Thursday, September 11, 2014

Justice is served - the Canadian Govt finds Bo Moller of Viking Boat Lift guilty!

Happy day folks! It's been a long wait since I last posted, but the outcome has been worth it.

During the past year Viking Marine's case was in court numerous times, only to be postponed each time until a later date.

Finally, last week Friday 5th September 2014, Bo Moller was found guilty on numerous counts by the Canadian Government.

He was sentenced to 2 years probation, during which time he has to repay $33,000 restitution to the government, that will be redistributed amongst his victims.

Here are the court case details per the Canadian Government website:

[Last updated on Sep 10, 2014 at 06:00 a.m.]                    
Record details  
Business or individual name VIKING MARINE INTERNATIONAL INC
Address
23 GARDEN AVENUE
STONEY CREEK, ON L8E 2Y8 
Phone
(905) 664-2490    Ext.
Fax
(905) 662-8023
Email
viking@vikingboatlift.com
Charges laid (if any) BO EGGERT MOLLER

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - FUTURE PERFORMANCE AGR - FAIL TO REFUND WITHIN 15 DAYS, 12 CHARGES ON 2012/12/19, RESTITUTION ORDERED $30,800.00, 6 CONVICTED, 6 NO CONVICTION, 24 MONTHS PROBATION


CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - FUTURE PERFORMANCE AGR - FAIL TO REFUND WITHIN 15 DAYS, 2 CHARGES ON 2013/07/17, RESTITUTION ORDERED $2,200.00, 1 CONVICTED, 1 NO CONVICTION  

If you wish to confirm this information yourself, please scroll down to the post just below this one, for detailed directions on how to do so.

It's been a few years of chasing this criminal, and it is fantastic to see Justice served at last!

Many thanks to the Canadian Ministry of Consumer Services, for pursuing this to conclusion.


I hope this helps folks make informed boat lift decisions!

Regards! Keith.

.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Canadian Govt updates charges against Viking Marine and Bo Moller!

Hi folks! A recent comment by "PDQ" below my January post, prompted this update - a little background first: 


In 2010 we paid Viking Marine a $4000 US deposit for a boat lift - it is now more than 3 years later and we still don't have the lift or our money back....  
 
In 2012 the Canadian Ministry of Consumer Services established there were numerous others in the same predicament. They subsequently laid charges against Bo Moller, owner of Viking Marine International. 
 
In 2013 as a result of the above charges, Bo appeared in court earlier this year - he retained the services of a lawyer, and the matter goes to trial later this year!

On Aug 5 PDQ Group commented "Odd, I did as you said, followed the link and typed in "Viking" ... NOTHING came up relating to your supposed story.", and on my complaintsboard.com posting commented "Funny how his link to the govt. doesn't come back with anything related to his supposed story.".

Based on these comments I decided to see if the Canadian Govt link still worked, and it does. And I see now that the Canadian Govt has added more charges - on July 17 2013 the Canadian Govt added new charges against Viking Marine and Bo Moller. So it seems that the Canadian Govt has found even more folks in a similar predicament - wow!

PDQ, thank you for bringing this to my attention - without your sarky comments I would not have noticed these additional charges against Viking/Bo, and brought them to the attention of the many folks that follow my blog for updates - much appreciated! Smooches!

Allow me to provide detailed directions so that you and others, may easily find the information for yourself:



Step 2: Just below where it says "Enter the first three letters of the name of the individual or business you would like to search for", type viking and click Submit.
 
Step 3: When the results return, under Name click VIKING MARINE INTERNATIONAL INC 

Step 4: Scroll down and see Viking Marine's original charges from Dec 19 2012, along with new charges from July 17 2013. 

Step 5: Keep scrolling and you will see Bo Moller's original charges from Dec 19 2012, along with new charges from July 17 2013.

