ComplaintsforA & L RV Sales

• Initial Complaint

  06/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a 2022 Grand Design Transcend 245RL September 2021, took it out in October 2021 went to turn on heat it didn’t work because it was on a weekend I called a mobile Tech he found plastic shavings preventing the burner from lighting and fixed it, I just ate the expense. October 2023 I notice the pvc panel on the slide warping I touched it and it was so hot I burnt my hand thought it was from the sun so I brought it home. May 2024 I was getting the RV ready for a trip had the slide out turned on the refrigerator and the next morning I noticed the panel warping again I touched it and again burnt my hand it was only 50 degrees out so I knew it wasn’t the sun, also the graphics on the front are peeling off and there is static in the sound system since we purchase it I contacted Grand Design they just said to bring it to the dealer which is over an hour away so I contacted A&L RV where I purchased the unit and they told me I am responsible for any repairs. This unit is un safe it’s a fire hazard and because of that I want them to come get it and fix it at there expense this is clearly a defective unit. I have had a few other RV’s and never had issues like this. Also when we purchase it the finance guy kept adding things to the purchase which I stopped except for the so called sealant which sealed dirt into the finish that I can not get off I find this place to be very shady in there business. Also I have only used this RV 3 times since I purchased it and should not be having all these issues.

  Business response

  06/03/2024

  According to the manufacturers warranty the customer is responsible for bringing the unit in to have it serviced.  Since he has spoken to Grand Design and they informed him to bring it to us to look at then they (the people who built it) are requiring him to bring it in.  Since the unit is this old the manufactures warranty may not cover repairs.  We do not make this decision as it is not our warranty but the manufacturers.  We will be more than happy to repair the unit under the warranty from the manufacturer.  Also the striping that is peeling could possibly be covered under the sealant warranty if he did take that out.  The only way to get this resolved is for him to bring it in so we can submit to Grand Design and get a ruling from them as to coverage.

  Business response

  06/04/2024

  Maybe I didn’t understand what is unsafe about bringing it in for service. The furnace does not have to run to bring it in. The refrigerator doesn’t have to be on to tow the unit in. He can bring it in and we will be glad to diagnose and repair under any warranty he has either through Grand Design or other warranties he may have. 

  Customer response

  06/06/2024

  I could see I was getting no where with A&L RV they did not offer to repair the piece of junk they sold me all they did was offer to look at it at my expense. I filed a complaint with the Tennessee Attorney Generals office and they have taken it from here.

• Initial Complaint

  10/02/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 7/15/2023 we took our Flagstaff Microlite into the dealership to have the air conditioning checked out. It was determined that the air conditioning unit needed to be replaced. We were told by the service department that they would have to file a warranty claim with Forest River and it could take a few weeks to get everything done. Today, (11 weeks later) we pick up our unit, take it home, and let the air conditioner run for about an hour to discover that the a/c is not cooling. My husband climbs on the roof to discover that the a/c has never been replaced. The old unit is still there. Our receipt says that a warranty claim was approved. Also, the dealership had our camper for several weeks initially and then asked us to take it home because there was no room on the lot to keep it while the parts were on order. Our camper was damaged while at the dealership and no one told us. We noticed the damage while picking up the unit.

  Business response

  10/17/2023

  We scheduled *** *** **** ******* to rectify the concern over a week ago, Our service department replaced the rooftop air conditioner with a new unit, customer was satisfied with the end result witnessing the air conditioner blowing cold air. Customer picked up their camper.

  Customer response

  10/18/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ** ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  ****** *******

• Initial Complaint

  08/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We bought an RV from a and L RV in Johnson City, Tennessee in February 2023. It's a brand new C class RV.. the manufacture is Forest River and it is an east to west Entrada. Our first trip in the RV was to Florida in June of this year. We discover quickly that the generator would run, but it would not to convert over to generator power in the RV. With this in mind, we had no air-conditioning the entire vacation while in the motorhome. Upon purchase, we had also bought the extended lifetime warranty from the dealer, and the RV is still covered under the manufacturers warranty. When we returned from Florida in July, we had an appointment to take the RV to the service department in Johnson City Tennessee on July 5. We did and gave them the keys to have them look at it. They kept it over a month and on August 7 we received a text message telling us to come and pick it up as it was taking up too much space in there a lot, even though it had not been repaired. Their excuse is that they're waiting on approval from the manufacturer warranty on a defective fuel pump for the generator. The service department has the worst customer service that I have experienced. The manager of that department, *****, is incompetent, and speaks very graph with every customer. When I told him that I was getting frustrated about getting the runaround, he screamed at me that I needed to calm down. That didn't sit well with me so I attempted to speak with ******* the GM, and he was no help at all. Today is August 29 and we have not heard anything from them about repairing this RV and we paid over $100,000. The level of incompetence at this service department is unforgivable. This dealer is only concerned about making a sale and not standing behind their products. The summer is almost gone and we have only taken one trip in this brand new RV and it was miserable because of no air-conditioning. Looking at other complaints that have been reported on this dealer, it seems they have a canned response

