ComplaintsforAmerican Dream Vacations

• Initial Complaint

  07/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Paid $2940.90 total for RV rental which included $240/n rental, $5/n generator charge, $5/n road hazard charge and 10% tax. $500 deposit included. 1st unit out of service, assured we would get a new unit. Called us night before pick up, informed that it won't be ready until 1pm, supposed to be 8am. Arrived at 1pm it wasn't ready until 5pm, found ***************** broken, missing privacy blinds. Tech's fixed generator & told me that generator needs to run 24x7 as inverter is broken and fridge needs it. They banged on the propane pipes on the stove with screwdrivers to get working. (concerned of propane leaks). Unit not new as promised, built in 2018. Next morning ****** would not cool. Troubleshot on phone with techs for 1.5 hours, told to bring it back. Received third RV, 10 feet longer than original. Pop-Outs made loud grinding noise, told was normal. Told don't use **** stands. Left 6.5 hours late. Noticed water leaking into unit during rain while driving. Fourth evening Pop-out that allowed you to get to the back half of the unit broke. No access to shower, rear toilet or back bedroom. No Emergency support. Got ahold of help on day 5 but were told they were trying to find us help. We searched to find emergency repair places for them. Sent info to ADV. ****** people resolved it temporarily. Night 7 pop-outs broken again and remained broken. Started drive back and found that popout would swing open on curves. Returned unit 1 day early. Spoke with the manager at turn in where he apologized, said I should be getting a bunch of money back for issues. Need to write up the events on their form to get refund. They sent me a letter saying that they would not give any more money back because they had upgraded the unit. 10 business days to return the deposit to me and they gave me approx. $60 short of one days worth of rental. Owner said they had returned 2 days which with all of the charges it would be more like $550 total owed instead of the $205 that we received.

  Business response

  08/17/2024

  ****************,

  We would like to express our gratitude for your business but also our disappointment in your less than perfect trip. We would also like to point out some discrepancies in your account.

  In working with you, your needs, the overall distance of the trip, we suggested the upgrade to a Super C diesel vehicle, for improved efficiency, power torque and overall better drive-ability. Note, we adjusted the rate from $400/nt to generous $240/nt. The vehicle was only 6' longer than the vehicle you had selected 2 weeks prior. In consideration for the delayed start to your trip, we comp'd 1 night, which was gladly accepted by you and your family. This was accomplished by shortening the term by a night. 
  

  We did indeed have a delay at your time of pick-up and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Please understand that these less than ideal circumstances happen in the ** rental business and we did, and continue to do everything in our power to prevent or minimize such customer experiences. From our perspective, the fact that we lowered the daily rate by 40% for the upgrade and shortened the term by one night, giving you a free night, was a fare and sufficient compensation for the inconveniences caused. Our standard pick-up times, which are emailed multiple times prior to, found on your reservation form just above your signature, are always explained by our staff and can be found on our website, are 2pm-5pm. We try to approve earlier times when possible, but that is not always the case and certainly not guaranteed. Logistics dictate this possibility.    
  

  From there, the trip began and all appeared to be copacetic. The bent bracket you were referring to was a slide out topper cradle having no bearing on the slide functionality. Several thousand miles later, the full length wall slide began acting up thereby requiring service. Note, it is critical that these full length wall slides be operated with the vehicle being fully leveled so as not to cause binding or unwanted failure under its own weight. Moving on, we authorized service, the technician indicated a clear understanding of the system, what it took to repair it and made said repairs. Both you and us had every reason to believe the vehicle had been satisfactorily repaired.

  Days later, the failure recurred. Whether operator error or simply a inadequate on-the-road repair, you chose to continue onward without accepting additional repair efforts.

  This failure was not eligible for monetary reimbursement however we did provide you with a 2 night gift certificate valued up to $1,100.00. More than the deposit amount was returned within the 10 business days as called for by our contract. I reviewed your account and found all charges and refunds to be 100% accurate. Please remember that you had additional miles that had to be withheld from your deposit, this most likely is the reason that you do not see the free day as clearly as you may expect. Your vehicle in statement will reflect the true and accurate accounting. 
  

