Broke Rental Board - Should I pay?

[cha1n]

Hey everyone, I'm just after an opinion.

I was hired a really sketchy soft top board today in Portugal, it had probably around 10 repairs done to it and they didn't look at all professional (though i'm no expert). I was on the board about 30 mins and on one of the occasions I bailed off the board because I didn't make the wave (very small, like 2ft) the thing snapped in two. It was fairly deep water, like waist to chest deep.

I checked the board and it had broken precisely at one of the repairs on the rail. I had signed an agreement to pay 265 euros if a board was broken but I've been out on many rental boards in the UK and Portugal before and never had any doubt about the strength of the board. This one, they really didn't seem keen to rent, it was literally all they had left in their hut, so I took it out of desperation.

When I took the board back the guy kept insisting that I had to pay the full 265 and I argued that a board in that soft of condition (it was a cheapo unbranded thing) was only worth £50 in the UK and that I was willing to pay that but he just wasn't having any of it. He said the minimum he'd take was 130 euros. Eventually I said I'd have to leave a come back with the money. I haven't returned and I can't decide if they are being unfair. I think they are, what's your guys opinions?

I don't understand how weak boards are and how structurally compromised they are once they've had repairs but this one looked in a bad way to me in general, like it didn't have much life left in it. The place where it snapped on the rail was only a small ding, most of the repairs apart from that were on the rails near the front. I'm just trying to work out if they knowingly gave me a board that was very likely to break.

Thanks.

[jaffa1949]

How soon are you leaving the area and are you like;y to come back?
Question the value of the board before you rent or sign anything!
The whole thing has sucker written all over it!
Walk away, if your instinct is tells you sucker!
BTW you saw this coming desperation = dumb decisions!.
When they didn’t want to rent it and you desperately did,? You traded in your rational thinking!

[oldmansurfer]

It sounds like you are obligated to pay. Not sure how things work in Portugal but if it were the USA pay or you may be sent to collection agency and have your credit score affected which will affect your ability to get credit cards or borrow money

[waikikikichan]

I have worked at several surf shops and a board rental stand on Waikiki beach. Of course anyone would hate it if the customer ran without paying for damages. Did you sign a contract that clearly said you will pay 265 euros ? Then you are obligated. Is it worth 265 euros ? No. If it had 10 plus dings and in rough condition it’s probably been rented out a lot. The shop/stand has already recovered their initial investment. Rest is gravy. Lucky they got that last use out of you before it broke. If it wasn’t you, it would’ve been the next guy. But they knew it wasn’t good to rent because it might break, but you still insisted in renting it out of desperation. Poo poo happens. I would pay something, but not 265 euros. What comes around goes around. ( from both sides ).

[BaNZ]

If you do go back, take a photo of it. Then smash it into pieces so they don't do a bad repair and try rent it to the next guy.

Not sure how collection agency works. But since you're from UK. You do know that lots of British drivers take their car and speed all over Europe without any repercussion? Simply because due to data protection act, they will not release your information. I saw a speed camera flashed my car in France and I didn't get any ticket.

So perhaps it is the same with owing money. If you think they are scamming you for a board that you think was already broken with, I would report it to the police?

Just curious, which part of Portugal are you surfing at? I really like Portugal and most of the people I met there are friendly and nice.

[cha1n]

Thanks for the advice guys.

When I said they didn't want to rent it, I meant the young lad at the counter kept looking at the board, shaking his head and then going off to look for something else but eventually said that's all he had. I just accepted as I thought that they would be reasonable if anything happened as it was clearly already on the verge of breaking.

It was a cash business on a beach hut in the Algarve. I'm not overly concerned about any repercussions as I'd be very surprised if they'd bother chasing me up on the UK. The guy kept mentioning that he'd call the police and I said to him at the time that even if he could convince the police to come down to the beach for this (absolutely no chance in the UK), there's was no way of proving I broke the board. The boards weren't numbered, it would be his word against mine. I basically said that I'd give him €50 as that's the most I thought the board was worth but he wouldn't accept, so I said I'd come back and now he's going to get nothing for being so greedy. Life lessons learned!

[BaNZ]

Is he the boss of the shop? If not, he is probably just trying to do his job. I'm also hoping that if the police turns up, they will take one look at the board and laugh at the condition of it. Good luck with it though.