  Business response

  09/14/2023

  *** * *** ******

  I apologize if you felt myself or my other team members did not treat you satisfactorily, this was not our intention. We appreciate you bringing your camper in on September 4th to rectify the generator issue, we replaced the fuel pump and confirmed operation as designed. We also addressed a few other concerns for you while on this visit.

  If there is anything else we can do for you until your other parts arrive, please reach out to our service department. Thank you. *****

  Customer response

  09/15/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ** ********* and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** ******

• Initial Complaint

  08/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Purchased a camper in May of 2022 we didn’t receive tags for the camper until March of 2023. I was told the title was mailed to the previous owners and they had to file for a lost title. We have now taken the camper for yearly inspection in May of 2023 it is now the middle of August 2023 and have yet gotten an answer on the warranty work that needs to be done. This work is nothing major so it’s very hard to understand how a simple task can be such an issue. We only need the new sealant around the skylight and outside track needs fixed. We have attempted reaching out several times and every time we get they will call us back but that never happens. We would like to have the warranty work completed and be done with any dealings with this company this has been the worst experience I have ever had with any dealership.

• Initial Complaint

  06/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased our new 2023 Sabre 37 FLL from A&L RV Sales in Chocowinity, NC in March 2023. That location is not in the BBB directory so I am sending my complaint here instead. Our RV was delivered & set up for us on 4/1/23. At delivery the auto-leveling was showing a fault light, yet they left that day telling us to unplug the shore power for about 30 minutes to an hour and if that didn't fix it to call them back. That did not correct the problem & we had to call them back. During this time we also noticed our thermostats were not working properly & reported this to the service manager, ***. *** says he will call back, but after weeks of waiting & trying to get somewhere w/ ***, I finally reached out to Jonathan, the store manager, on 5/5/23. Someone finally came out to correct the auto-leveling issue & check the thermostats. Diagnosis was that they needed replaced. We were told a warranty claim was being filed. Finally, on 6/6/23, still no thermostats, so I followed up w/ ******** & was told they had arrived the week prior but *** had been out of town & assured us they would be mailed out the next day. On 6/10 I texted ******** again to request a tracking #. Nothing was produced. We called back again on 6/13 & were told they were sent to the wrong address so they were going to send them back out to us right away. All of a sudden have a 2nd set available in their store? We were sent the tracking information for the most recent package but no one would produce one for the supposed misplaced set. We finally received them 6/14 only to realize they are clearly not the right ones. They have pricing stickers from A&L RV & the wiring is completely wrong. I immediately reached out with pictures to ******** & of course no response. We just want our thermostats replaced & receive consistent communication. It's not a difficult request, but apparently they are willing to risk further company complaints instead of just fixing a problem & maintaining quality ******** service.

  Business response

  07/05/2023

  We have contacted our North Carolina store and made them aware of the complaint.  They have contacted the ******** and have sent the correct parts to be installed to fix the problem.

  Business response

  09/11/2023

  We have constantly tried to speak with the ******** to explain why it needs to be brought in. The ******** will not speak to our GM that is trying to resolve the issue. The manufacture warranty states that it needs to be brought in to a Forest River dealer (doesn’t have to be us) for all warranty work. We want to fix this issue for them we have the two thermostats in our possession to make the repair if that is the cause. We will give them first priority scheduling to get them in and out as soon as possible. We would like for them to communicate with our GM ******** ***** is is fully aware of the problem and is trying to get the issue resolved. 

  Customer response

  09/17/2023

  The diagnosis was made by their own service technician that they originally sent out to our location to troubleshoot the issue. This was months ago & the sets of thermostats they sent to us were the wrong models & this was confirmed by their parts director and the blame was placed on the vendor.

