JEDDAH, 22 July 2007 — Nearly anyone would agree that being able to own and use watercraft is one of the beneficial things about living in Jeddah. And to many the expense of maintaining a seaworthy vessel is a small price to pay for all the fun-filled afternoons of swimming, fishing and diving in the Red Sea.
But for some Jeddah boat owners the headaches caused by boat-repair shops in the city has gotten them to the point of raising anchor and giving up their crafts.
“My problem began when I wanted to get my boat re-painted,” said H. Mohammad, a Saudi boat owner in Jeddah. “I first met Ala Ruslan, one of the so-called employees of the boat repair workshop at the marina one day while I was docking my boat. Ruslan told me that he owned a boat repair shop and that they could do the work professionally and in little time.”
Mohammad said Ruslan asked for a SR3,000 down payment to repaint the body of the vessel, part of which would be used to purchase the paint, primer and other items necessary for the job. But Mohammed found that the job was moving slowly and that the work was shoddy.
“I complained and asked for a refund of my money which they refused claiming that the painting wasn’t done because of some preliminary repair work being performed to the body of the vessel which was a standard service done before painting could begin,” he said.
Finally, Mohammed said he simply wanted to get his boat back and forfeit the money he had already paid. But when he arrived at the shop, he saw the gates closed and about 12 vessels carelessly dumped in the street.
“The only two boats still remaining in the yard at the workshop were mine and another Saudi man’s, who was there when I arrived making a scene and shouting to the foreign workers trying to retrieve his boat,” said Mohammed.
He said that he attempted to call Ruslan several times on his mobile phone to no avail. Caught by surprise and thinking no one was there, Ruslan’s uncle and owner of the workshop, Ibrahim, dropped by. Mohammad began telling the owner his plight in which Ibrahim promised to have the work done in 24 hours but as these hours quickly passed things took a turn for the worse when Ibrahim began claiming Mohammad hadn’t paid for the repair work already done.
“That’s when I reported the shop to the police and filed a report stating that Ibrahim was refusing to return my boat,” Mohammad said. “The police told me that the shop was operating without a license and that the boats were thrown out to avoid the shop owners from being caught by the Marine Authority and the Jeddah Municipality and unfortunately it looked like I was the victim of fraud and there was little that could be done without a legal contract or receipts proving payment.”
Ibrahim Ruslan admitted that he had made a verbal contract to do repair work for Mohammad. Arab News told Ibrahim that a case had been filed against him with the Jeddah police and that his workshop was found to be a scam. Arab News also told Ibrahim that the whereabouts of his new clandestine business was known and could be divulged to authorities.
“It was only a matter of a couple of days before I received a call from Ibrahim telling me to come take my boat,” Mohammad said.
After receiving his property, Mohammad reported the location of the new workshop to the Jeddah authorities, which had moved yet again.
“Out of my experience I have learned that it is better to do repair work yourself and that there is no such thing as verbal agreement anymore,” he said. “A Muslim’s word used to be the only contract needed but I’ve found that the best course of action these days is to make sure you get a written contract,” said Mohammed.
According to Ahmed, a spokesman from the Obhur office of the Jeddah Municipality, fraudulent boat repair workshops like these are common. “The shops usually open using a license issued by the municipality to operate a store for the sale of diving equipment. They then open repair shops on the side opening their businesses usually after four or five in the afternoon when the municipality office has closed for the day.”
Ahmed said the usual punishment for these violators is to close down the shop and to fine the owner between SR500 and SR1,000.
A slap on the wrist, some say, compared to the thousands of riyals lost daily by boat-owners like Mohammad, who simply get taken on a cruise to nowhere.