Below is the output from steps 4 and 5:

 
[Data last updated on Aug 07, 2013 at 06:00 hours]                   
Business Details
Name VIKING MARINE INTERNATIONAL INC
Does Business As
Address 23 GARDEN AVENUE
STONEY CREEK, ON L8E 2Y8
Phone # (905) 664-2490 Ext.
Fax (905) 662-8023
Email viking@vikingboatlift.com
Complaints CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002, FAILURE TO PROVIDE, UNDER FURTHER REVIEW

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002, FAILURE TO PROVIDE, UNDER FURTHER REVIEW
Administrative Actions / Orders
Charges Laid VIKING MARINE INTERNATIONAL INC

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - FUTURE PERFORMANCE AGR - FAIL TO REFUND WITHIN 15 DAYS, 6 CHARGES ON 2012/12/19

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - REMOTE AGR - FAIL TO DISCLOSE THE PRESCRIBED INFORMATION, 6 CHARGES ON 2012/12/19

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - UNFAIR PRACTICE - FALSE MISLEADING, 6 CHARGES ON 2012/12/19

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - FUTURE PERFORMANCE AGR - FAIL TO REFUND WITHIN 15 DAYS, 1 CHARGE ON 2013/07/17

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - REMOTE AGR - FAIL TO DISCLOSE THE PRESCRIBED INFORMATION, 1 CHARGE ON 2013/07/17

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - UNFAIR PRACTICE - FALSE MISLEADING, 1 CHARGE ON 2013/07/17

BO EGGERT MOLLER

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - FUTURE PERFORMANCE AGR - FAIL TO REFUND WITHIN 15 DAYS, 12 CHARGES ON 2012/12/19

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - REMOTE AGR - FAIL TO DISCLOSE THE PRESCRIBED INFORMATION, 7 CHARGES ON 2012/12/19

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - UNFAIR PRACTICE - FALSE MISLEADING, 12 CHARGES ON 2012/12/19

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - FUTURE PERFORMANCE AGR - FAIL TO REFUND WITHIN 15 DAYS, 2 CHARGES ON 2013/07/17

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - REMOTE AGR - FAIL TO DISCLOSE THE PRESCRIBED INFORMATION, 1 CHARGE ON 2013/07/17

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - UNFAIR PRACTICE - FALSE MISLEADING, 2 CHARGES ON 2013/07/17



I hope this helps folks make informed boat lift purchase decisions!


.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Canadian Govt lays multiple charges against Viking Marine - Happy New Year!

Hi folks, it's been a really long time since I last posted - I chose to not post until now, as the Canadian authorities have been working on this, and I did not wish to tip off Viking Boat Lift in any way.

To recap - in April 2010 we paid Viking Marine $4000 US as a deposit for a boat lift. Here we are nearly 3 years later sans the lift or money....

Now to the good news - just prior to Christmas 2012 I was given some fantastic news from the Canadian Ministry of Consumer Services!

They advised me that Bo had been charged, and would be appearing in court shortly.
 

Many, many thanks to the various Canadian and US authorities who worked this investigation - I shall not mention names - you know who you are!!!

If you go to http://www.consumerbeware.mgs.gov.on.ca/catsct/start.do?lang=en and enter viking in the search box - the following comes up:

Name VIKING MARINE INTERNATIONAL INC
Does Business As
Address 23 GARDEN AVENUE
STONEY CREEK, ON L8E 2Y8
Phone # (905) 664-2490 Ext.
Fax (905) 662-8023
Email viking@vikingboatlift.com
Complaints CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002, FAILURE TO PROVIDE, UNDER FURTHER REVIEW

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002, FAILURE TO PROVIDE, UNDER FURTHER REVIEW
Administrative Actions / Orders
Charges Laid VIKING MARINE INTERNATIONAL INC

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - FUTURE PERFORMANCE AGR - FAIL TO REFUND WITHIN 15 DAYS, 6 CHARGES ON 2012/12/19

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - UNFAIR PRACTICE - FALSE MISLEADING, 6 CHARGES ON 2012/12/19

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - REMOTE AGR - FAIL TO DISCLOSE THE PRESCRIBED INFORMATION, 6 CHARGES ON 2012/12/19

