the unit if I wanted. At this point, since he didn't have any DHL paperwork available either, I was not prepared to continue the charade and e-mailed him that I would prefer to receive the refund as previously agreed.

When my credit card had not been credited with the refund by February 14/06, I e-mailed Mr. Weir for an explanation, at which point he indicated that his "refund policy" was that a refund would have to be in the form of a "company cheque".

To date I have received no refund of any type from Mr. Weir, despite promises from him and several unhappy e-mails from me, the most recent of which departed from my policy of polite correspondence and stated that in my view he was a crook running an internet scam, who never had any intention of delivering the product or of refunding the payment. I am continuing to proceed on several fronts to try to get my money back.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Call your credit card company and see if they can help, then take a plane ride and give him a visit. :mad:

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

If everything in your post is indeed fact, then I would be on a plane. Mistakes I can accept - no business is perfect. Outright lies are just not acceptable, and it sounds like he handed you a buttload of them.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Call the credit card co. Keep your e-mails as evidence. The credit card co. will do a charge back to the merchant. Your credit card will be credited. American express is the best for situations like this, but any credit card co.should have your back.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Not sure if you are an attorney, but you presented your case very well.
Seems like you have a level head.
Perfect timeline. No emotion. Just the facts.

I wish that everybody communicated their bad experiences as well.

Best of luck getting it worked out.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Please tell me this isn't the same guy that worked for Victory Marine.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Yes, I did this once and magically the problem was resolved. Companies don't like to have negative charge backs on their record, they could loose the ability to run credit cards all together.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

damdonzi... I believe it is....

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

YES This is Lane from victory marine. Had same experience finally got resolved

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

I knew the name and line of BS sounded familiar. Let me share a couple of e-mails I sent back and forth from him a couple of years ago when he was at Victory Marine. See a familiar pattern? Needless to say, I didn't repower with them. You have to read from the bottom-up to get the timeline and correct back and forth. Hope you get your money back.


-----Original Message-----
From: lane Weir [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2004 5:26 PM
To: Andrew
Subject: Re: HP500EFI

Hi Andrew,

Sorry to take so long, one of our guys that runs the shipping department was in a motorcycle wreck and it has backed us up on shipping
Here are the pictures of the 500efi,
They do have 0-hours on them and they do not exstend warranty on mercury racing engines, only stock motor lines.
Motor / 500efi with tail pipes is $19,500.00
Drive / XR Mercury Bravo out drive current model $7900.00
Transom / Bravo assembly with trim rams "complete in the box" $2500.00
Trim Pump (2x) $300.00 = $600.00
Trim Tabs / Mercury 230 series "complete kit" $2225.00
Inner Sterring Ram $ N/C
Includes all hardware for installation of motor, transom, and trim tabs.
Hope the pictures help out!
I have six in stock at this time but i have deposits on four.

Thanks again,
Lane Weir
Victory Marine
(713) 910-2000
http://www.govictorymarine.com

-----Original Message-----
From: lane Weir [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, March 05, 2004 2:26 PM
To: Andrew
Subject: Re: HP500EFI

Hi Andrew,

These motor's are new with 0-hours and full warranty!
I am sold out! as of right now!
I will have more coming in on Wednesday, the warranty info is with the motors, so I can not send a copy till I recieve new shipment.
I will check on mercury extended, warranty! "I DON'T SEE WHY YOU CAN'T BUY IT"
As far as current models" I am out of stock in transoms and drive in 2004 models!
I will re-fax information upon your request and parts needed.

Thanks again,
Lane Weir
Victory Marine
(713) 910-2000
http://www.govictorymarine.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew”>
To: "lane Weir" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2004 1:20 PM
Subject: RE: HP500EFI

Hi Lane,

Got your fax. Can you please resend with this information:

Year of engine and confirm 0 hours.
Do you have a copy of the factory warranty for this engine?
Can an extended warranty be purchased for this engine?
Do you have a current Bravo transom assembly?
Do you have any current Bravo One drives?

Thanks,

Andrew
XXX-XXX-XXXX

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

thanks for the information . was thinking about doing some business with this company to the tune of 12,000 dollars.I live in Texas about 20 miles from the listed city he has for his business address in pearland TX. let me know if i can help you with anything

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Sorry to hear about your trouble, I hope it works out.

I have heard of too many long distance deals gone bad on OSO. I think it's worth a few extra dollars to be able to get a hold (literally) of someone you are doing business with.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Best thing is paid by CC. I would think it would be no problem. Spending that kind of money a CC would be my only option ....

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

CC is the only way to go....

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Another member on Donzi.net had serious issues with him as well a little while back.....

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

YES! It is indeed the same SCUMBAG that ripped me off at VICTORY MARINE... and stole my money!! I hope he goes to jail!!

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

I am the Service Manager for Offshore Obsession, we are a offshore boat rigging and service company. I would suggest as everyone else has to call your credit card company and ask them to do a charge back. And next time you need are in the position that you require expensive parts or service, paying a deposit is all any reputable company would require.
Where is this company anyway. I have heard of the name before. I think that I seen a boat at the Kingston Poker Run last year with their name on it. Is this the same company??

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

This is why we need the bad business section back :mad:

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Yeah to put Keith Eckert performance into !

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Will the fake Keith Eckert plz sit down !

