Blair Woldwide is one notch above McCarthy Hunting Adventures...now there's a true POS that left me stuck in Tanzania without a hunting company after I paid daily rates and deposited another $50 large for trophy fees with him, in short he never booked me with the company I contracted for or anyother for that matter.. cried about his divorce messing him up,etc.

My only question is where were they getting the permit for this hunt?

I am volunteering at the ISE right now. I am in the PHX Chapter SCI booth "helping out" (WTF?)

I will look at the program tomorrow and see if they are there.

Will report tomorrow.

Steve

Let's hope Blair get's welcomed to "the real world" real soon.

On a positive note, any man that has two sons that want, and, most especially are able in their late 20's, to buy a 35K (each) Christmas gift for their dad, has definitely done something right in the parenting department.

After reading THIS I wonder what is the real story?

Booking agent takes money, books hunt with OF, OF disappears(or makes up BS excuse with end result being hunt not delivered)......how does the booking agent have zero liability in this?

We have booking agents on this forum....can one of you explain how this works "in the real world of hunting"?

Here's hoping blair never sells another hunt in his miserable life.

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:
Booking agent takes money, books hunt with OF, OF disappears(or makes up BS excuse with end result being hunt not delivered)......how does the booking agent have zero liability in this?

We have booking agents on this forum....can one of you explain how this works "in the real world of hunting"?

Here's hoping blair never sells another hunt in his miserable life.

Well, one of the booking agents who posts here once sold a sheep hunt some years ago for $35K. The outfitter, whom he had worked with in the past, scammed him - he never showed up to pick up the hunter.

The hunter did not have trip insurance.

After nine months, the booking agent had paid the hunter 28K out of his own pocket, at which point the hunter called it all even.

I have never been that impressed with Blair; the never ending cold calling on my mobile phone is in really poor taste (often it is a recording!) and his prices seem to be higher than others.

With all of the crap going on, why book with him?

quote:

Originally posted by JBoutfishn:
After reading THIS I wonder what is the real story?

The same story was posted on AR

http://forums.accuratereloadin...043/m/8691002711/p/1

What lowlifes, the booking agent and the outfitter. I hope you get your money back.

Believe a hunting trip with this fellow "BLAIR" would solve the problem in a hurry.

considering the outfitter's track record, why was Blair risking his client's money with him?? Blair, at least, should have had some sort of performance bond in place.

hmm i whould have been on that idiots door next morning claiming my money!!

This is from their website:

"There are no gambles when you book with Blair WorldWide Hunting. Our Outfitters are the best in the business and go the extra distance for all of our hunters."

You should take a snapshot of their webpage. With that statement, I believe they have assumed at least some level of responsibility.

When was the hunt purchased? After Heathington's "disappearance" in which hunters were left at the airport and on their own, this was posted on his website:

"As of February 1, 2010 Larry Heathington will be officially RETIRED from the Guide Business. He's reached a point in this process where he doesn't feel like he needs to do day-to-day hunters anymore, he has had some health issues that necessitate that he slow down. He will be staying closer to home writing a book and magazine articles for the public over the next several years. He is going to leave the website open, at least in the short term, to allow people who haven't seen the photographs to look at the animals that were taken and some of the hunts that were accomplished. All hunts that were committed in 2010 will be completed so that nobody loses any money on any hunts that have already been scheduled."

SOMEONE owes this family $70K, pure and simple...

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:
Booking agent takes money, books hunt with OF, OF disappears(or makes up BS excuse with end result being hunt not delivered)......how does the booking agent have zero liability in this?

We have booking agents on this forum....can one of you explain how this works "in the real world of hunting"?

Here's hoping blair never sells another hunt in his miserable life.

Well, one of the booking agents who posts here once sold a sheep hunt some years ago for $35K. The outfitter, whom he had worked with in the past, scammed him - he never showed up to pick up the hunter.

The hunter did not have trip insurance.

After nine months, the booking agent had paid the hunter 28K out of his own pocket, at which point the hunter called it all even.

I have never been that impressed with Blair; the never ending cold calling on my mobile phone is in really poor taste (often it is a recording!) and his prices seem to be higher than others.

With all of the crap going on, why book with him?

Sounds like the booking agent who refunded at his own expense did EXACTLY what should have been done. Honorable and the right thing to do as a man and a businessman, but still the only option in my opinion.

Does alerting SCI and The Hunting Report do anything to hurt this kind of loser?

quote:

Blair, at least, should have had some sort of performance bond in place.

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:

Sounds like the booking agent who refunded at his own expense did EXACTLY what should have been done. Honorable and the right thing to do as a man and a businessman, but still the only option in my opinion.

Does alerting SCI and The Hunting Report do anything to hurt this kind of loser?

Had a similar circumstance when I booked a marco hunt with Bryan Martin in Tadjik a few years back. That year the their government had hunters draw on the lottery. To get in the lottery, you had to pay a deposit. Many, myself included, did not get drawn

Bryan Martin refunded my deposit, right out of his pocket. A dude named Al Kuntz was in the same boat with 8-10 of his hunters. He pussed out, some one elses problem, and his hunters lost.

