HovPod. Crooks, Liars, Inferior Products, Invalid Warranty, Sub Standard Product. Worthless Rubbish. Southampton Internet

Statement from Hov Pod (Reaction International Ltd)

We are deeply concerned that malicious and false allegations have been made against the Hov Pod, Reaction International Ltd, and employees of Reaction International Ltd, and we take these allegations seriously.

The Hov Pod design, images and videos are copyright protected, and have been used in a scam referred to as F1 Hoverpod Racing. We may risk further malicious and false allegations by stating publicly that http://www.f1hoverpodracing.com/ is a spoof website using our images and product design illegally.

We are currently taking advice to start legal proceedings to protect our brand name, copyright, images and product design. If you are in anyway concerned about the allegations made against us in Rip Off Reports, please email us at sales@hovpod.com so that we can provide you with more information, and with your approval, record the damage caused by these false allegations perpetrated by persons known to us who have tried to reverse engineer the Hov Pod design, for apparent criminal intent to defraud gullible investors. Copy is the highest form of flattery, but we take seriously infringes of copyright, malicious slander and false allegations made against us, and will defend our company and brand images robustly through the legal system. Find our more about the real Hov Pod at http://www.hovpod.com

First of all, we assume this complaint is made by a hoaxer or fraudster under a false name, as we have no record of this customer on our database, or in our files. Had we recognised the customer name we could have resolved this matter directly, but we have received no such complaint. It seems to us highly suspicious, that such a malicious complaint should be made via a website like this.

To prove that this report is a malicious hoax, probably posted by a well known fraudster, please at least read the first inaccurate paragraph.

The complaint is considered malicious and untrue because A/ The customer says that we sold the craft under the name Hov Pod, not under our company name; Reaction International Ltd. The reader should be aware that our company name is clearly marked on our factory door, on our website, on all invoices, emails and paper correspondence, so if in fact this claim is to be taken seriously, the customer would not have been able to purchase a product from us, for legal and tax reasons, without being perfectly aware that the Hov Pod product is manufactured by Reaction International Ltd, registered in the UK. It is standard procedure within the UK and many countries to provide legitimate invoices with such details as VAT number and company registration details, therefore we must consider this complaint to be a false claim, made by a fraudster, hoaxer or malicious competitor. We do not believe that any hovercraft manufacturer would stoop so low as to make this type of unfounded accusation, as we know most manufacturers to be honourable individuals.

Had the name, or the nature of the complaint had been immediately recognisable as a valid complaint, we would have 1/ Dealt directly with the customer to resolve the problem, and 2/ Provided the customer with no opportunity to make such a claim on this website. We therefore suspect that this complaint is malicious in intent for reasons unknown to us.

Assuming however that we are wrong, that the complaint is real and valid, let me deal with the nature of the complaint point by point.

If engines seize up, they do so because of overheating, lack of cooling or lack of oil, and general poor maintenance.

Three years ago, we used to fit Hirth engines but experienced problems with technical support specifically parts availability, although that said, we found the engines to be very reliable, the reason for change had more to do with availability of parts for international support. Hirth engines are aviation engines used in small single engine microlight aircraft; pilots trust Hirth engines with their life. We switched supplier to Rotax who also manufacture very reliable aviation microlight engines; we have found Rotax engines to be very reliable and trustworthy, and to have a wide international network of dealers who maintain stocks of spare parts.
We recently rejected another engine supplier for issues over support.

The customer writes When I confronted the sales staff at Hovpod I was told this wasn't covered by any warranty.

This is nonsense, Hirth engines are provided with 6 months warranty, and the Hov Pod is supplied with 12 months warranty

The customer writes: After many calls and e-mail exchanges I started researching the company, it turns out they are not called Hovpod and have a very hidden secret to which they spend endless time covering up. www.hovpod.com may be the name they use, but Reaction International Ltd is the true name to which there have been several.

