Buff-Buster
AH elite
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2011
- Messages
- 1,794
- Reaction score
- 1,321
- Location
- Hempstead, Texas
- Deals & offers
- 2
- Media
- 90
- Articles
- 1
- Member of
- Houston Safari Club, Gulf Coast SCI, SCI International. Rowland Ward, NRA, RMEF, North American Hunting Club - Life Member, Texas Trophy Hunters
- Hunted
- Mozambique, South Africa, (Kwa-Zulu Natal, Free State & East Cape), Zimbabwe (Charisa & West Nicholson), U.S.(Texas, New Mexico, LA, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Wyoming & Montana), Canada (Alberta & Saskatchewan) & Argentina (Cordoba)
The following bulletin was released by The Hunting Report owner/editor Barbara Crown on Monday. Even though it only affects those hunting in Europe, these kind of low life crooks need to be eliminated.
Stay-Away Warning For Romanian Hunt Operator
(posted October 06, 2014)
It's rare for The Hunting Report to issue a STAY AWAY warning against an outfitter a hunter recommended in our pages, but that's exactly what we are doing here. The outfitter we are currently warning against is Laurentiu Mihaiu and Game Hunting Romania.
You heard about Laurentiu Mihaiu and Game Hunting Romania in our August issue (page 10), when we featured a positive report by non-subscriber Michael Brooker. We hadn't heard of this outfitter before Brooker filed his report, but the initial report was good and Brooker added even more detail when we contacted him by both phone and email afterward. Before publishing Brooker's report, we also contacted Laurentiu Mihaiu who responded promptly and told us he works directly with a local hunting association to keep his costs low.
A number of subscribers followed up on that report and that's when the troubles began. Apparently, at least five subscribers liked what they heard enough to follow up with Brooker. At least two of them ended up sending in deposits on hunts, only to have problems develop.
One subscriber, Michael J. Wilmet was scheduled to leave for Romania on October 1. The night before Wilmet was scheduled to depart, he received an email from Game Hunt Romania which said, simply:
"Hello,
We had some problems, please send me your bank account for the refund, cancel plain ticket asap.
Laurentiu"
This would have been concerning in its own right had we not received a report from Spanish subscriber Ignacio Huarte the day before telling us:
"Be very careful with this company as it's a fake and it does not exist in reality. They will promise you cheap hunts (half of the normal price), ask for a deposit to save the dates and you will never hear again from them. That's exactly what has happened to me.
"I read the report Nº 9731 from Michel Brooker about this company in which he said he had a very good experience with them. I email them and received prompt response and very good prices. I sent my deposit (€1500) via transfer for a wild boar hunt in November. That's the last I heard from them. I sent many emails with no answer at all. I tried to phone to the number in its web page but it's not operative. Finally, I thought that maybe they will answer to a different email other than mine, so I use my wife's email asking for general information. Ten minutes after sending that email I received an answer from them offering big discounts on hunts if she booked quickly.
"For me it's now clear that they have stolen my deposit. Therefore I strongly recommend all fellow hunters not to book with his fake company as they will steal your money."
We immediately attempted to contact Laurentiu Mihaiu by email and phone to get his side of the story, but have not heard from him.
At this point, we can't even begin to speculate about the nature of the problem with Laurentiu Mihaiu and Game Hunting Romania. It might be a temporary glitch or, indeed, something more sinister and long term. We only know a problem exists and hunters SHOULD NOT book hunts with this company or send deposits to them until both Wilmet and Huarte have either received full refunds or completed successful hunts.
We are still digging into this situation and expect to bring you updates as quickly as we have information.
Once again, we remind hunters that nothing in life is guaranteed and quality trip insurance from a company that understands hunting will go a long way toward helping protect you against situations exactly like this. Caveat Emptor!
Stay-Away Warning For Romanian Hunt Operator
(posted October 06, 2014)
It's rare for The Hunting Report to issue a STAY AWAY warning against an outfitter a hunter recommended in our pages, but that's exactly what we are doing here. The outfitter we are currently warning against is Laurentiu Mihaiu and Game Hunting Romania.
You heard about Laurentiu Mihaiu and Game Hunting Romania in our August issue (page 10), when we featured a positive report by non-subscriber Michael Brooker. We hadn't heard of this outfitter before Brooker filed his report, but the initial report was good and Brooker added even more detail when we contacted him by both phone and email afterward. Before publishing Brooker's report, we also contacted Laurentiu Mihaiu who responded promptly and told us he works directly with a local hunting association to keep his costs low.
A number of subscribers followed up on that report and that's when the troubles began. Apparently, at least five subscribers liked what they heard enough to follow up with Brooker. At least two of them ended up sending in deposits on hunts, only to have problems develop.
One subscriber, Michael J. Wilmet was scheduled to leave for Romania on October 1. The night before Wilmet was scheduled to depart, he received an email from Game Hunt Romania which said, simply:
"Hello,
We had some problems, please send me your bank account for the refund, cancel plain ticket asap.
Laurentiu"
This would have been concerning in its own right had we not received a report from Spanish subscriber Ignacio Huarte the day before telling us:
"Be very careful with this company as it's a fake and it does not exist in reality. They will promise you cheap hunts (half of the normal price), ask for a deposit to save the dates and you will never hear again from them. That's exactly what has happened to me.
"I read the report Nº 9731 from Michel Brooker about this company in which he said he had a very good experience with them. I email them and received prompt response and very good prices. I sent my deposit (€1500) via transfer for a wild boar hunt in November. That's the last I heard from them. I sent many emails with no answer at all. I tried to phone to the number in its web page but it's not operative. Finally, I thought that maybe they will answer to a different email other than mine, so I use my wife's email asking for general information. Ten minutes after sending that email I received an answer from them offering big discounts on hunts if she booked quickly.
"For me it's now clear that they have stolen my deposit. Therefore I strongly recommend all fellow hunters not to book with his fake company as they will steal your money."
We immediately attempted to contact Laurentiu Mihaiu by email and phone to get his side of the story, but have not heard from him.
At this point, we can't even begin to speculate about the nature of the problem with Laurentiu Mihaiu and Game Hunting Romania. It might be a temporary glitch or, indeed, something more sinister and long term. We only know a problem exists and hunters SHOULD NOT book hunts with this company or send deposits to them until both Wilmet and Huarte have either received full refunds or completed successful hunts.
We are still digging into this situation and expect to bring you updates as quickly as we have information.
Once again, we remind hunters that nothing in life is guaranteed and quality trip insurance from a company that understands hunting will go a long way toward helping protect you against situations exactly like this. Caveat Emptor!
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