On Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:45:07 +0000, Larry wrote:

Wayne.B wrote in
:

Some how
the tax people thought that money was owed by a previous owner and
they made my life miserable for about 6 months trying to collect.

Wow...I'd like to hear more about that story. Did you buy it from here?

No, we purchased the boat in Florida and all applicable Florida taxes
and fees were paid at time of sale. We received the usual assurances
in the purchase contract that the boat was being sold free of any
liens or encumberances. The next year we took the boat north for the
summer, stopping at Charleston for 2 days along the way. About 3
months later we received a letter from the Charleston County tax
office that we owed over $14K in retroactive personal property taxes.
Our choice was to pay or have the boat seized and auctioned off. As
you can imagine a number of phone calls ensued. They were adamant
that a prior owner, some ten years previously, had overstayed his time
in Charleston and that we as the current owners were liable for the
taxes and penalties. They informed us that we either had to pay, lose
the boat, or prove that the taxes were not due.

We went back and forth with them for over six months, exchanging
lawyer letters, tracking down former owners, etc. After being
threatened with seizure any number of times they finally decided that
no money was due after reviewing all of the available evidence. I
insisted that they write me a letter to that effect which I still have
in the boat files. The whole affair has left me with a rather bad
feeling toward your otherwise fine city. We won't be back any time
soon. I even get nervous transiting the coast.