• Initial Complaint

  04/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On February 18th 2022 I purchased a travel trailer that has been unusable it has had alot of mechanical issues that A&L has not tried to help fix i have been in touch with forest river the manufacturer and the regional manager of a& l . A&L finally picked the unit up around January 7th 2023 and has not returned it or been in touch with me as of this date 4/6/23 I have called numerous times with no response to date

  Business response

  04/06/2023

  We have been waiting on Manufacturer approval on one of her issues.  We have received the approval and have ordered the parts necessary to repair the unit and have asked that they expedite them to us.  

  Customer response

  04/19/2023

  I had trouble with the response not sending i spoke to the regional manager who asked what we could do I told him buy back he said the manufacturer would.do that I am trying to get in touch with forest river as well but I asked the manager to call me by Wednesday which is today and I've hear nothing so I guess its just always gonna be like this so there no way to work anything out I can't and will not drive there just to have a conversation and the trailer is being stored up a hillside it must be a rough road because out things we moved about and a brand new picnic table damaged the disregard for me and my family has been overwhelming and really just careless  

  Business response

  04/27/2023

  We have repaired *** ******* camper and are awaiting her response for additional request.  Our Regional service manager has been working with her to get all her issues resolved.  The unit is ready to be picked up at any time.

• Initial Complaint

  09/28/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  We purchased a 2022 Salem by Forest River at A&L RV Sales in Johnson City, Tn XXXXX on 6/22/2022 for $35,747.00. We did a walk through before purchase and after purchase but didn't know until the guy that did the walk though with us after the purchase told us the camper we looked at and purchased was not the same one we were walking through now. We get it home and notice the AC isn't working. I call them. They tell us its fine. I said it wont go below 80 degrees, he said the air coming out of the vents are what they are suppose to be. I was argued with to the point of me crying because of the amount of money we just spent. I asked them to check the Freon and he said its a closed unit and that's not what it is. Then we notice the microwave was scorched, and one wall was damaged. They did agree to fix that but not the air and we had purchased warranty as well. After we got the camper back from them fixing the wall the thermostat mounting was broke so I had to reach out to them again to ask them to just mail it so we could just replace it. With no luck from them I had to call a mobile tech who came out and said the Freon was low., and it had rained and the slide out was leaking, puddles in the floor. I haven't told them about the slide out because we were given such a hard time over the AC I didn't want to fool with it so I'm trying to reach Forest River to approve the pre-auth to allow the mobile tech to just come to our house to fix it.

  Business response

  11/16/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2022/10/13) */ We addressed the A/C issue per industry standards. The A/C units are sealed units that you cannot check pressures or fill if they are low. We ran the A/c for 24 hours as requested by the manufacturer. Manufacturer specs for larger camper with only 1 A/C unit on it is 20 degree temp below ambient air temp. When we check the A/C it was 95 degree and 101 ambient air temp back in July. The unit was cooling to 75 degree in the heat of the day sitting in direct sunlight and on asphalt. We recorded our findings and submitted to warranty and they found the temps to be within acceptable standards therefore they said nothing was wrong with the system and that it was performing properly. The microwave and paneling issues were addressed within days of us receiving the parts. The thermostat mount issue was reported to us after they got it home. We ordered the part immediately and are awaiting it to arrive. We did a walk through with the customer upon picking it up and the mount was not cracked at that time. But we agreed to replace it. The slide issue they are talking about was never brought to our attention until now. We have factory trained technicians that do slide work all day that are more than capable of doing the work. We are more than willing to take care of this customer and the issues they are having. Consumer Response /* (3000, 9, 2022/10/14) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Forest River has agreed with the mobile tech that came out to our home and checked to AC after A&L and per their findings with proper tools they were able to tell that the freon was low, and yes they are closed units but there are ways to tell!! Forest River has ordered and shipped the AC that came in yesterday so they will be getting that replaced. It did sit on the hill in direst sunlight and was not cool at all and we continued to tell ***** and Phill but they would not listen to the point I was in tears. You couldn't even walk around in the camper without sweating. I realized there was no point in talking to them because nothing was getting done so I took a different route and was able to get the issue fixed without the help of A&L. The microwave and wall were fixed. We were told that they would come pick up the camper fix the wall and microwave and bring it back to our home because of all the issues we continued to have but that didnt happen either. We took it, they had it for 30 days then we went back and picked it up. When we went to pick it up and a "walk through" was done with *****, it was parked at the bottom and everyone was leaving, ***** came around the corner and walked in with **** whos main focus was the wall and the microwave so NO the mount of the thermostat wasnt noticed until we got it home and I took pics and sent them. I don't appreciate them making us out to be liers! We have yet to get the mount or the bulb they told us they would ship to us but thats ok they can keep them both and we will replace it ourselves. No the slide wasnt mentioned due to how we were treated when we mentioned the problem with the AC, the wall, the microwave and the wall mount. If they had trained techs then the AC would have been fixed day one but instead they only wanted to argue and tell us we were wrong.