The statement above proves this complaint to be a malicious untruth. If the customer had purchased a Hov Pod, by law he would have to receive an invoice and pay VAT, all invoices and correspondence clearly state that our company name is Reaction International Ltd. Had this person had visited us for a demonstration as he says he did, he would have visited our factory, and noticed over the front door of the factory, our company name Reaction International Ltd. All correspondence from us such as emails have to note by law, our company name, company registration number and VAT number, contained within the signature.

Hov Pod is the brand name of the product, and Reaction International Ltd, is our company name as stated clearly on our website www.hovpod.com. If the person making this accusation bothered to read our contact page, on our website, published in the public domain, he would note that Hov Pod is a trade marked brand name for a vehicle, manufactured by Reaction International Ltd see http://www.hovpod.com/contact/contact.html

For other examples, Focus is a type of Ford motorcar.

The customer writes: I found out through the Hovercraft Club of GB that many people had bought this craft with a variety of engines, and mounting debt and Law Suits were just the start of the problems with the company and product.

Absolute rubbish, Reaction International Ltd have never been sued by any customer. This claim is wholly defamatory, and the person making the claim is exploiting this website by making wholly defamatory remarks that, according to this website, can only be refuted and not removed. Under the rules of this website, anyone can make any remarks about anyone without fear of reprisals, thus in affect, the contents of this website, although meant with the best of intentions, are knowingly left open to abuse as remarks are neither investigated, validated, or removed if found to be false and of a mischievous or competitive nature.

The customer writes: I was informed through good information that the product has a huge failure rate and the whole product has a Zero safety record.

The Hov Pod is internationally known as probably the safest hovercraft currently available, and we have passed a number of international tests by governmental authorities to prove the safety of the vehicle, information available upon request.

This remark proves that the person making these remarks is a malicious liar, and not a real customer. For example, The Hov Pod is fitted with a rear guard, not normally fitted by other hovercraft manufacturers as guards restrict airflow and slow the top speed performance. We choose to fit a rear-guard as we believe that safety is more important than top speed. The Hov Pod has been tested to take over one ton in weight as it has superior buoyancy properties. For full details of the safety features, please request a copy of our Buyers Guide via http://www.hovpod.com

The customer writes: The company was banned from launching the craft in Southampton harbour by the authorities and has major problems in securing Insurance products, the reason being that Lloyds are aware of the major faults in the product.

Absolute nonsense; another statement example that proves that the person making these comments is in fact a malicious liar. As for the accuracy of this statement, you might like to consider that Southampton is a port, not a harbour, and that the majority of demonstrations, as customers will be able to vouch for, are purposely provided on the River Itchen, a busy tributary commercial river in Southampton. Furthermore, Reaction International Ltd is fully insured by Lloyds of London.

The customer writes: The engine has huge problems as it was designed for motorbikes and not marine quality, the craft & hull are prone to cracking and major fault round the engine mountings and the whole fan area is at best 'Dangerous'.

Wrong yet again. The Hirth engine is a microlight aviation engine, not a motorcycle engine. As for hull cracking, the Hov Pod is manufactured from High Density PE, unique in hovercraft design, and far stronger than glass fibre, as used by the majority of hovercraft manufacturers. Our glass fibre craft experienced no cracking, it was fitted with a double skin floor, with Kevlar (bullet proof material) and aluminium impact plate under hull protection.

The customer writes: I have been fighting a re-fund in full for 3 years on the basis the product is not fit for worth. I was happy to have it simply repaired by Hovpod, but they refuse to accept the problems with my craft were their fault.

We have never heard from a customer of this name, and have no such dispute on record. This claim is a malicious untruth.

The customer writes: I can now inform you that I am not alone with my problem with Hovpod, there are many well documented places on the internet and H,C,G,B confirming the product is bad. Additionally there are many customers who have contact me through my blog confirming they were lied to by Hovpod and also had sub standard products from them.

