So here is the story. Ocean Hunters in Doral, Fl and dive instructor Abdiel Falcon (who is the owner I believe,) are scamming a lot of locals into thinking that he and the shop are PADI (
http://www.padi.com/scuba/) certified and he is absolutely not! Never was. (There is another instructor that works with him named Dalton Hamm but I am not currently seeing him on the list as of yet.)
PADI has a special advisories page where they list instructors as a precaution. Unfortunately when I googled him and the shop nothing had appeared to me saying he was not legit. Under his name it says this "Has never been a PADI Member at any level and is not authorized to conduct PADI training." and under the shop it says this "Is not, and has never been, a PADI Dive Center and is not authorized to conduct PADI courses or issue PADI certifications." Below I included both links where him and his shop are listed.
On the PADI card that he is issuing he is creating the diver numbers so you never come up in the PADI database and his instructor number is listed under a man named Daniel Westwood! (I believe that was the name not sure if I spelled it right nonetheless its not Abdiel Falcon.)
To top it all off when my friend and I contacted PADI on speakerphone all we had to do was say his first name and they knew who we were talking about. The legal department of PADI is currently aware and told us same thing I wrote above that he is not authorized and he is falsifying the PADI cards. The contact person in the legal department is Pat Fousek 1-800-729-7234 x 2326
special advisories on PADI site!
6 Updates & Rebuttals
OceanHuntersDiveCenter
Doral,Florida,
Certification Issue
#7REBUTTAL Owner of company
Tue, November 12, 2013
Hello, again I am sorry to hear that you have had an issue and we are sorry for the inconvenience. We have guaranteed we will fix any issues. please contact the shop immediately so we can correct the situation right away. Thanks!
anonymous
Doral,Florida,
My Padi Diver Card is fake!
#7Consumer Comment
Thu, November 07, 2013
My Padi Diver Card, which was issued by Ocean Hunters AND picked up at Ocean Hunters is NOT accepted or valid at the local dive shops!! The card I was issued has 11 digits Diver No. (PADI Diver No. are 10 digits long). See: http://www.padi.com/newsletter/02380464/images/Card_mock_up.pdf
I demand a refund!
Anon
miami,Florida,
LIES
#7Author of original report
Tue, November 05, 2013
So how is it that I received a PADI certification card from you?!!??!!? From your own hands! Especially since you are telling me you are not a PADI shop but thats what you "certified" me in and thats the card you gave me. I guess the card made itself! Which still isnt in their system by the way. Pure BS
OceanHuntersDiveCenter
Doral,Florida,
Quote: " All Lies"
#7REBUTTAL Individual responds
Fri, November 01, 2013
Again, I am terribly sorry that you had a bad experience and we have promised that we will do anything that you feel will make it right. We are undoubtedly not "creating fake certification cards" in our shop. We stand behind everything that happens in our shop, and if you have an issue, we will do everything in our power to accomodate your issue and correct if necessary. Thank you.
Anon
miami,Florida,
All lies!
#7Author of original report
Thu, October 31, 2013
I have to give it to you, you definitely have a way with words.
Its one thing saying you are not and have never been a PADI dive shop in any way and its another thing when you are creating FAKE PADI cards in your own shop and handing them out. Is that an "accident" also? You accidentally created PADI cards with fake diver numbers and your instructor number under someone elses name?
Give it up man. You and your company are a complete scam. Thankfully PADI is contacting the region and telling them exactly who you are and to avoid letting people dive that got certified by you. Which is great! They are probably saving lives in the process.
Again anyone that doesnt believe me call Pat Fousek in PADI legal department 1-800-729-7234 x2326 All you have to do is say Abdiel and they know EXACTLY who you will be talking about. Actually "egregious" is the word she used. Thats all i gotta say.
OceanHuntersDiveCenter
Doral,Florida,
PADI Issue
#7REBUTTAL Individual responds
Wed, October 30, 2013
I am disappointed to hear you had a bad experience at our shop. We have strived to serve our customers with only the best.
As far as the allegations presented in this report, i do have some observations. As it is anonymous, it is hard to tell how valid this report is, and unfortunately we can not do much to make this right, but over the course of the summer we have had a couple students in which received cards that were incorrect as far as birthdays, diver no. etc. We have taken full responsibility and done everything to make things right. those students have been notified and the issues are being resolved. If there are any cards that have an issue, we will do everything in our power to fix it, and we guarantee that.
Ocean Hunters Dive Center has not portrayed itself as a PADI dive shop in any way. We are not listed on the dive centers for PADI, and we do not want to be. If you were under the impression that we were a PADI dive shop, we apologize and never meant for this confusion. We do use PADI independent instructors at a customers request from time to time, but these are independently contracted and not employees of our store.
When you come to Ocean Hunters Dive Center, you will receive great training, excellent service, and tons of diving knowledge from our expert staff. That has been proven. If you have an issue with your training or certification, please come by the shop or call us so we can fix the issue right away. Again, I am very sorry if we have done anything to make your dive experience other than fantastic, which is one of our goals.