• Initial Complaint

  09/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  We bought our camper brand new in 2020. Since then the same part (slides) have been fixed 6 times. Our camper is currently in the shop now. It has been for over a month. We never hear anything from them. We have called repeatedly. When we finally speak to someone it's always "It's out of my hands". We just missed our last camping trip because of this. We have been stuck at a campground unable to get the slide in. I feel that we were sold a lemon. I would like my $5,000 down payment back as well as every monthly payment I have made. I will give the camper back for the refund. We will actually be losing money because we have to pay for shipping for parts and the deductible from our warranty. Not to mention the cancelled trip and loss of work because we had a camping trip planned. This is all fine. We just want the total amount paid for this camper back. We have only camped in it 11 times and it has been at A and L 6 times. It has never really been fixed. There computer records will show how many times it has been there. Also our warranty will also show.

• Initial Complaint

  06/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased a used fifth wheel from the Johnson City location on April 2. When we made the deal we were told it would be detailed and ready for us to pick up in two weeks. The week before we arrived Dave (finance) said he was going to mail us our financial paperwork and asked us to sign and return it in advance of our arrival. We said we weren't comfortable doing that. They mailed it anyway. We didn't sign and return it. We arrived at our scheduled pick up time and the RV hadn't been cleaned, let alone detailed. It was a dirty mess and they thought we would just accept it that way. We were beyond unhappy and ended up receiving a bit off the price from the manager. This is the second-largest purchase we have ever made and you would have thought we were buying something worth $20 by the way they run that business and treat their customers. To make matters worse, they forgot to collect our down payment when we signed for the RV. We realized it a couple of days later and anticipated a call. Did they call? No. Instead, they submitted an unauthorized charge of $4,500 on the credit card we had used to hold the RV. It has been two and a half months since we purchased the RV and we haven't received our title. We called several times with no return calls. We even went there once and were told it was in the works. After demanding to speak with a manager today a woman called and said they are not even sure they have the title from the person who traded in the RV. WHAT??? How can they sell us something they don't even have a title for? They are a horrible and untrustworthy company that treats their customers horribly.