Norton, how would you feel if your kids lost 70 large to a crook, and all they had to show for it was an email from SCI?

I am going to call his office tomorrow, get his side of the story. Stay tuned

Let me see if I've got this straight:

The outfitter takes full payment for the hunt, decides he's got "health issues" and calls it quits allowing him to not provide the hunt but keep the entirety of the funds?

At the same time the booking agent takes his comission up-front, books with a known crackpot with a history of leaving hunters high and dry, and then washes his hands of the whole thing.

How is this not outright robbery? Anyone using this business model for a different product would be brought up on charges. What's to stop outfitters from doing this to all of their "clients"?

If I were the OP I would be waging a scorched Earth campaign right now!

I would at least contact the Attorney General in the state where this occured and see if it were possible to file criminal charges.

I suspect "legally" Blair followed their contract to the letter.

That's a horse of an entirely different color than ethical behavior.

I am the brother who put up the other half of the $70,000. I can still picture the face on my father when he opened his present on Christmas Eve. He deserved it completely. There is no better Dad out there. Like my brother, my check for $35,000 was written out to BLAIR WORLDWIDE HUNTING -still have a copy of it. I was confident in our decision. It was suppose to be a trip where he would hunt until harvest, no matter how long it took, a supposed guarantee, if guarantees exist at all. JEFF BLAIR was well aware of this as well. ONE MAJOR PROBLEM --- The money was taken, cashed, and no hunt was provided through BLAIR WORLDWIDE HUNTING. $70,000 gone and not a dime returned. It is an unbelievable mishap. How could such a thing happen in the United States of America with no punishment to anyone? I am perplexed. I have seen less severe thefts end up on television - 20/20, Fleecing of America, etc. This is a severe crime. My dad taught us about ethics and morals, that is what I care about. A phone call and reasonable explanation from Larry Heathington and Jeff Blair would make my day. Getting the $70,000 back would be nice too. If either of you read this, please call me and explain your train of thought. Both have had health problems and I sincerely hope they heal well; I also hope they heal in a more spiritual sense.

$70,000 stolen
there would some healing going on,
a whole lotta healin...

somebody would be having health problems alright.

I e-mailed someone who knows Heathington. Here are pertinent quotes from the reply to me.

"Larry is a shell of his former self. He is in some kind of hospice situation here in Kingman, and yes, he is dying. Larry hasn't told me where he is at."

"Bottom line is that Larry has no money, is destitute as far as I can tell, and will soon depart this earth due to terminal liver cancer."

Living, dead, or dying a thief is still a thief.

It's too bad, he apparently won't have time to rot in jail where he richly deserves to be. Unfortunately, it just makes it more likely that the majority of the money won't be recovered.

BTW until I see the death certificate I won't believe a word of it. He may be drinking himself into oblivion for all I know and calling the local bar a hospice.

quote:

Originally posted by Outdoor Writer:
I e-mailed someone who knows Heathington. Here are pertinent quotes from the reply to me.

"Larry is a shell of his former self. He is in some kind of hospice situation here in Kingman, and yes, he is dying. Larry hasn't told me where he is at."

"Bottom line is that Larry has no money, is destitute as far as I can tell, and will soon depart this earth due to terminal liver cancer."

So why the hell is Blair booking hunts for this guy? Did Larry take the money for the hunt? If so, that is theft, pure and simple.

Larry might be destitute, but it is no excuse for theft.

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
So why the hell is Blair booking hunts for this guy? Did Larry take the money for the hunt? If so, that is theft, pure and simple.

Larry might be destitute, but it is no excuse for theft.

The situation included above was as of last week. It might not reflect what the situtation was when the booking and theft took place.

The e-mail reply to me also included a recent photo of Heathington, and in IMO he does look like death isn't too far off. He probably wouldn't even live long enough to go to trial if arrested and charged.

Sooo....it appears if any amends for the money comes about, it would have to be through Blair.

It shouldn't matter if the outfitter is alive, dead, broke, sick or in jail.

The Booking Agent is the one responsible here.

Like many of you I get Blair's unsolicited (and overpriced IMO) email hunt offers. So where is Blair and what is he offering to do to remedy this?

I sent a link to the Hunting Report.

This has been said already, but the OPoster, huntfisher, his brother, and Dad, should make it their business to spread this sad tale all over the web UNLESS specifically advised not to do so by their lawyer.

I'm not sure how I'd handle this if it were me (which it wouldn't be, I'd at least have punched Heathington's name into Goggle) but I'm absolutely certain of one thing, if anyone punched Blair WW Hunting into google, they'd find out what a POS he is.

I think Blair has substantial liability since he is placing himself in the middle for a fee and should have to exercise reasonable care and diligence, regardless of what his contract says.

Get competent local legal advice fast. As Gato said, spread the word unless advised by counsel. Get a judgement against this POS and the Blair POS. Prepare to get a lien on Heathington's estate. Don't back down.

Good luck and see it through. This latest bit about "hospice" and "dying" could just be more BS from this con artist.