BO EGGERT MOLLER

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - FUTURE PERFORMANCE AGR - FAIL TO REFUND WITHIN 15 DAYS, 12 CHARGES ON 2012/12/19

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - UNFAIR PRACTICE - FALSE MISLEADING, 12 CHARGES ON 2012/12/19

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 2002 - CPA 2002 - REMOTE AGR - FAIL TO DISCLOSE THE PRESCRIBED INFORMATION, 7 CHARGES ON 2012/12/19

 
So, now we will see this out in court - I'm certain those affected by Bo's actions are looking forward to putting an end to this, and getting on with our lives. It appears there were many duped out of money by Viking.
 
What's amazing is that the Canadian authorities gave Viking Marine/Bo chances to redeem himself - in my case in early 2012 they brokered a deal where Bo agreed to send me my $4000 - he called me, apologized profusely, and agreed to pay me my money "within a month" - I did not believe him but said I would be ok with that ..... then he went MIA.... great to hear they tracked him down and served him.
  
I hope this helps folks make informed boat lift purchase decisions!

Happy New Year!


.

Monday, September 5, 2011

September 5 update - Happy Labor Day!

I thought I would send a quick update as it's been a month.

It has now been 16 months since I paid Viking Marine International US $4000 as deposit for a viking boat lift - in that entire time I did not receive the boat lift promised in "4 to 6 weeks".

Last month I moved on from Viking - I went ahead and purchased a boat lift from elsewhere, and it was installed and put to use the same month - its amazing how the real world works....

So now I just wait for the police to recover my deposit from Viking, per the theft charge against Bo and Angelina - it's taking a while due to the cross-border communication that takes place between the TX and Canadian Police Departments.

In the interum, I took the opportunity to continue to caution others of my experience with Viking Marine International, via adverts placed in the local newspapers, as well as a review of Viking Marine International at Google Maps - so far 3 people have found the review helpful!

.

Friday, August 5, 2011

August 5 update - deadline passed - theft charges being pursued by the Police

The July 31 deadline to Viking Marine International came and went. Angelina and Bo have now had my US $4000 deposit for over 15 months, and even though they received multiple demands to either deliver the boat lift ordered in April 2010, or return the deposit sent then, they did neither.

So, I have played nice until now - some said I was foolish to give Viking Marine the benefit of doubt for well over a year.
Regardless, at this point I am done with requesting anything from Viking Marine, including the boat lift.

This now moves to a recovery of stolen property phase - I am resorting to all police and legal means to have my $4000 deposit recovered from Viking Marine International.

Our great Montgomery County Texas Sheriffs department (www.mocosheriff.com) is pursuing a criminal investigation per the formal theft charge against Viking Marine International.
I understand that the Texas Sheriffs will work with the Hamilton Ontario Police department (www.hamiltonpolice.on.ca), where Angelina and Bo are located.

I am optimistic that justice will prevail in the end, especially following a knock on Viking's door from the police .......

In the interum, we shall be placing numerous adverts in Hamilton area newspapers, giving those folks a "heads-up" on our Viking Boat Lift experience - these will run online, and in the following printed newspapers later this month:
  • Hamilton Spectator
  • Ancaster News
  • Dundas Star News
  • Hamilton Mountain News
  • Stoney Creek News 

Look for them at a newstand near you!


.

Friday, July 29, 2011

July 29 update - still no boat lift, still no refund.

In 2 days time it willl be 15 months since Viking received our $4000 deposit for a boat lift promised in "4 to 6 weeks".....


Yesterday I received an email from Angelina containing yet another boat load of excuses, and a request that I extend my deadline - no actual install date was offered by Viking ... more Deja Moo!


I replied that I decline to extend my July 31 Final Demand deadline - Viking Marine International have had more than enough time, and opportunity, to "do the right thing".



Tuesday, July 26, 2011

July 26 update - more boaters informed, no response from Viking

While waiting for our boat lift (promised in 4 to 6 weeks), or our deposit to be returned (sent April 2010), we gave a "heads-up" to fellow boaters via their forums:
We are amazed at the amount of traffic our blog is receiving - we are getting hundreds of hits from sites we notified.
And while these hits primarily come from the US and Canada, quite a few are from other spots around the world - Argentina, England, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands, etc.