No mention of the blog website then, such a shame we cannot contact you directly to discuss your ridiculous claims. Have checked out the HCGB website also at http://www.hovercraft.org.uk/ and cannot find any evidence of the claims you make, thus proving the value of your comments, and the integrity of your word. If the reader would like to validate this claim, please visit http://www.hovercraft.org.uk/, and do a search on Hov Pod on the General Forum.

You may find evidence of one fraudster on this site, but will not find any evidence of the malicious untruths suggested by the individual making these false claims.
The customer writes: I can now confirm that Hovpod work through a P.O Box address in order to hide, the contact number is a mobile phone number in order to hide and Mike & Pete are the biggest con men out there.

We do have, pay for and maintain a full 24 hour answer phone telephone number on the website, because we sell internationally namely + 44 (0) 7699 391 390 but you are welcome to call us direct on 0044 (0) 2380231111, as shown on all emails and correspondence. We ship all over the world, hence why the craft have to be reliable.

As for being called a conman on an Internet website by someone who does not show his real identity, this indeed has been a new virtual experience for me (Mike). May I use this forum to state that I am not a conman. I believe in my employer and MD of Reaction International Ltd, Peter Ward, who I have known now for a number of years, and whom I hold in the highest regard. I am virtually peeved off by being labelled a conman by someone so malicious and factually incorrect. If I were a conman, I certainly wouldn't bother responding to these dubious allegations.

The customer writes: They lie about the quality, they lie about the reliability and they lie about the safety record. My advice to anyone looking for a Hovercraft is look else where, these people have a very bad track record of customer support to whom I have spoke with many ex customers of Hovpod, and look toward a Jet Ski or similar which is better made, faster and more fun. Both Mike and Pete Ward are without doubt con men. They take your money with promised delivery times to which they never honour, they refuse to put right the problems covered under warranty etc, and ultimately are down right dishonest in every way.

The customer writes: I now question the following:
Why do you always get to test the product on dry land ?......................

90% of demonstrations are held on the River Itchen, a busy commercial river tributary to the Southampton Water, and International shipping port. We rarely do demonstrations on land, and advise all customers to have demonstration on water, to check buoyancy, starting on water, and suitability for the marine environment, particularly salt water which tends to be very corrosive stuff. See our buyers guide, available from http://www.hovpod.com

The customer writes: Why does the engine work loose on every craft ?.................................

Engines do not work lose, we fit engines with Nylocs and Loctite to prevent any problems of this type.

The customer writes: Why does the fan always shatter when running at high speed................

This is absolute, malicious rubbish. All hovercraft have fans that can shatter, which is precisely why the Hov Pod has a rear guard fitted to the fan assembly. Most hovercraft manufacturers fit fan blades from the same supplier. Failure rate is very rare, customers are reminded to inspect fans for potential damage. All reputable hovercraft manufacturers would advise customers to check fan blades occasionally.

The customer writes: Why do the grab handles snap so often...............

Again, this is absolute, malicious rubbish, proof that the customer is false as in the history of the company, we have yet to supply a replacement grab handle, proof that the writer is clearly not honest or has much idea about the Hov Pod.
The customer writes: Why is it not just myself who has had all these and many more problems ?.

My advice to all is keep well away from www.hovpod.com
We have never heard such a lot of inaccurate rubbish. This website probably has the best of intentions, but sadly is left wide open to malicious slander, hidden behind a veil of anonymity. It seems incredible to us that according to the guidelines provided on this website, under the heading, Want to sue Ripoff Report that the service provider claim that the content is acknowledged and likely to possibly contain inaccurate fake information posted by a competitor.
Should any reader stumble across this malicious rubbish by accident, and still believe an ounce of truth in these allegations, we invite you to contact us and attend a product demonstration, or request a copy of our Buyers Guide which details the many unique safety features of the Hov Pod. Please contact us via http://www.hovpod.com