Ladies and Gents,
I find myself in a somewhat embarassing situation. I went with a taxidermy company on the merit of their brochure and the influence of a charter captain. I am really not upset with the charter captain as it is my own fault for not doing my homework. I had a 110-115 inch blue marlin done as a reproduction. I also had a repro bill mount done to set on my desk at work. It was contracted through Gray Taxidermy in Pompano Beach Florida.
The fish were caught last summer on a side trip off Oahu when my friend Matt and I went pig hunting on Niihau Island in Hawaii.
Here is the initial breakdown.
Billmount repro 266.00
Blue Marlin 1355.00
Although at the upper end I was ok with these prices and knew them at the outset.
Next they charged me $28.00 each service charge. I assumed this was for the charter captain writing the contract.
I was still ok with that.
Now is where it gets stupid!
They sent me "crating" bills of $352.30 and $69.16. I called them and complained at the time but pretty much got told too bad! The depsoits of $800.00 were non-returnable! They figured they had me but I wasnt through yet.
That was bad enough, but the final insult was yet to come.
Twelve weeks after the completion of the mounts they sent me "shipping" charges of $644.28! They 'couldnt give them to me in advance" as they didnt have the overall dimensions. What a croc!
I at this time called them again and complained loudly. I also told them dont crate it dont ship it. I am probably going to Florida to deal with this in person. This has already cost me more in time and money than I will get back. I will also visit my family and the family lawyer in florida while I am there
Let me put this in perspective.

Most taxidermists I deal with dont even charge crating fees for large orders like this. Even if they did it is minimal at best. That is $421.46 crating. You can hire someone and pay them $10.00/hr to build a crate with about $30.00 worth of wood. That is a 40 hour work week folks. What a rip off!

The shipping at $644.28 is totally out of line. It is about 115 inches long but the mount is only about 25 to 30 lbs tops. I deal with several taxidermists on an ongoing basis. I know what the shipping runs normally. It is about 1/6 of this tops. I am having 22 finished animals shipped from my taxidermist in California for less than that.

I have since done alot of research on these people and found out they have a long history of screwing clients.
I am making complaints to the Broward County Consumer affairs, states attorney generals of Hawaii, Ohio and Florida, BBB, and the national taxidermists association. I am also going to make this known to various charter captains and hunting and fishing oganizations I belong to.

My main objective here is to make as many people as possible aware of this situation. I want to prevent anyone I can from going through this. I have also gotten several replies from people who read my posts on taxidermy.net. It would appear Grays is making use of charter captains all over the globe as shills. Some it was too late to save their deposits others I was able to stear away from these guys.
Do not use Gray Taxidermy of Pompano Beach Florida!!! < !--color-->

Mike, having dealt with a lot of taxidermists both domestic & foreign, there are lots of hidden fees unless you know to ask. For African game, the dip, pack, crating, & shipping costs can almost equal the taxidermy cost.

Your guys certainly should have gone over all this with you and I am sure your captain just assumed you knew. As you discovered, there is not a lot you can do after the fact. Sorry for the �surprise�. Hope it works out and that they come right with some of the �hidden� charges...

I agree. I knew better but didnt give it much thought at the time. Particulary because I had just had several things shipped from another taxidermist. It is my fault for not doing my homework. However, and this is a big one, I have found this to be a pattern with these people. You wont believe the number of people who have contacted me since my posts on taxidermy.net. They basically are using a theft by deception method on people that is difficult to prove. I just want to prevent anyone else from getting the same treatment.

Hey, you are not the first guy they have screwed. I would contact the Atty General.



Are these the guys? http://www.graytaxidermy.com/



http://myfloridalegal.com/newsrel.nsf/0/FBFBB225A990984D85256AD900478AF2?OpenDocument

Yes Sir, That is them allright. They have found a way around the settlement. They have captains operating out of Hawaii and Mexico that I have found. I am sure the captains in Florida make sure they play by the rules set down but those out of state or country are another matter. There are many other places as well I am sure. What they do now is hide the crating and shipping costs until after the client has comitted and put down a deposit. It is then too late to get your money back on the deposit or have the credit card company go after them.

Mike,
Did they give you a package cost, in writing? Did they mention these HUGE other costs, out of alignment with R&C ?

I totally disagree that you could have forseen this, and I DO feel that screwed you over, based on your side of the story.

Interstate commerce/wire fraud? If it was ME, i would be talking to my postal inspector, providing ANY part of this went through US mail, and my bank.

jeffe

Jeffe, Mail and wire fraud are also in my complaint. I just didnt mention it. Reasonable and Customary, now there is a concept these folks dont understand!

Sorry to hear you got burned,But thanks for letting us know these guys are theifs.

Mike



I know booking agents and outfitters hate to see anything written negative about hunting or fishing trips, because it's bad for their business. Kickbacks and commissions are the only reason these type of operators stay in business. It doesn't matter if you are fishing in the US or hunting in Africa. Kickbacks are the prime reason for outrageous shipping, crating, dipping and hidden fees. The guide is the first person to blame because he referred you to the taxidermist for a fee or commission.



I would inspect your trophies before putting any more money down. This type of operator seldom does museum quality work. The only think worse than getting screwed, is haveing a mounted fish in you house that looks like a 1940 buick.

Regardless of everything said and any lack of homework being done by the agrieved party, that does not justify anyone or company failing to state clearly an itemised cost breakdown in advance, and even a [ no hidden costs ] proviso, or inclusive of everything etc.



Even on the freight or whatever misc charge was stated they did not know in advance, they could certainly have given you an estimated +- 10% cost.



For what reason would any company not want to issue a fully itemised bill of invoce ?? that might explain the problem.



Peter

Robert, I agree with you for the most part but comissions ie kickbacks are a way of life most places. It just usually dosnt involve a total screwing of the client on such a scale.

Peter, you are right as well. The problem is that the "contracts" are done at the docks. There is undue influence to go with the taxidermist in question. They spell out the rate very nicely but there is no information on crating or shipping. The charter people dont have any reason to know that. At the same time, they do make a comission on this. Some of them know the score others I believe truly have no idea. All they know is they get a comission unless soomeone brings it to their attention. (I did!) The deposits are non refundable. By the time most people, myself included realize there is a problem it is too late. Until now I have never had a problem with shipping or crating from a domestic taxidermist. The entire way this company does buisiness is underhanded. There is no excuse for it. It is theft by deception but done in a way that is difficult to prove.