Les bateaux Nicols Reviews 4

We rented a boat with Nicols for a trip along the Canal du Midi through an intermediary platform.
During the journey, we discovered a serious security issue: the boat’s lock system was broken. Even when locked with the key and latch engaged, the door could be opened easily from the outside.

This meant that for several days we were sleeping and travelling on an unsecured boat, often moored in isolated areas, with our safety and belongings at risk. We only discovered the problem partway through the trip, but it had clearly been there from the start.

We informed Nicols the same evening we found out, tried calling the next morning (no answer), and only received a callback the following afternoon to arrange a repair at the next port. While the fault was eventually addressed, no meaningful gesture or compensation was offered for the fact that our security had been compromised for most of the trip.

We cannot recommend this company based on our experience — safety should be a top priority in any boat rental, and in this case, it clearly wasn’t.

Derisory compensation for 2-day hire loss.
We lost two days of a 7-day rental due to breakdown of the boat engine. Company small print says loss of one day due to engine failure is not compensated. The compensation offered was laughable (essentially a 2% reduction on a future hire and paltry discount on 'extras').
Also note our boat was not completely clean on take-over, had three non-functioning engine instruments (rudder position, engine oil pressure and toilet water tank level), was not available until late afternoon of the first day of hire and had to be returned around 9am on the last day. Renters beware!

I share my very unpleasant experience with Nicols and the Plagny base (Canal latéral à la Loire). Check-in: unbeliveble rudeness , worthy of a manager of a juvenile prison or a forced labor camp. The peasant should attend some training and understand that the customer should be treated with hospitality and courtesy, rather than giving orders to a servant. I certainly wasn't expecting the reception of the Four Seasons but neither was I expecting the behavior worthy of a seedy slum tavern.
Check out: Rudeness touched on lawlessness. In fact, the sordid character robbed me of 80€ claiming that the boat was not clean. To my request for explanations and the contractual detail of what it was our duty to clean, he limited himself to responding in a generic way "cleaning is cleaning". A shame. I more than willingly clean as much as necessary but nothing, neither the contract nor the "captain's manual" documentation and more accurately report the activities to be carried out, leaving the scoundrel the subjective freedom to extract €80. And to my offer to carry out the activities on the spot, he denied us this right.
Given this terrific experience my suggestion is to avoid Nicols and stay away from Plagny!