.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

July 21 update - no response from Viking yet....

We remain in wait mode until August 1 2011...... 15 months wait appearing on the horizon....

It's been more than a week with no response from Viking. On July 13 they received our demand letter for them to deliver our boat lift, or return our deposit, by July 31 2011.

I just made my weekly call to Viking Marine and as usual no-one answered - I could actually leave a voicemail though, as for once their mailbox was not full. I left a message saying that we have not heard from them, and they should let us know which way they wish to proceed i.e. they have one last chance to provide the boat lift we ordered, or refund the US$4000 we mailed them, in April 2010.

If you have been reading the comments to my last posting, you will see that another customer (Jean in BC, Canada) is in a worse situation than us - they have been waiting over 2 years for their Viking boat lift.

Wow, what a way to treat customers. Oh well, it is what it is.


.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

July 13 update - demand letter received by Viking, more consumers warned

As directed by the Police, we sent a formal demand letter to Viking Marine:

  • Deliver the lift, or return our deposit, by July 31 2011.

At that point, it will be 15 months since we sent in our deposit, for a boat lift promised in "4 to 6 weeks".


Per Fedex tracking, the demand letter was received this morning by Viking Marine - signed for by Angelina.

So, now we wait some more.....


In the interum, we continue to caution others of our misfortune:

.

Monday, July 11, 2011

July 11 - still no reply or refund from Viking - notified the Police

I received no reply from Viking to my request last week, for a confirmed install date, or my deposit back ASAP.


To recap - I've been waiting over 14 months for my lift - Viking received my $4000 deposit on May 3 2010.


Today I spoke with both the Hamilton Ontario Police department (where Viking is), and my local Texas Sheriffs department. They have taken the details, and things are progressing......



.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

July 7 - we have contact!

An update - Angelina emailed me this morning (the first contact since April 2011), expressed seven different reasons why there has been a year+ delay, and said Bo will get to my lift...... no date provided....


I'm getting Deja Moo - I've heard this bulls*%t before from Viking - and quite a few times too over the past 12 months.


I replied that Viking Marine have two choices:


1. Provide to me, by close of business this Friday July 8 2011, a committment that Viking Marine will deliver and install my boat lift in the next 3 weeks i.e. this July 2011.

or

2. Cancel my order and return my US $4000 deposit ASAP.


Shall let you know how it goes.


.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

July 6 - still no reply or refund from Viking - notified the media

I tried calling Viking per my weekly call, and still get the full mailbox so I can't leave voicemail. I tried faxing and it does not work either - likely a full fax machine memory/out of paper. I sent another email to them requesting my refund.


I do want to say that for the past year I have never been threatening, demanding, etc in all the communications with Viking - I gave them the benefit of doubt countless times, and urged them to contact me as at the end of the day a satisfied customer is much more of an asset to a company, than a disgruntled one.


However, since they continue to ignore me (their website was recently updated with a new testimonial), or return my $4000 deposit, I changed stance, and now am actively telling folks to make an informed decision based on my experience.


I just sent emails to numerous Canadian television stations - I'm optimistic one or more of them will pick this up as a news item since so many folks are experiencing the same issue I am.


I also gave a "heads-up" to a few more online threads where folks were considering Viking lifts:


And I posted a "heads-up" to this consumer board - http://viking-marine-international.pissedconsumer.com/viking-marine-paid-4000-deposit-still-no-boat-lift-after-1-year-2-months-20110705247074.html


Next e-stop - the Hamilton police station to file a fraud report against Viking, similar to the one Serg did 2 weeks ago per the below Performance Boats thread.

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Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th of July! One year, 2 months since ordering - still waiting.....

Hi, this is a blog to keep you informed as to the status of my dealings with Viking Marine International (www.vikingboatlift.com) to date.

Why am I doing this? To give folks a "heads-up".