  ** travel does require a level of flexibility, capability, patience and realistic expectations from the Captain of the ship. It's part of what we love so much about it, always an adventure. It is our hope that you will return with the gift certificate that we have provided and give us another chance to help you love it too.
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Rental Unit:5143 Date Out:6/6/24 Date In:6/13/24 *** pd for this "DREAM" Vacation was $2,683.90 to incl Damage Dep ADV is supposed to be committed to providing what they advertise which is a DREAM ** Vacation and did not deliver. We have given them an entire mnth to make this right as we are return customers and have rented from them multiple times with no issues or complaints until now. They failed to disclose we were renting a NON WORTHY ** to travel over 2k miles (from ***********, ** to *******, **). We traveled with our Elderly mother who could not make the trip back and had to FLY back due to the ** having many issues to include a ride where we were almost hit in the head with the overhead bed when hitting bumps on IH10 and our passengers (to include our elderly mother), going airborne each time we would hit bumps. We were NOT informed the ** required DEF fluid until we were in the middle of the desert with temps well over 100 degrees and were LUCKY enough to find an automotive shop after speaking with ADV ****** personnel right before 5pm. The Indicator lights were on when we picked up the ** which included Brake pads/lining worn and ASR, BAS, ESP malfunctions and we were told those lights were fine so we trusted we did not have to look them up. This was NEGLIGENT as we were not aware we would be driving with poor brakes on mountainous terrain and tires that were low pressure and not easily able to be filled. The a/c unit in the front of the ** was not blowing cold air. We were dependent on the generator which kept turning on and off as well and would take 1 hour of road time before it charged enough to even turn on the generator. We also never had a working backup camera. This was NOT ok with an elderly passenger in temps that exceeded 100 degrees. We sld have been warned that this ** would not be a pleasant "DREAM" trip to AZ and been offrd an ** that was better to make the long trip.- Refunded $566.50 and we are out $1,617.40 plus airfare

  Business response

  08/01/2024

  I would like to first and foremost thank you for your business and ongoing partnership with us over the years. Your continued support is truly appreciated.I am writing to address the concerns raised in your reimbursement request form and to apologize for the delay in our response.

  Our agents are instructed to explain the DEF requirements of diesel engines since all diesel engines have required it since 2010. If our agent failed to properly explain this, we apologize. We are happy, as you explained, that you were able to learn about this before any major inconveniences were incurred. 
  

  We take all customer feedback seriously and strive to ensure that all issues are addressed promptly and effectively.After reviewing the claims you mentioned regarding the unit, we took the necessary steps to investigate the matter further. Our local ******** dealership service department, whom does the maintenance on this vehicle, conducted a thorough inspection to verify the legitimacy of the issues you reported. However, upon inspection, they found that everything checked out okay, and no issues with the suspension were identified. Upon your return, we made every effort to replicate the reported issues with the unit, but were unable to do so. As a result, we sought ********' expertise to perform diagnostic tests, but the unit did not display any symptoms of the problems you experienced, such as going into limp mode. We were instructed that the dash lights were notifications of upcoming required service and maintenance cycles. 
  

  Regarding the generator button issue, we acknowledged that it was slightly finicky, causing difficulties in turning on the generator. Upon testing, we found that as long as the button was pushed firmly, the generator functioned without any problems and no subsequent repairs have been made. Our only remaining thought is that during the summer, in the area that you chose to travel, high temperatures may have caused overheating. We can not be responsible for the conditions of the area that you choose to visit or the current health status and requirements of the passengers that you chose to travel with.   

  We appreciate your understanding as we looked into this matter. Despite these findings, we acknowledge your concerns and value your satisfaction. To demonstrate our commitment to your continued partnership, we will be refunding you every ***** of the generator fee, taxes and offering complimentary accommodation for two nights. Additionally, we are providing you with a one-night gift certificate for a future rental as a gesture of goodwill applied to your account for a future rental.

