Full-Day Scuba Dive Charter: Hammerhead Experience from Warkworth

Don*t pay in advance!! If trip gets cancelled+you cannot reschedule,you get no refund, but have to buy stuff from shop

Don*t pay in advance!! - ! - I booked and payed a trip with them this January, which was cancelled due to bad weather conditions (not their fault - and happened with 2 other divecompanies in the same week on other spots - as they all had the same windy weather the whole week). Unfortuantely I could not swap to another timeslot as I left the country 1 week later. So far they have refused to refund my money (the other 2 dive shops did it instantly) or even answer to my emails about it for 5 months. So I strongly advice not to use them and have to take legal actions now. After I had posted this experience on Google the owner contacted me explaing he does not need to refund me, as his T&C say so. (Explaining to me about his hilariously customer unfriendly T&C that you can find very well hidden on his website (who would agree that they would not get a refund for a cancelled trip due to weather - but that you then have to buy stuff in Neils shop instead?). He demanded that I take down my posting - and only than he would consider a refund but will have to charge me 152 dollars admin fees to do that - and that I should just buy someting in his shop instead.

Response from the operator: Hi Robert, When you booked on the 5th of January we've sent you our rental agreement with terms and conditions, which states that we can't give a refund in case of a cancellation. Instead we offer to reschedule the trip, or you can use the money you spent in shop credit. On the 14th of January you've sent the signed forms back, which means that you've read through them and know about our terms and conditions. You can find our T&Cs on the trip page, then again the booking page and on our rental forms after you've made the booking. They are very easy to find, and when booking and signing the rental forms, you confirm that you've read them. This means that your comment about the T&Cs being hidden is incorrect. Despite this we still confirm a refund, but you have continued to attack us over social media. Even when you failed to provide us with the correct banking details you continue to blame us. It is perfectly reasonable to request you to remove these comments. Our refund still stands and always has. As we told you, for any refund we have to pay bank fees and charge a small admin fee, which is completely reasonable.

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Go to literally any other dive shop

Wish I read the Google reviews first. The boat is terrible and uncomfortable, the instructors don’t seem to know what they’re doing, Neil is not a nice person and makes the whole experience worse.

Response from the operator: Hello! We are wondering where this review came from, since we don't have any records of you diving with us, and we didn't run any Hammerhead trips in December 2023 (the trip you reviewed). This year we have only done trips in February and March.

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Paid 600 NZD, got a trip to the small claims court in return

Never had such a bad experience. We paid 600 NZD and got nothing in return. First it was always postponed until my father went back to Germany plus the day before the second postponed dive they stated that we can’t dive with them as we are not certified (which I clearly stated at the booking, which was happily accepted attached with the invoice to sent them 600 NZD). Now they won’t sent me my money back and we have to go to the small claims court. Just intended to have a memorable experience which turned into a nightmare…

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Do not use this comapny - very immoral

Do not use this company. Once you give them your money you wont get it back - regardless of wether you get to dive or not. Very immoral practices. Read all reviews before you book with them please. Booked a trip with friends - got cancelled due to Auckland's crazy weather (fair enough), but then they refused to refund the dive money? Cancellation was sent out a week prior to the dive - so lots of time. They even went so far as to send us a reminder to pay since 'the dive was selling out fast' two weeks beforehand, when in the cancellation email they stated that they had been going to the dive location for weeks without any sightings of the sharks. There is no reason a dive centre should be refusing refunds for dives that werent completed. Ive been diving for 10 years - first time I've ever come across this level of money grabbing.

Response from the operator: The Hammerhead trip has been halted this year due to the cyclone. There is unfortunately nothing we can do about the extreme weather in NZ. Our terms state we can change destinations due to weather and, as anyone knows wildlife is never guaranteed. You have the option of rescheduling or changing destination or exchanging for product. I also believe you actually got to dive. We also don't respond to threats of bad social media reviews as a form of extortion for money.

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A Fantastic Aventure

Without a doubt one of the easiest, friendliest and most adventurous experiences of my diving life. Jacqui - thank you for being so helpful and accommodating and flexible when bad weather meant days had to be shifted about. Neil - thanks for being such a knowledgeable and good guide and for all the fascinating stories. I also really respect the philosophy and sustainable approach NZ Diving has. Very highly recommended.

Response from the operator: Thank you very much, I really appreciate the feedback! Great to hear you enjoyed our charters and I hope to dive with you again

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