Ex-Aquanaut
Contributor
Hello Scubaboarders:
This is notice that Aquanauts Dive Centre in Pattaya, Thailand and its Course Director Roger M. Smith has been expelled from PADI. Aquanauts was a PADI 5-Star Career Development Center and National Geographic Dive Center #6246. Smith’s instructor number was 48243.
This announcement may seem odd coming from this Scubaboard account, as it belongs to Aquanauts. However, six months ago, the ownership structure of Aquanauts irreparably fractured, leaving Smith and other partners in charge of different online properties. Smith does not have control of this one, and hence the announcement.
PADI had been investigating Smith and Aquanauts for more than two months regarding charges filed by me, and numerous customers, about fraudulent advertising and business practices surrounding Aquanauts’ PADI professional training internship program. The initial 3,400-word complaint laid out in extreme detail the false claims and outright lies published about the internship program and Smith’s refusal to refund customers who felt they money back on uncompleted courses.
Separately, PADI also investigated charges that Smith’s failure to adhere to teaching requirements on the PADI Instructor Development Course left one student with such improper training that, while working for another dive center in Pattaya, a diver under the supervision of that student was killed when she was hit in the head by a motorboat off Pattaya’s near islands in December.
As Aquanauts was a CDC and Smith a Course Director, the entire matter was sent to PADI Worldwide to render final judgment, which the Qualaity Management committee there did on March 14, 2013.
As of today, however, Aquanauts continues to use PADI trademarks and course descriptions on its website, Facebook page, Twitter account and YouTube videos.
Smith, however, appears to be trying to rebrand the company under the name of Neptuen Dive Center. A new (awful) logo has appeared on the website and at the bottom of the home page, but copious amounts of PADI course information and references remain.
As some of you know, Neptune Dive Center operated for many years in Pattaya by Freddy Krouyt. He sold all of the assets of the company to (I believe) Mermaids Dive Center EXCEPT for the NeptuneDive.com domain name. I have control of that domain name and it now points to Mermaids. But being as Neptune’s assets were sold to another dive center – and that its PADI membership has since lapsed – Smith’s claim to ownership of the Neptune brand is curious, to say the least.
You also have to wonder if Smith would now turn to SSI for membership. Just in case, I have informed them in detail of the charges investigated by PADI.
So that you may understand the depth and the breadth of the charges leveled against Sith and Aquanauts before PADI, they are detailed below. All of these were backed up with internal company documents, including pricing spreadsheets, documents and copies of e-mails. Evidentially, the case was iron-clad enough to have PADI oust Roger Smith and Aquanauts forever.
For those still looking for internship-type training programs to become an instructor, I recommend Mermaids in Pattaya. However, many good training opportunities are available in Thailand, with Buddha View in Koh Tao and Scuba Cat in Phuket being among my personal recommendations.
So, as it relates to PADI’s Quality Management investigation, the charges leveled are:
In all, 39 students lost of tens of thousands of dollars and PADI’s reputation with these conned students permanently destroyed. They, in turn, passed on their poor experiences to others, further damaging the PADI brand and the reputation of honest course directors around the world.
In the cases of #1 a-b, PADI was supplied Aquanauts’ internal pricing & costing spreadsheet, which showed that, while being described as “free” on the website, students were charged $1,250 for PADI fees, as well as $300 for supposedly “Free” books and PIC for “free” bonus courses.
For #1c, PADI was given a copy of the waiver, which was forced upon students on the final day of the IDC.
For #2, which was very disconcerting, PADI was supplied e-mails to Smith expressing opposition to his directive that the fees be described as “free” when, in fact, they were not.
For #3, PADI was supplied copies of e-mails of Smith refusing refunds to a student who had to quit the program because his father died, and to another student who had a personal loss that prohibited him from even starting the program.
In #4, PADI was supplied the illegal “contract,” which runs 9 paragraphs. Seven of those paragraphs deal with termination of the internship, refunds and “financial penalties.”
Among the students were denied refunds are:
Shocked yet?
Perhaps most egregious was Smith’s circumvention of the PADI Quality Management directive.
In mid-2010, PADI Asia-Pacific Quality Management received a complaint from Andrew D, a 25-year-old British man who had never dived before and signed up with Aquanauts for its six-month “zero to hero” program, now known on the Aquanauts website as the “Aquanauts Complete Instructor” internship.
Andrew D arrived in May 2010 and, by the end of June, he had quit, a product of health and behavior issues. He had completed only one course: Open Water. He, however, had paid in excess of $10,000 for PADI courses, books, fees, equipment, and accommodations.
Roger denied him one cent in refund, even though Andrew D had not received the IDC Crew Pack he paid for, nor any of the certification and applications fees for courses he never completed.