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

I also would contact the Credit Card company ASAP, there are time lines on being able to charge back and I think these kind of scammers try to string you along with the stories of "it's going out tomorrow" long enough for the time to pass, I know it worked that way for me on something I bought through Paypal.(I'll never buy anything through paypal that's worth more than I'm willing to loose)

Good Luck,
Caleb

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

BINGO....Credit card companies do watch your level of charge backs. The more you have, the less apealing you are as a client.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Why, when anyone can post in General section? Designating a bad business section only entices unnecessary complaints and bashing. If a business deal is bad enough it will get posted regardless. I didn't care for the bad business section and thought it brought out too many bull..itters. Just my opinion.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

But if some of these people posted in that section and this guy read it before hand he wouldnt be posting now.After a few weeks this thread will be a few pages back

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

That's my point. If this bad business deal is in fact "bad enough" and others have also had a bad deal with this company, then it will stay on top and mean something. This way it weeds out the bull..itters.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

For obvious reasons, some sort of register where people could post their bad experiences, and which would remain continuously available for reference, strikes me as useful. In my own case the Sterndrive price for the Bravo XR was $6500, which if you can believe it is still being advertized as of this morning. I guess its easy to offer a good deal if you have no intention of ever delivering the product. I can't understand Lane Weir's thinking- I'm going to get my money back one way or the other, and in the meantime he incurs a heap of (richly deserved) bad publicity. Presumably bad publicity doesn't matter to him because there's a sucker borne every minute. Maybe its a way to supplement his cash flow over the winter.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Simply use the search function and I'm sure you'll find plenty of bad business topics.

What is it with the marine industry? Why do these fools exist?

I really hope you get your money back... Good Luck

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Man, I feel for you, after my deal with Profile I can imagine your stress. Can't offer any more than moral support, and some legal advice if you need it (if so call me, I will share what I am doing).

For what it is worth, we NEED guys to speak up, in the GENERAL FORUM where things get noticed. Good companies need to be praised, bad ones need to be put under, honest mistakes can be corrected with a little extra effort, dishonest ones require a little more than that.

FYI - I have a buddy who was looking at Stern Drive Inc for a large order, $20K plus, was going to pull the trigger as soon as a large tax refund came in (probably next week), this thread caused me to call him, direct him to your post, and now he is seeking other options. For what it is worth, there is at lease one guy you helped with this post.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

I finally got my money back through a chargeback by my credit card company. Yea- I was stupid, but the rest of you please remember that name: Lane Weir at Sterndrive Inc. He took my money, he lied to me repeatedly, he never shipped the order, and then he refused to refund the money. Those are the straight facts. Caveat emptor.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

I vote for Rob's idea. I used to look thru the 'bad bidness' threads before I bought anything for my boat. If it was reported by one OSO member I never looked at the company again. Don't know if it saved me any money, but I guarantee you I never lost a dime.
SAR

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Alright .. take this for what it is worth....

First of all I have never heard of or dealt with Sterndrive Inc so this may not be their case at all.

In my line of work I have examined a lot of small businesses and this seems indicative of a cash flow crunch. Company A starts running out of cash so they start selling parts and taking payment up front to cover their short term bills. They use the money you paid today to pay the bills that were due a month ago. Of course this becomes an issue when they run out of money to buy your parts.

It is surprising how long companies can survive running on this model of using money for today's orders to pay for last weeks orders. No sane business, no matter how $h!tty wants to piss you off. It is a by=product of them having their hands tied from a lack of resources.

I'd follow the advice of others in this thread and call your CC company sooner rather than later. Chances are you are not the only one with a problem and the longer you wait the smaller your chances of getting your $$ back before Sterndrive goes belly up.

I hope this is not the case, but I have seen dozens of small businesses fail this way. Best to stay uninvolved.

Good luck

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

What was your problem with Keith? :confused: He is as stand up as they come

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

I agree with you JC, hes always been standup to me!

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

JC I think that he was making light of what was being said in another thread a long time ago. If you look at when this thread was started it was back in early March.

Jon

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Was Thinking Of Buying A Drive From Him Anybody Have Any Good Dealings With Lane???????? Or Is He A Total Jerk???????

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

Believe it or not, I got a great deal from Lane at Victory Marine 3 years ago. I'm not defending his actions in your case though. I bought twin 350 MPI's and got them on time and working perfectly. Maybe it helped when I told him that the shipping address of Lodi, NJ was next to Ba-Da-Bing's and if he screwed me to watch out for 3 big guys walking into his place in softball uniforms. (with bats) He got all nervous and said "No these are good motors I'm sending you!" So I just said, "OK, but don't say I didn't warn you"

I have 200 hours on those baby's now and they purr like kittins. And those are Charlie hours (WFO) :cool:

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

I would use Victory Marine again or better yet Derraberry.

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

:eek: :eek: :evilb:

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

I think thats what Nauti By Nature meant in his post

Re: Sterndrive Inc. - A bad experience
 

I Hope I am wrong but Here is interesting development that everyone needs to be aware of. Sterndrive Inc has dropped out of sight after ripping off at least 3 people that I know of. NOW there is a new OSO advertiser called Big Guns Marine which has the same MO as Sterndrive Inc and is in the same area. Their ads and website the same look. The big guns marine website domain was even registered on June 1st of this year. I called friend in Galveston which is near there and he tracked them down to a small officepark with no warehouse. There is also another business sharing the same space called ALLIEDINDUSTRIALSALES.COM.
Be careful you guys!.