RCG

quote:

Originally posted by Jack D Bold:

I am going to call his office tomorrow, get his side of the story. Stay tuned

Thanks Jack.....more than a few of us want to see justice done here......and eagerly await his side of the story. My guess is he'll hang up on you or direct you to his lawyer.

Miserable fucks like him eventually get their comeuppance anyway.......hopefully in the form of a croquet mallet or some such blunt object.

A lot of information is missing here. First and foremost, there has been no response to questions about contact with Heathington. It is at least conceivable that no funds were transferred to Heathington. Perhaps Blair never booked the hunt with Heathington. Who knows? I certainly do not.

I also asked what he meant by the phrase "filed a judgment" meant? There has been no response to that. A judgment is not obtained without a law suit. Does this mean he filed a lawsuit against Heathington and won a judgment?

If I had to guess based upon what has been posted here, Heathington took his fee net of commission. Something happened thereafter that caused him to exit the business. Perhaps he is terminally ill if that story is to be believed. Perhaps it is something else given the disappearance story. Blair may well have protected himself legally with his contract and/or repaying the commission and/or full fee is financially devastating to him. As such, he is choosing to refuse to pay. That is just a guess on my part.

I find it interesting that there is a claim that Heathington has liver cancer. The guy that scammed me in NZ also claimed to have liver cancer. It was just a cover story. He was not sick at all.

quote:

"Larry is a shell of his former self. He is in some kind of hospice situation here in Kingman, and yes, he is dying. Larry hasn't told me where he is at."

"Bottom line is that Larry has no money, is destitute as far as I can tell, and will soon depart this earth due to terminal liver cancer."

I love the line "Larry hasn't told me where he is at."

Kind of like when he dissapeared a couple of years ago.

And what does stealing $70k have to do with cancer if that is even true and looking at the track record that is doubtful.

Gatogordo, you had him pegged two years ago.

Guys,

I have an idea. We all chip and buy Google AdWords and buy the name Jeff Blair, worldwide hunting, etc.

If we do it right, when someone searches for Blair, we would have a link saying, "Read this before booking a hunt with Jeff Blair."

We could even create an entity outside of North America making it difficult for him to sue us.

Just an idea, but as you guys know, I hate it when someone screws someone else. I know I would be buying up the AdWords if I was the one on the short end of stick...

That is some sad news about Heathington's health. I don't wish that on anyone, even someone who owes me money. We were told the same thing a year ago about his health. I wish him luck on his recovery.

We had only paid the first $35,000 when most of these strange incidents happened around Larry Heathington. Jeff Blair didn't change our plans as far as what outfitter he was booking us through. I have a feeling that Jeff knew there were some issues arising with Larry, can't prove it but I have a hunch, and he politely accepted our 2nd $35,000 check and the hunt cancelled one month later, due to health reasons. What kind of a booking agent books a hunt with an outfitter that is in need of hospice care and doesn't know about it? And then he tells you that he is not responsible for any of the events that have happened. I too want to see justice done, NOT the way Norton wants to see it, but I want to see it.

My dad deserved this from us more than any other dad out there. I know many of you reading this are great parents, but sorry, I don't think you could measure up. He has raised us on how to always do the right thing, ethically and morally. Something that I am currently having a difficult time doing. I do not enjoy making this a public issue; however, I feel that it is my responsibility to make everyone aware of this so it doesn't happen to them. Remember, our family has booked many hunts with him, he doesn't care if you are a new client or one that has booked millions!!

I agree that this needs to be posted on as many forums as possible, to prevent it from happening to anyone else. It would be helpful if I could get a list of some of the better forums out there.

As far as the judgement, a law suit was filed and there is a judgement against Heathington. So in reality, we are out a lot more than $70,000 if you include attorney fees.

My man, I do admire your attitude and tone of message. I can learn a lot from you. And hats off to your family. It would be an honor to share camp with you one day...

Was Blair part of the original suit?

Was your suit against Heathington contested?

What would you like to see happen next?

If there is anything I can do, I am happy to help.

thank you, and good luck.

Through our attorneys advice, he suggested that we file against Heathington and it was not contested to my understanding. Blairs contract is worded in a way that he has no legal responsibilities for what happened. Legally or not, I have a problem with him just not doing the right thing. I would love to hear him honestly say that he ethically did the right thing and would be satisfied if the same thing happened to his family.

What would I like to see happen, I would like for a higher hunting organization, such as SCI get involved and punish him from the top. I don't know if that is possible or even if they have such a thing. I would think they do. Otherwise, I will have to do it on a grass-root campaign and let as many hunters out there know of his shady business practices through forums such as this.

I am interested how your phone call with Jeff went.

Jeff Blair is 100% satisfied with the way this turns out.

He thinks he has no obligation to the OP, in spite of claiming "there are no gambles" when you book with him. And he admitted to knowing of the previous problems of his outfitter, Larry Heathington. And admits to accepting the final payment in spite of the knowledge of Mr. Heathingtons troubles.

Finally, he thinks there is nothing wrong with keeping his commission.

Any body else want to book with this guy?