The Belgrade Boat Shop, 769 Oakland Road, is seen in Belgrade on Tuesday, July 16. Numerous customers have complained that the shop does not return their boats. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

BELGRADE — TJ Talbot hasn’t had his boat for two years. Last month he got it back, but not in one piece.

Talbot left it at the Belgrade Boat Shop at 769 Oakland Road in the summer of 2022. Talbot says he hasn’t heard from the shop’s owner, Bill Redlevskefor more than two years thereafter.

After dozens of unanswered phone calls and emails, Talbot set out to pick up the boat himself last month. He found it lying in a field behind the workshop, unwinterized and with engine parts missing.

“The grass was very overgrown and there were a lot of other boats in the storage area,” Talbot said. “The boat shop also has my keys, so that’s another problem I’m facing right now.”

Talbot is not the only one complaining about the Belgrade Boat Shop. Numerous Belgraders have reported similar experiences in social media posts and comments over the past few months.

Many also found their watercraft lying uncovered in the field behind the business, which was founded in 2014. Others reported that parts of their boats were missing and the upholstery was torn.

Almost all say that Redlevske cut off contact with customers after they stored their watercraft, avoided phone calls and rarely opened the store door.

Attempts by the Morning Sentinel to contact Redlevske were unsuccessful. The phone number listed on the Belgrade Boat Shop website is no longer available and no one answered a reporter’s knock on the door this week.

After Redlevske remained silent for weeks and had no boats for months, several residents contacted the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office. A Maine State Police spokesperson also confirmed that they had received complaints that Redlevske had withheld boats from his customers.

The Belgrade Boat Shop at 769 Oakland Road is seen in Belgrade on Tuesday, July 16. Numerous customers have complained that the shop does not return their boats. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

In six incident reports released by the sheriff’s office dating back to April 2023, callers report that their boat or jet ski stayed in the shop longer than they wanted. They say they haven’t heard from Redlevske in weeks or months and just want their watercraft back.

“Caller stores his boat at Belgrade Boat Shop. Has been calling the shop for several weeks, owner does not answer/return his calls. Wanted to go to the shop today to pick up the boat, but owner did not open the door,” a dispatcher wrote in a May 20, 2024, report. “(Caller) does not believe his boat is still there.”

In at least three cases, deputies suggested that callers drive to the boat repair shop themselves and pick up their watercraft without getting Redlevske’s consent because he did not respond.

According to Talbot and others on social media, some customers are able to contact Redlevske after he knows police are involved. Callers who contacted the sheriff’s office eventually got their boats back in all six incident reports released by the office.

“She has asked for her boat to be returned multiple times, the owner makes strange demands of her before giving her the boat back,” a police dispatcher wrote in a report. “After she told them she would call the (Sheriff’s Office), he told her he planned to get the boat ready this week.”

Nevertheless, deputies and dispatchers told several customers that there was nothing they could do.

Talbot and several other residents said they were passed from one agency to another and were eventually told by the sheriff’s office, the Maine State Police and the Maine Wardens Service that they could not help them get their boats, parts or money back.

“I spoke to the sheriff, who told me to contact the state police,” Talbot said. “The (state police) said to contact the warden. I called the warden and left a message.”

Shannon Moss, spokeswoman for the Maine Department of Public Safety, said Tuesday that the case is not under the jurisdiction of the state police. A spokesman for the Maine Warden Service confirmed that the agency also has no oversight of the boat shop and said this is being considered a civil case.

Belgrade City Manager Lorna Dee Nichols said the city office has received complaints about the Belgrade Boat Shop, but “this is a civil matter; the city has no jurisdiction. Also, Mr. Redlevske lives in Rome, not Belgrade.”

Danna Hayes, special assistant to Attorney General Aaron Frey, said the attorney general’s office has received two complaints about the boat repair shop – one from July 2024 involving a person trying to pick up a boat that had been at the shop since 2022 but was unable to reach anyone at the shop; and a complaint from July 2023 about repairing a jet ski.

“We just found another (not a formal complaint, so not in our system) email from someone from June of this year,” Hayes added. “The email claims the company continually demanded more money, did a poor job, and then refused to respond to requests to return the boat.”

Although Talbot was eventually able to recover his boat, he isn’t sure what to do next. He estimates the missing engine parts will cost at least $800. He doesn’t expect Redlevske to refund him.

“They all told me they can’t help,” he said. “I’m not sure what to do next.”

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