Andrew D complained to PADI Asia-Pacific. Mike Holme of the QA department wrote to Smith, who forwarded the e-mail to me. That e-mail was resubmitted to PADI in this year’s complaint.
In his e-mail, Holme wrote: “Consequently we require you to clarify the terms of your internship as they relate to PADI fees and materials and confirm the fees collected on PADI behalf are refunded to Andrew D.”
Smith did refund the fees in September of that year and wrote back to Holme that not only had the website language been changed, but that Aquanauts was now putting the fees in “free.”
In fact, while the website was changed, nothing in the price of the internship nor the internal financial structure of the internship had changed. Students were still being charged $1,270 (approximate based on exchange rates) for all the Divemaster, IDC and I.E. fees.
In an e-mail, I showed that I objected to this, but was ordered to make the changes.
So there you have it: A true inside view of how the internship program at Aquanauts was operating. For people that showed up, stayed the duration, did well and passed, it was overwhelmingly a positive experience and helpful to them. But for those that had hiccups along the way, accidents, family problems or just couldn’t cut it, there was no mercy.
The PADI world is now rid of Roger Smith and Aquanauts. Let’s hope they don’t transform into something else and reappear.
This is notice that Aquanauts Dive Centre in Pattaya, Thailand and its Course Director Roger M. Smith has been expelled from PADI. Aquanauts was a PADI 5-Star Career Development Center and National Geographic Dive Center #6246. Smith’s instructor number was 48243.
This announcement may seem odd coming from this Scubaboard account, as it belongs to Aquanauts. However, six months ago, the ownership structure of Aquanauts irreparably fractured, leaving Smith and other partners in charge of different online properties. Smith does not have control of this one, and hence the announcement.
PADI had been investigating Smith and Aquanauts for more than two months regarding charges filed by me, and numerous customers, about fraudulent advertising and business practices surrounding Aquanauts’ PADI professional training internship program. The initial 3,400-word complaint laid out in extreme detail the false claims and outright lies published about the internship program and Smith’s refusal to refund customers who felt they money back on uncompleted courses.
Separately, PADI also investigated charges that Smith’s failure to adhere to teaching requirements on the PADI Instructor Development Course left one student with such improper training that, while working for another dive center in Pattaya, a diver under the supervision of that student was killed when she was hit in the head by a motorboat off Pattaya’s near islands in December.
As Aquanauts was a CDC and Smith a Course Director, the entire matter was sent to PADI Worldwide to render final judgment, which the Qualaity Management committee there did on March 14, 2013.
As of today, however, Aquanauts continues to use PADI trademarks and course descriptions on its website, Facebook page, Twitter account and YouTube videos.
Smith, however, appears to be trying to rebrand the company under the name of Neptuen Dive Center. A new (awful) logo has appeared on the website and at the bottom of the home page, but copious amounts of PADI course information and references remain.
As some of you know, Neptune Dive Center operated for many years in Pattaya by Freddy Krouyt. He sold all of the assets of the company to (I believe) Mermaids Dive Center EXCEPT for the NeptuneDive.com domain name. I have control of that domain name and it now points to Mermaids. But being as Neptune’s assets were sold to another dive center – and that its PADI membership has since lapsed – Smith’s claim to ownership of the Neptune brand is curious, to say the least.
You also have to wonder if Smith would now turn to SSI for membership. Just in case, I have informed them in detail of the charges investigated by PADI.
So that you may understand the depth and the breadth of the charges leveled against Sith and Aquanauts before PADI, they are detailed below. All of these were backed up with internal company documents, including pricing spreadsheets, documents and copies of e-mails. Evidentially, the case was iron-clad enough to have PADI oust Roger Smith and Aquanauts forever.
For those still looking for internship-type training programs to become an instructor, I recommend Mermaids in Pattaya. However, many good training opportunities are available in Thailand, with Buddha View in Koh Tao and Scuba Cat in Phuket being among my personal recommendations.
So, as it relates to PADI’s Quality Management investigation, the charges leveled are:
- Smith, through the Aquanauts websites falsely advertised features of Aquanauts’ PADI Professional internships, including:
- Offering PADI professional application and renewal fees as “free” when, in fact, they are not.
- Offering courses and books as “free” when, in fact, they are not.
- Offering an online “guarantee” that Aquanauts will pay for a second Instructor Exam should students fail the first one, then having all underperforming students sign a guarantee waiver.
- Offering a “job placement” website that, in fact, never left the “beta” testing stages, offered no actual jobs and was missing “premium” features offered to students who sign up with the company.
- Smith intentionally circumvented a PADI Quality Management directive on reimbursement of PADI fees by adding blatantly false marketing language to the Aquanauts website.
- Smith refused any refunds for PADI books, materials, course and fees even if students never take the courses or obtain the books.