July 4 2011: I still don't have a boat lift..... it has been 1 year, 2 months, and a few days, since Viking Marine received my US$4000 deposit for a boat lift they promised to deliver and install in "4 to 6 weeks".

Background:
In the months leading up to placing an order, I had numerous email and phone call exchanges with Angelina at Viking Marine - since it was a big purchase for myself (requiring a large deposit be sent outside the country), I wanted to ensure I ordered the right lift, with the right options, from the right company. During this time Angelina was extremely responsive - she would immediately reply to email questions I posed, she would answer the phone when I called, she would call me numerous times to try to get me to commit to an order, etc.

In late April 2010 I placed an order with Viking Marine International, for one Viking Boat lift. This was following a call where Angelina said they were doing runs to Texas in May and June, and could install my lift then, if I placed the order ASAP.

My deposit was received on May 1 2010 - I used an electronic wire transfer to the Royal Bank of Canada, as Viking said they do not take credit cards. In hindsight now, that was a big red flag....

At that point, things started to decline..... suddenly Angelina was taking longer responding to my emails, when I called the phone just went to voicemail, and the months started to tick by.....

On Sept 1 2010, after not hearing anything for 2 months from Viking Marine (I called and emailed weekly during this time), I asked the local BBB to help, as they show them as a member (http://hamilton.bbb.org/commonreport.html?id=395341403). The BBB came back to me in late Sept 2010 and said they had received no reply from the company, and could not help going forward.

In late October 2010 I received a letter from Viking Marine, stating that they were going to do installations in the Northern climes first, and then get to the Southern climes later - no date provided as to when they would actually get to my install, no offer of  a refund, etc.

In February 2011 Angelina emailed me and said I was on the schedule for a March 2011 install.

In mid-March 2011 Angelina emailed me and confirmed I was on for a March 19 install. We worked through the logistics, and I booked 4 local laborers for that Saturday. The weekend came and went without Bo appearing (and lots of emailing and calling on my side in the week leading up to that to find out what was happening - zero reply from Viking - I had to pay my laborers as I had reserved them for 6 hours to help.

Bo called me March 25 2011, apologised for the delay and no-show, and said I was the next lift to be installed, as they only build and install lifts in sequence.
He said my lift might be installed the following Thursday March 31, or possibly Saturday April 2 if he had to wait for a part.
I reserved a day's vacation, and booked my 4 local laborers again, for that Thursday.
Thursday came and went, along with the weekend, without Bo appearing. More $'s thrown at the laborers....

On April 28 2011 I received an email from Toni at Viking Marine, saying that there were ice breaks in Canada, and Bo needed to work on those lifts.

The above April 2011 email was the last commuication I have received from Viking Marine.

I still email and call Viking Marine weekly - something I have been doing since last year.

Mid-June 2011 I emailed the Stoney Creek Chamber of Commerce, who Viking Marine are a member of - I asked for their assistance. The Chamber replied back a week later that they had visited the shop, and the onsite lady said Bo was out delivering 2 units to BC in Canada, had material for 3 more, and was 8 units behind.

In late June 2011 I came across a powerboat board thread with some-one who had a similar experience to me:


Up until this point I had assumed mine was an isolated case - not so... I read that some have been waiting since 2009! So I did some googling and found these too:


I had been more than patient throughout the year-plus wait, and had given Viking Marine the benefit of doubt during the numerous reasons they provided why they were delayed in delivering my lift to date - that was about to change.

So on June 27 2011 I emailed Viking Marine and said to cancel my order, and return my deposit ASAP.
I said I can wait no longer, especially given the numerous stories I am reading on the internet of others who are in the same predicament, zero communication from them to me since April, and that they are in business (per the Chamber of Commerce member and a customer who visited with them last week), yet ignoring my voicemails and emails since April.

To date, no refund and no response, has been received from Viking Marine.

I also emailed Viking Marine a link to this blog.

So, that's the current status. I shall update this as it proceeds.

I hope this helps folks make informed decisions!

Regards! Keith.