Dear Editor,
I am writing to share my experience with RTR Car Rental company (also trading as NETTO) in Cala Mayor, Mallorca.
I was completing my Masterīs Program last summer through the College of New Jersey (Hosted by the Belver International College). I came across an advertisement for a rental vehicle and decided to hire a car for the month. The rate that was advertised was considered to be of good value.
Of the three weeks that I had the vehicle I only left the Palma area once. I was mindful of where I parked the car along with checking the tires and oil levels when I filled up at the pumps. Fortunately, I did not encounter any problems.
I understood that upon returning the car I would have to wait 24 hours for my deposit of 40,000 pesetas. The time was needed to thoroughly check the car for any damage. When I returned the next day to collect my deposit, I was told that everything was in order and that the deposit, which was paid by debit card, would be deposited in my bank account immediately. Being that I was to fly out the next day I had no choice but to trust the company.
The day I was flying out I called the office to confirm that the deposit was paid and was told that the manager had made the deposit himself. Four days later there was still no sign of the deposit!
After several attempts to resolve this issue through various phone calls and faxes proved to be to no avail.
Over a month after I returned the car I was informed by Torben of RTR that the car I rented is shot and that I was to blame!! I could not believe what I was told! When I mentioned that I will be speaking with a lawyer to try to resolve this matter, Torben then threatened to take me to court to pay for the car!! Being a school administrator in an International School in Andalucia I was disgusted by the action of this company. There will be several hundred international teachers convening in Cala Mayor once again this summer and one can be certain that they will all be notified of the kind of business RTR is running.
Sincerely, Fabio Corvaglia
Dear John,
We at BMC Medical Supplies (now Ocean Medical International) are obliged to ask for the assistance of the Islander.
We are well known for teaching good quality, practical Class 4 medical courses. Last year we undertook to teach these courses for a now infamous Florida based International Yacht Training company which set up a branch in Mallorca. We duly taught the courses, and naturally, had an agreement to be paid for these courses. The said company took the fees and we were to be paid subsequently.
Well, to cut a long predictable story short, we were not paid although the course fees were collected.
Generally, it has been hard to miss the sad demise of this company branch in Mallorca. I personally think they did a great job locally to set up so quickly and despite a few glitches, gave a good, well-needed service.
I also wish to state that the management of the Mallorca branch, namely Mr Lars Loftus and his wife Emma, acted in good faith throughout.
However, as unpaid creditors of this company, which has its base in Florida, we now need to take action.
We were promised by the well-known CEO of the Florida company that we would be paid from the US. But the promise of payment (of HALF the amount owed) was sent un-dated, by fax, and with no settlement date. When asked for an original with the missing essentials the CEO, Mr M.F, repeatedly either promised a copy, said it was not required (because he was a man of his word!) and then was not available after repeated phone calls. Perhaps we got it wrong but this doesnīt sound like a sincere offer.
Weeks have gone by and it has been generally impossible to contact the said CEO.
Eventually, we threatened legal action and immediately I was contacted to say that an expensive Nav and Radar set up was to be sold to a well known Antibes Based training company, to pay ourselves and other creditors. The boss of the Antibes company did me the service of keeping me informed of the negotiations. Apparently, the equipment finally arrived with him; but strangely enough this had not ever been paid for and my friend in Antibes is now negotiating with the original sellers in the US who had assumed that they had lost the equipment to a ībad debtī.
Now, you could call us suspicious, but after numerous stalling devices over months, this looks a little iffy to say the least. (By the way, if I hadnīt made myself clear, it was Mr. M.F, CEO of the Florida company who promised that debts would be paid from this sale......odd he didnīt know that it hadnīt been paid for!!)
I now know that we have been led down the garden path. The Florida based International Yacht Training company and their CEO Mr M.F were never planning to pay their debts or fulfil their promises or else I would have a hard copy guarantee in my hand.
My reason for informing you is partly because this company has put all training establishments into disrepute by its actions and partly because we want to ask for all potential creditors of this company to contact us to organise a class action.
We personally have proof of all that I have stated. We anticipate that the Florida company will probably successfully hide behind convoluted ownership/responsibility laws in the US and will doubtless try and blame the Spanish branch management.
That aside, we already know of numerous creditors from local businesses, but we would like to hear from the other īstudentsī who have paid for courses that they may never receive (unless they fly to Florida) I personally know of 3 people who have paid $3-4000 but are yet to see a course. This type of business practice is not acceptable and we must warn future candidates of this company to beware.
Despite this, on a happier note, we continue to run our popular MCA/Class4 Medical courses.
All creditors of the company in question, please contact Dr. David Irons 629 680 326 Email-david@bmc-mallorca.com (Ocean Medical International and BMC Medical Supplies / MCA Tutors)