- Aquanauts required all students who pay in advance for PADI Professional training courses to sign “contracts” refusing them any refund before being allowed to begin any course, do any dive or even take residence in the Aquanauts student accommodations.
- Aquanauts did not for some time qualify as a Career Development Center, certifying only a handful of instructors per year, instead of the required 60.
- Aquanauts violated PADI trademarks and copyrights by altering and posting to public websites copyrighted PADI videos.
In all, 39 students lost of tens of thousands of dollars and PADI’s reputation with these conned students permanently destroyed. They, in turn, passed on their poor experiences to others, further damaging the PADI brand and the reputation of honest course directors around the world.
In the cases of #1 a-b, PADI was supplied Aquanauts’ internal pricing & costing spreadsheet, which showed that, while being described as “free” on the website, students were charged $1,250 for PADI fees, as well as $300 for supposedly “Free” books and PIC for “free” bonus courses.
For #1c, PADI was given a copy of the waiver, which was forced upon students on the final day of the IDC.
For #2, which was very disconcerting, PADI was supplied e-mails to Smith expressing opposition to his directive that the fees be described as “free” when, in fact, they were not.
For #3, PADI was supplied copies of e-mails of Smith refusing refunds to a student who had to quit the program because his father died, and to another student who had a personal loss that prohibited him from even starting the program.
In #4, PADI was supplied the illegal “contract,” which runs 9 paragraphs. Seven of those paragraphs deal with termination of the internship, refunds and “financial penalties.”
Among the students were denied refunds are:
- Shannon D: Arrived November 2007 as an Open Water student going to the Instructor level over four months. Paid more than $9,000 and quit after one week – without ever doing one dive – to return home to Australia. She was refused any refund. Shannon D never received the IDC and EFR Instructor crew packs she paid for, none of the promised books for the “free bonus courses,” and was never refunded any PADI fees. She eventually sold her store credit to someone else at a huge loss.
- Brian L: Began three-month internship in June 2011 and suffered a critical brain injury in a road accident a month later. Hospitalized in Thailand for a month, then taken home by family. Refused any refund. Never received IDC Crew Pack, EFR Instructor kit, none of the promised books for the “free bonus courses,” or refund of any professional fees.
- Nishal R: A non-certified Indian who purchased a seven-month “zero to hero” instructor package, which he began in January 2012. He completed only Open Water before having to return to India when his father died, leaving him in charge of the family business. His refund request was refused. Nishal R never received his IDC and EFRI crew packs, nor any PADI fees. Nor was he recompensed for any of the other 10 courses he paid for.
- Ben P: Another seven-month student who had never dived before beginning his course in November 2010. He was forced to leave Thailand in March 2011 when his mother committed suicide. He planned to return to Thailand to complete his course, but lost an arm in a motorcycle accident in the U.K. before he could. Despite numerous requests, Smith refused him any refund and never reimbursed even his PADI fees or the promised books for the “free bonus courses” that he never received.
Shocked yet?
Perhaps most egregious was Smith’s circumvention of the PADI Quality Management directive.
In mid-2010, PADI Asia-Pacific Quality Management received a complaint from Andrew D, a 25-year-old British man who had never dived before and signed up with Aquanauts for its six-month “zero to hero” program, now known on the Aquanauts website as the “Aquanauts Complete Instructor” internship.
Andrew D arrived in May 2010 and, by the end of June, he had quit, a product of health and behavior issues. He had completed only one course: Open Water. He, however, had paid in excess of $10,000 for PADI courses, books, fees, equipment, and accommodations.
Roger denied him one cent in refund, even though Andrew D had not received the IDC Crew Pack he paid for, nor any of the certification and applications fees for courses he never completed.
Andrew D complained to PADI Asia-Pacific. Mike Holme of the QA department wrote to Smith, who forwarded the e-mail to me. That e-mail was resubmitted to PADI in this year’s complaint.
In his e-mail, Holme wrote: “Consequently we require you to clarify the terms of your internship as they relate to PADI fees and materials and confirm the fees collected on PADI behalf are refunded to Andrew D.”
Smith did refund the fees in September of that year and wrote back to Holme that not only had the website language been changed, but that Aquanauts was now putting the fees in “free.”
In fact, while the website was changed, nothing in the price of the internship nor the internal financial structure of the internship had changed. Students were still being charged $1,270 (approximate based on exchange rates) for all the Divemaster, IDC and I.E. fees.
In an e-mail, I showed that I objected to this, but was ordered to make the changes.
So there you have it: A true inside view of how the internship program at Aquanauts was operating. For people that showed up, stayed the duration, did well and passed, it was overwhelmingly a positive experience and helpful to them. But for those that had hiccups along the way, accidents, family problems or just couldn’t cut it, there was no mercy.
The PADI world is now rid of Roger Smith and Aquanauts. Let’s hope they don’t transform into something else and reappear.
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