  Business response

  08/10/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2022/06/30) */ We regret to hear that the customer mentioned above feels that they have had a less than pleasant experience. In regards to the issues they have stated, we feel that we have done everything possible to us to ensure their satisfaction. The business manager did offer to mail their paperwork ahead of the scheduled day they were to pick their unit up to try to save them time since they reside out of state from our dealership, however we were more than willing to wait until they arrived to sign also. the unit had been cleaned prior to their arrival, but they did express to us that they were not pleased with the cleaning job that had been done. We offered to either give them a discount of 1800.00 to compensate for the cleaning not being done to their satisfaction, or to refund their deposit and not continue the purchase. They accepted the discount and chose to move forward with the purchase. When the down payment was not received at the time of signing paperwork, the only form of payment we had on file to collect that was the credit card they had provided to us prior. Lastly, the title for the unit they bought was held up with the bank from where it was traded in directly before it was purchased by the *****. It is common for it to take weeks for a lien to be satisfied and a title released and sent out from banks. It has taken a little longer due to the bank we received it from than is typical, but we have been doing everything within our means to get it to the new lienholder for this customer as quickly as possible. The lienholder that the ***** used is aware of the situation and we will have the title sent out for it to be registered within the state they live in through a third party company we use for out of state taxes and tags. That company will send the title to their lienholder once it has been registered with their state. We feel as though we have taken every measure we can to satisfy this customer and regret deeply that we were not able to do so. Respectfully, A&L RV Sales Consumer Response /* (3000, 9, 2022/07/07) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) We strongly disagree with the response from A&L and it is nothing but a further slap in the face to us. Every interaction we have had with A&L results in the situation getting worse and worse. Nothing was ever mentioned about saving us time as the reason we were asked to sign all the loan papers and return them in advance of our arrival to pick up the RV. In fact, after Dave said he was going to mail it we expressed we weren't comfortable signing in advance. Dave called and emailed at least 3 times that week about it. It was our understanding they wanted to clear the books before the end of the month. When we were at A&L to pick up the RV we expressed our dissatisfaction to **** (the manager) about the pressure we felt to sign in advance and he said "I told him not to mail it and he did anyway". Interesting response. There is clearly more to the story. A&L saying the RV was cleaned prior to our arrival is a flat out lie. In fact, ***** (our sales rep) was clearly uncomfortable when we arrived. We arrived 30 minutes early because we were excited and he told us they were working on it. We were at A&L for over three and a half hours while they scrambled to even try to clean it. ***** was even out there cleaning and had paid the one young man who was trying to clean it $100 out of his own pocket. This is a 42 ft used RV and it should have been completely cleaned and detailed before our arrival. That was our agreement with A&L when we made the deal. They have two weeks to do it. **** told us they just didn't have the staffing to clean the RV and they had moved eight (I think) RVs out that week. Why should we suffer from that? Why are we less important than the other customers? This was nearly a $50K RV we were purchasing and we were made to feel like we were purchasing a $20 end table. While we appreciated the discount to cover the cleaning and detailing costs, everything that has continued to happen from that time is not okay. We were NEVER given the option to not continue the purchase so that is another lie. After the several hours of them scrambling to clean the RV and when we finally got the RV to its spot and opened it there was a disgustingly dirty (and half broken) vacuum cleaner in the living area and at least four dirty rags were laying throughout the RV and one was even in the refrigerator. Imagine how that made us feel after the emotionally exhausting afternoon we had just had? When we returned the vacuum to A&L on Monday (which is 30 minutes away) **** said.... that isn't ours, it must belong to the previous owner. It clearly didn't and that reaction certainly didn't help. We are not stupid. A&L's answer to the fact that they submitted an unauthorized charge of $4500 to our credit card is infuriating. They make it sound like we just didn't pay the down payment. All they had to do was call us. We were expecting the call. We knew we owed the money. Instead they didn't even try to contact us and just proceeded with an unauthorized charge to our credit card. We didn't even know it had happened until we received our credit card statement. We never would have paid that way. THEY did not ask for the down payment. Communication is all that we expected. Instead a $4500 unauthorized charge snuck in on us. That is so unethical and sure seems illegal. In regards to the title, we completely disagree with what they said in their response. We feel strongly they didn't even know they didn't have the title until I finally called furious after being hung up on by Dave and demanded to speak with ****. This was after waiting for two and a half months for the title. After our conversation with ****, ***** (I believe that is her name) called and told us that they weren't even sure they had the title from the previous owner. Two and a half months and they didn't even know if they had he title?? Saying it has taken a "little longer" than is typical is simply ridiculous and further points to us like we are the ones in the wrong. A&L says our lien holder is aware of the situation. Why were we not told that in our many inquiries? I would like to see proof of that, we simply don't believe that is the situation. When we were told they didn't even know if A&L had the title we questioned if we even owned the RV and figured someone could just tow it away because we had no proof it was ours. We were never given 30 day tags or anything. It is now three and a half months and we still have very little additional information about the status of our title. One final note, the fact that A&L missed the first deadline to respond to the BBB further speaks volumes about their respect for their customers. The A&L in Johnson City knows nothing about customer service or an understanding of how far communication will go. They continue to march to their own drum and their sole focus of making money at the expense of their customers. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH A&L - YOU WILL REGRET IT. Business Response /* (4000, 17, 2022/07/19) */ I thought we had it resolved. We spoke to customer and offered to change their down payment method they advised us to leave as is. We have sent title to be registered so all issues should be resolved. ***** ******

• Initial Complaint

  08/26/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  My camper was down for over 3 months 12 weeks and 2 days it sat at the dealership april 5th to july 7th ( also an extra month and 1/2 from 7.7 to current until parts came in for other issues) I contacted forest river to get issues resolved and after multiple conversations between me and forest rover they agreed to cover payments for the time it was down. My monthly payment is 455$. The rep i was speaking with at forest river contacted *** at a&l and instead of her doing proper research to see how long my camper sat at the dealership. She told him it was there between 52-60 days vs the 12 weeks and 2 days ot sat there. With that information forest river only approved to pay 2months vs 3months. I was told to contact a & l with any further issued woth that because he was told by ****** from a&l it was less time than i was stating. Now i want you all to cover the last month of my payment of 455$ due to your warrenty rep not providing the correct information..

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