  We genuinely appreciate your business and look forward to welcoming you back in the near future.Total refunded back to your credit card was $1062.50. We have thoroughly investigated your complaints, refunded two nights of rental, refunded your generator costs and provided you with a gift certificate in hopes that you will work with us again in the future. No additional concessions will be made regarding this rental. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/20/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Not performing vehicle inspections for safety of travel and equipment. As per expired state inspection 4/2024 rented out 6/15/2024. Functioning of A/C for quality of life in an occupied RV. Charge for tire road side and did not provide service, I had to pay out of pocket. Check in/out procedure, returned 6/18/2024 and still do not have record of it

  Business response

  06/29/2024

  Please accept our sincerest apologies that you had a less than perfect trip in the 2022 Windsport motorhome that you rented from us. We appreciate your business. It is always our goal, that every customer go and come with no issues.

  We have received your reimbursement request form, so that we can consider all surrounding details and offer you fair and appropriate compensation. I regret that we did not have that opportunity before this complaint was posted. 

  As we explained to you, we did indeed thoroughly inspect the vehicle for safety and to assure that the systems were functioning properly. These large vehicle tires do wear and look different than standard passenger or truck tires. As you can see in your photo, there is significant tread above the wear indicator on the tire. We did indeed set you up with a tire shop to have it looked at. They concurred that the tire was plenty safe for your approximately 150 mile return trip.

  Though both our technician and the tire shops technician agreed that a replacement wasn't necessary, we agreed to have it done for your personal comfort level. You then located another shop and paid out of pocket instead of contacting us for a phone payment. This expense will indeed be reimbursed. 

  As for the claim that the three air conditioners in the unit didn't work correctly. I regret to inform that we have been unable to duplicate any problems with any of the climate control units. They are all working well within manufacturer specifications and no repairs are required. I will say that during summer, when temps are exceedingly high, and campers are in and out of the vehicle, climate control will not function as efficiently as a home will. We are all RV'ers here, and have done over ******* RV rentals, so we do see this misunderstanding about what is possible in 100 degrees, in an RV.

  I do see that you returned a few days early. Coincidentally, on that very day, we had several vehicles return early from ************** and the surrounding are due to a close call with an incoming hurricane. We are aware that there were very high winds, very heavy rain and visitors were advised to seek safer locations. If this indeed played a part in your decision to return early, we completely understand. One of our staff members explained the early return policy that you agreed to, and suggested that perhaps you choose a safer location to finish using the vehicle that you rented. Unfortunately, we can not be responsible for the circumstances of the destination that you chose.

  We did indeed send the unit out with a recently expired state inspection, and I will address this with the service man. In less than five months, state vehicle inspections will no longer be required in the state of *****. But I agree that it should have been handled in current compliance, and apologize for any actual inconvenience that this caused. Luckily, as far as we know, you were not burdened with any citations of foreseeable consequences from this.

  We will address your reimbursement request and you will be refunded for the repair, and compensated in compliance with our long standing policies and procedures, according to the agreement that we have both acknowledged concerning this transaction. You will receive a personal and detailed response along with any compensation due within ten days of your submission.  
  

  It would be our pleasure to discuss this further, should you have additional complaints or would like clarification on any communication to this point. Please contact our Rental Manager, ******************* at ************.

  Once again, please accept our apology for any shortcomings on our end. We hope that you and your family have a wonderful holiday week.
  

  ADV- *************************

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  08/31/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 18 June 2022 my wife and I purchased a used 2015 Airstream 25 Flying Cloud that was consigned to American Dream Vacations. We traded in a 2021 Riverside Retro 189R that was ready to camp. Part of the agreement was that all systems on the 2015 Airstream 25 Flying Cloud would be checked out to ensure they operated correctly prior to us taking delivery. American Dream Vacations technician stated that all systems were operational. During a phone call I made, to the salesman at American Dream Vacations, on 5 July 22, I stated that I was unhappy because during preparation for our 4th of July camping trip, we found that the refrigerator would not get cold and that one of the air conditioning units (zones) was blowing warm air. This caused us to have to cancel our trip.On 18 August 2022 I sent an email to the salesman at American Dream Vacations stating the above information and the response back was that the systems on the Airstream you bought from us were working at the time of delivery, that includes the refrigerator. You did purchase the vehicle as is, therefore any servicing you wish to engage in is totally up to you.I emailed *******************************, Co-Owner invite you return the vehicle for service without having to setup/schedule an appointment. This was not offered during the email with the salesman. I called ********************, on 30 August 2022 to discuss how American Dream Vacation was going to handle the situation. He stated I could purchase an extended maintenance plan, through them, now, at an additional $5000.00, I could file a claim in 30 days, it was obvious American Dream Vacations was not going to offer any compensation to cover the over $8000.00 in cost of the now completed repairs at the Airstream dealership.If American Dream Vacation would have offered any compensation in good faith of their verbal agreement, I would not be writing this complaint. I believe the way they handled this was unacceptable and in one case unethical.

