lost PADI certification

[mojo88]

In 2001 I did my open water one certification at a spot called The Whaler dive school in Ponta Do Ouro on the south east coast of Mozambique. We did most of the dives at a spot called Doodles which was about 18m depth. What a great place to see amazing sea creatures with the giant honeycomb whip ray as the most spectacular.

Anyways they never sent me my dive cert card.
Last time I spoke to the DM they said the company burned down in 2010
and they lost all the documentations etc. And that I have to re-do my OW1.

Its like 530 euros here in Finland just for the ow1.
And I want to become a dive instructor.
Any advice how I can find that certification
without having to pay for the same thing..
Re-fresher course would be more useful at only 130 euros.

 

[arew+4]

Have you been diving since 2001?

 

[seattle_sailor]

In 2001 I did my open water one certification at a spot called The Whaler dive school in Ponta Do Ouro on the south east coast of Mozambique. We did most of the dives at a spot called Doodles which was about 18m depth. What a great place to see amazing sea creatures with the giant honeycomb whip ray as the most spectacular.

Anyways they never sent me my dive cert card.
Last time I spoke to the DM they said the company burned down in 2010
and they lost all the documentations etc. And that I have to re-do my OW1.

Its like 530 euros here in Finland just for the ow1.
And I want to become a dive instructor.
Any advice how I can find that certification
without having to pay for the same thing..
Re-fresher course would be more useful at only 130 euros.

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...

 

[Badger7]

Any advice how I can find that certification

I think its going to come down to either
A) The dive shop registered your course completion, and you just never received a physical card
or
B) You put in the work and paid your bill, but you never were actually registered with an agency

With just your name and DOB, you can check here to see if you have your OW certification registered with PADI:

-Student Lookup

 

[mojo88]

REGRETFULLY I have not been diving since 2001.

 

[Seaweed Doc]

REGRETFULLY I have not been diving since 2001.

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....

 

[boulderjohn]

If you are planning to become an instructor, and you haven't been diving since 2001, then you have a long road ahead of you, and the price of your OW instruction will be only a fraction of your costs. If you are really going to do that, then you will need to spend that money.

If you really and truly think you want to go that route, then you might try the following.

• Do some research, including here, on what to look for in good instruction.
• Find a place that will provide it. You may consider another location, including working on an extended holiday.
• Tell your prospective shop what you want to do, and you may be able to work out a deal that takes you from an OW student through Rescue Diver certification in a few weeks. If you had come to me (or anyone at my shop) with that kind of an idea, I (we) would have given you a few weeks of solid, concentrated instruction that would have put you far ahead of where people would normally be with that amount of experience.
• With that kind of certification work done, go out and get some diving done in a variety of places and conditions. Once you are truly feeling like you are ready to start the instructor path, I can give you some suggestions for that as well.

 

[Green Frog]

I got my AOW back in 1993 and a couple of additional steps in the next couple of years. I still have my C card, but it was one of those with poor picture printing. It has now faded down to where I look like Caspar the Friendly Ghost, even though all of the printed info is still readable. Is it possible to go in to the website and order a new card replacement? I did find my records showing I did get the originals, but no indication of how to get a replacement.
TIA ~ Froggie

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I got my AOW back in 1993 and a couple of additional steps in the next couple of years. I still have my C card, but it was one of those with poor picture printing. It has now faded down to where I look like Caspar the Friendly Ghost, even though all of the printed info is still readable. Is it possible to go in to the website and order a new card replacement? I did find my records showing I did get the originals, but no indication of how to get a replacement.
TIA ~ Froggie

Replacement Cards | PADI

Need a PADI Replacement scuba diving certification card? Certification cards are available in a mobile eCard and physical recycle card purchase. Check out our limited edition marine life designs.

www.padi.com

 

[hugo ballester]

In 2001 I did my open water one certification at a spot called The Whaler dive school in Ponta Do Ouro on the south east coast of Mozambique. We did most of the dives at a spot called Doodles which was about 18m depth. What a great place to see amazing sea creatures with the giant honeycomb whip ray as the most spectacular.

Anyways they never sent me my dive cert card.
Last time I spoke to the DM they said the company burned down in 2010
and they lost all the documentations etc. And that I have to re-do my OW1.

Its like 530 euros here in Finland just for the ow1.
And I want to become a dive instructor.
Any advice how I can find that certification
without having to pay for the same thing..
Re-fresher course would be more useful at only 130 euros.

Refresher is always the best option