I rented an RV from American Dream Vacations for the Memorial Weekend and left a $500.00 deposit against damages. I returned the RV on the Tuesday after Memorial Day and it was inspected and I was told that they would contact me with in 48hrs if any more damage was found. The next day I received a call from them informing me that damage was found on the RV. I went out to their location to inspect the alleged damage. They showed me a picture of the RV that was taken before we rented it. The picture was taken from a distance which allowed the entire side of the 31 foot RV to be visible in the picture. He then showed me a close-up picture (taken at a different angle and extremely close up) of what he claimed to me my alleged damage. The damage was so small that there was no way of telling if the damage existed before I rented the RV because they had no close-up pictures taken before I rented it. He then claimed that I scratched the side of the RV with tree branches and that two new decals would be required which cost around $400 - $600.00. I informed him that I did not drive near any trees as I rented it and drove it on all interstate highways to the beach to the designated RV pad which had no trees at all around it then back home. I also pointed out that opposite side of the RV had these same scratches. They claimed that these were done by the Owner of the RV.
They then requested that I sign a paper which resembled a repair order and was titled work required or something along those lines. I informed him that I would not sign a blank piece of paper authorizing work without knowing what the charges would be. I asked him to get estimates and fax or email me the paper and I would review it and then decide whether to sign it or not.
They never sent me that paper so I can only assume that they have decided to just keep the deposit. I then checked on the web for information on this business I discovered that they have an F rating with the local Better Business Bureau as well as complaints on other websites.
Based upon my experience with American Dream Vacations, their BBB rating, and complaints by others this appears to be business as usual for these people. This RV is also for sale and American Dream Vacations is also an RV retail seller under a different name. I am curious as to whether American Dream Vacations is the actual Owner of the RV and they are renting the unit and keeping the deposits by making up damage claims and using inadequate evidence to support their claims.
I did not damage this unit and their before and after pictures are of insufficient quality and are taken at different angles and distances and cannot prove whether the damage was preexisting before I rented the RV or occurred while the RV was in my possession.
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