A difficult decision for an owner at the end of his life
Mr. and Mrs. Ris, elderly and living far from the sea, had decided in 2023 to sell their sailboat, a Nautica 38-foot Ketch, in view of Mr. Ris's worrying state of health, due to cancer. He had retired and wanted to use his boat to sail the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, illness cut short these aspirations.
To secure the transaction, the couple entrusted the sale to AYC in Port Saint Louis du Rhône, a specialist agency, signing a semi-exclusive mandate in autumn 2023. The sale price was agreed, and the agency undertook to mobilize its network to find a buyer. In January 2024, four months after the property was put up for sale, a compromise was signed with a Belgian buyer. Delivery is scheduled for February 2024, and the contract stipulates that payment must be made no later than March 3, 2024.
Payments that don't arrive
Despite the contractual deadline, no payment was made to the Ris couple on the agreed date. Initial email exchanges with AYC point to the agency's financial difficulties, as highlighted by its manager, Mr Boutboul, in an official reply from another group company, Cap Océan.
As the months went by, the situation bogged down. Between March and May 2024, promises and apologies from AYC accumulated, but no payments were made. Exasperated and worried, the Ris enlisted the help of a lawyer to try and unblock the situation. A formal notice was sent to the agency in May 2024.
A case brought to court
Faced with the lack of any concrete response and the persistent financial difficulties cited by AYC and Cap Océan, the Ris decided to lodge a complaint with the Tarascon public prosecutor for damage to property and non-payment of sums due. The family lawyer in charge of the case, Maître Sarah Tarabay, insists on the dramatic turn this sale has taken for the family:
"The situation is made all the sadder by the fact that Mr Ris died during this period, leaving his wife to manage this complex affair alone. To this day, the heirs have still not recovered the money from the sale of the sailboat."
A systemic problem in boat sales
This case highlights the risks associated with poorly supervised nautical transactions. The trust placed in intermediaries, even specialized ones, can prove detrimental in the event of financial or administrative failure.
To avoid such situations, it is recommended that owners of âeuros¯ boats:
- Check the intermediary's financial soundness and references before signing a mandate.
- Include guarantee clauses in the sales mandate, notably concerning the payment of funds.
- Take out specific insurance to cover the risk of non-payment.
A case in search of a solution
Mr Ris's heirs are continuing their legal proceedings and hope for a speedy outcome. This case, which has sparked outrage in the boating community, serves as a wake-up call to the need for greater transparency and regulation in the boat sales sector.
A support group has even been set up on social networks, bringing together other alleged victims to share their experiences and approaches to this type of dispute.
