After the latest hearing at Kendal County Court in June 2010, Tim Dutton has been made to pay the full amount of compensation or face arrest.  As far as we are concerned Justice has finally been served and it brings to a conclusion nearly five years of Court battles and hearings.  

We are very grateful to everybody for all the emails and letters of support and encouragement.  They have also shown us that despite  Mr Duttons attempts to discredit the court case and those involved in it on his web site, that people are very knowledgable about Dutton and his business practices, particularely those in the Amphibious community.

To see what you could be getting into click on the following Links:

Dutton knightmare

Argus Online

BBC Article

Some Interesting View Points

News And Star

In what can only be described as a spectacular outburst on his web site Tim Dutton has stooped to new lows and made several slanderous and completely false allegations such as.... Intention to cause environmental vandalism, Tax fraud  and Evidence Tampering, accusations aimed at myself and others involved in the Crown Court Case....he has even accused 8 firemen of being overweight...........

Firstly to deal with the allegation of my intention to cause Environmental Vandalism with an Amphibious vehicle....hmmm!  If you go to the top of the "FINAL STATEMENT PAGE" on this web site you will find a small title called "Scanned Documents" if you click on this title it will take you to a sub page containing several scanned documents including: an exert from a leaflet we first produced in 2005 for the upcoming Amphibious tours.  Dutton was sent a copy of it just after we paid the deposit for our vehicle , and the leaflet was also used as evidence in the Crown court case.  You will see no mention of my intention to "drive up the bank into the hinterland"or any suggestion of "Driving from one lake to another"....strangely enough the Lake Wardens do not ever recall banning me from perpetrating these crimes, so not quite sure where he dreamt that one up.  Now  go on the same sub page and take a look at the scanned document containing Duttons advertising slogans taken off his own web site.....enough said!  Nice that he's suddenly developed a conscience for the environment though.

Now onto the second more serious accusation! that of my "fraudulently attempting to reclaim back V.A.T during the court case".  Maybe he should contact the H.M.R.C on that one and report his findings, and also be prepared to back up that allegtion in court.  Far as I remember the discussions where about "criminal compensation" and not a refund for the vehicle!  Also I'm fairly certain the discussion was between the Barristers, Trading Standards and the Judge.  I feel I should add at this moment that £28,500 was a small amount compared to our actual business and personal losses estimated during the Civil action (which we also won) at in excess of £250,000, or maybe Dutton thinks that judge was biased to!  Shame another one of Duttons companies dissapeared.

As for all the technical issues, i'm not a technical man, that was supposed to be Duttons field of expertise!  I'm not really qualified to argue the point on that one, suffice to say that Duttons one expert witness, known as "The Captain" paid to defend his case , when pressed about his opinion of the vehicle and whether or not he himself would have passed it on a test he said " he wouldn't".  I've actually got a lot of respect for that man at least he had the metal to stand up in court and be honest. 

Its fairly clear from the article Dutton has written that he has tried to draw on the few points he thought he could defend, but has chosen not to mention the vast and overwhelming amount of evidence invloved in an 8 day trial that lead to a unaminous guilty verdict.  Yet again he is attempting to portray himself as a lone victim of an unfair judicial system.  He has chosen not to mention the real reasons for having so many companies dissolved!!! I have never tried to make out that every one of Duttons vehicles is a Duffer! nor have I slated him on a personal level other than to point out his attitude and evasive behaviour in our experience. 

I will never understand why once the final money had been paid for the vehicle,  he refused to deal with us personally and banned us from contacting him.  Both our businesses had so much to gain.  If he had called me by phone at the time or invited me down to the factory or even just kept me updated I would have been relieved and grateful. 

I can now say with the benefit of hinesight, that i should have done more research before purchasing a vehicle off Dutton.  I wish I had sought advise off Amphibious enthusiasts,  especially those in Europe where a lot of Duttons vehicles end up.  People I have since had the pleasure to meet, who are intelligent and highly motivated when it comes to the love of their craft.  

Duttons says that "this matter is nowhere finished as far as we are concerned" so I would like him to know that we are in no way phased one iota by his threats or tough talking, because when someone has robbed you of your business and livelihood you have nothing left to lose.

I have also included in "scanned documents" an extract of a letter sent to us  from my Solicitor during the civil action which we feel is very telling and gives good insight into Duttons business practices.

As  for the reasons he feels the prosecution chose to use "8 overweight firemen" , I Have no idea!!!    

DUTTON BOASTS OF LACK OF WARRANTY CLAIMS! HE SAYS:

It doesn't matter how many degrees or diplomas you have there can NEVER be a substitute for 40 years of continual vehicle production. At Dutton we can look at a component and "see" what it will look like in 10 years time and design / position it accordingly - you certainly can't learn that looking at a computer screen! This is borne out by our spectacular lack of warranty claims. In 20 years and well over 100 amphibious cars all we have replaced under warranty is a self-locking nut, a clutch cable, an air conditioning hose and a hydraulic hose (and three of the four claims were down to the original part supplier).

Our reply:  In the 40 years of Duttons so called continuous car production he has had 9 dissolved companies since 1994! and 14 in total! It would be nice if just one of his companies were around long enough to follow through on a warranty claim!