lost PADI certification

[mojo88]

There seems to be an assumption here that you certified through PADI. Do you recall if that was true? There are multiple dive agencies out there, though PADI certifies the majority of divers.

If it's PADI and you can't find it, you could message me with your name and date of birth and I can poke around for you. On your name, it's best to get full first and last name and middle initial. If you might have used a nickname when signing up for the class (e.g., if your name is Aleksanteri but you are called Alek), let me know.

To be honest, my best guess is the shop saved themselves a few dollars/euros/meticals by not actually paying the agency (PADI, NAUI, or whomever) for the card. Thus the agency may have no record of you....

Yes that is a problem. Because I dont know for sure which certification organization it was. And the current owners at The Whaler use the same name company but different people. Also they say the old Whaler burned down in 2010 and they "lost all documentation' in the fire.
Something sounds fishy here no pun intended. If someone has been certified its not just on paper right..?

 

[Green Frog]

Thanks @NW Diver Dawg! For some reason I seem to be unable to navigate some websites, such as, for instance PADI’s.
Froggie

 

[cfberry]

I recently helped my father find his PADI # and I would try the following from top to bottom.

PADI Student Lookup

-Student Lookup

PADI Europe, Middle East and Africa: contact information

PADI EMEA Regional Support | Key Contacts | PADI

PADI EMEA’s Customer Service Team make the expertise of PADI office staff members more accessible to you. Contact your local PADI Customer Service Team.

www.padi.com

The Pavilions, Bridgwater Road, Bristol, BS13 8AE
Phone: +44 (0) 117 300 7234
PADI Customer Relations
Divers: customerservices.emea@padi.com | +44 (0) 117 300 7234

Last you can also call PADI HQ in California, USA directly during PDT. 1 (800) 729-7234

Good luck,
Patrick

P.S. PADI will most likely try to get you to buy a new card or e-card...

 

[cfberry]

You might be on the phone for a while but worth it, their staff is usually very friendly

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Yes that is a problem. Because I dont know for sure which certification organization it was. And the current owners at The Whaler use the same name company but different people. Also they say the old Whaler burned down in 2010 and they "lost all documentation' in the fire.
Something sounds fishy here no pun intended. If someone has been certified its not just on paper right..?

By 2001 PADI, NAUI, and YMCA (and likely others I'm not familiar with) had digitized all records. Even in the days of paper records, the paper was collected at the agency headquarters. It wasn't just kept in the local shop.

As for a more sympathetic look at The Whaler: If their shop burned down and their copies of all records were only on paper (quite likely in the early 2000's, moreso in Mozambique) I have no doubt they lost all records. If my office burned, all the files I have for every student I ever certified would be gone. I probably should scan them all, but I haven't and probably won't. If a student from even 3 years ago came up and said "hey, you should have certified me but the agency has no records" all I could do is shrug and say "so sorry."

 

[DivingAroundAsia]

REGRETFULLY I have not been diving since 2001.

>And I want to become a dive instructor.

You haven't been diving in 23 years?

Honestly, if you actually want to become a dive instructor, do your course again.

It's worth it so you can:

a) learn all the stuff that was never included in the courses back then (for example, inflating an SMB is now part of the course, but it wasn't pre-2014)
b) see the course being run. If you want to become an instructor, being exposed to more teachers, methods and environments is always a good thing.
c) spend more time with instructors. A refresher is a half day thing that is usually run by a divemaster, not an instructor. The full OWC will get you 3 full days (at least) with an instructor(s) that you can use to prepare yourself for doing the same.
d) talk to them about fast tracking and merging courses. It's very easy to merge nitrox with any course, and easy to go straight into Advanced Open Water / Advanced Adventurer, plus a couple specialties, like buoyancy and deep.

If you already know you want to spend 5000+ euros to become an instructor (AOW, first aid, rescue, divemaster, instructor), a bit more to become a better diver from the start is a drop in the bucket with long term benefits.

 

[Diverspoint]

By 2001 PADI, NAUI, and YMCA (and likely others I'm not familiar with) had digitized all records. Even in the days of paper records, the paper was collected at the agency headquarters. It wasn't just kept in the local shop.

As for a more sympathetic look at The Whaler: If their shop burned down and their copies of all records were only on paper (quite likely in the early 2000's, moreso in Mozambique) I have no doubt they lost all records. If my office burned, all the files I have for every student I ever certified would be gone. I probably should scan them all, but I haven't and probably won't. If a student from even 3 years ago came up and said "hey, you should have certified me but the agency has no records" all I could do is shrug and say "so sorry."

Fairly sure PADI tells you the minimum time to keep records is 7 years. Also it protects you when being sued

 

[Seaweed Doc]

Fairly sure PADI tells you the minimum time to keep records is 7 years. Also it protects you when being sued

Got a source for that? I'm genuinely curious. I tried searching the Instructor Manual. Unfortunately my Guide to Teaching is not where I can get it right now.

I've heard (no source) that 3 years is the legal liability cutoff in most situations in my area. There's an exception for minor children, who have 3 years after their 18th birthday to file suit.

Regardless, all the more reason for me to digitize my records and store them off-site....

 

[scubaozy]

Back in 2001, majority of padi dive centers used paper pic, not digital registration. If op received an envelope (pic) to send, then, it was probably padi, so, it can be looked up online. Iirc, Mozambique was falling under Padi Int in those years, so, students would post the pics to UK and would receive their tickets in few weeks to few months depending on location.

 

[boulderjohn]

Back in 2001, majority of padi dive centers used paper pic, not digital registration. If op received an envelope (pic) to send, then, it was probably padi, so, it can be looked up online. Iirc, Mozambique was falling under Padi Int in those years, so, students would post the pics to UK and would receive their tickets in few weeks to few months depending on location.

I was certified in Mexico in the 1990s, using paper registration. When we were done, out instructor handed us the envelopes with our registration materials in them and told us to mail them to PADI once we got back to the USA. He said that mail getting from Mexico to the USA in those days was about a 50/50 prospect.

About 10 years later I was diving in Belize with some friends, and they decided to send some postcards to friends back home. The ones that got there took about 3 months.

I would not bet the farm on PIC cards completed in Mozambique getting to PADI.