  Business response

  09/17/2022

  I understand your assertion and belief that the Airstream was sold to you and left the lot with a known issue or at the very least, an unchecked system in both the ** and refrigerator. You contacted us months after we inspected the systems. You did a full orientation with our sales staff and operated these systems here, before you took possession.  
  
  
  I must respectfully disagree with this claim as the vehicle was prepared, systems checked and demonstrated to you prior to physically taking delivery.  Although, the vehicle was sold and agreed, in writing "as is, with no warranty expressed or implied," and despite having declined the purchase of an extended service contract to cover possible mechanical failures, we were willing to consider a remedy following an expedited assessment/evaluation conducted at our shop.   
  
  
  Because this opportunity was not granted, and the purported failed parts have since been assessed by and replaced at a dealer of your choosing, at full retail cost, we will not be offering any form of financial compensation for the failures that occurred.
  
  
  I reiterate that had an issue or failure occurred here, prior to departure, we would have gladly involved the consigning vehicle owner to address the concern via a price adjustment or warranted repair if any extended service contract was still in place.  We had no need for this given that everything checked out fine.
  
  
  Untimely failures are unfortunate and even coincidental but certainly explainable too. A 2015 model vehicle is hitting it's bell curve at 7 years old, experiencing failures coming off low usage and/or after recent cycling.  
  
  
  For example, the refrigerator was found to have a blockage.  When we tested it and the ammonia crystals were properly cycling from gas to solid state, thereby cooling the fridge, we had no way to determine that a blockage would form at a later date or after multiple cycles.  
  
  
  As for the A/C, I recognize that the dual zone system indeed includes two cooling units, one of which was under powered or only showing a 7amp output.  This is unrelated to it being a sealed system in terms of Freon and had it been the only issue, likely could have been resolved by replacing an internal capacitor or board.

  It comes as no surprise that a third party shop, that we do not have a relationship with would be inclined to steer a customer towards replacements. This is why it is critical that we are given a chance to observe and diagnose the symptoms and afforded the opportunity to make a good faith repair. 
  

  An offer was made in good faith to inspect and assess any required repairs in an expedited and convenient manner. This offer was declined because you had the repairs completed before notifying us. 
  
  

  Customer response

  09/21/2022

  Complaint: 17805577
  
  I am rejecting this response because: As stated in my complaint, we picked up the 2015 ********* Flying Cloud on 18 June 22.  I contacted American Dream Vacations (ADV) ******************* on 5 July 22 to inform him that when preparing for a trip, I found the ** and refrigerator inoperative. This equates to 17 days and not months after ADV performed their so-called system inspection. He informed me that I had bought it as is. At that time, **** did not offer a remedy for an expedited assessment/evaluation at the ADV ********************* was no full orientation. **** informed us that he wasnt familiar with ********* systems. When we did go inside the *** one ** (zone 2) was on, the refrigerator was not on or even cold and he showed me where they had removed a water filter from under the sink because until they removed it, they couldnt get water to flow into the sink.
  The only help I received from the sales/technician staff was a little help installing my stabilizer hitch brackets on the ** and installing a new set of batteries, because the ones in the ** were dead. That should give you one more example of the below standard system inspection we received.

  
  You are correct that we didnt purchase an extended service contract when we picked up our *********.  We were told we had 30 days from delivery to purchase one and because of the mentioned verbal agreement that all systems would be checked and operational, we decided to give it some thought before we purchased it.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  06/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased an extended warranty from American Dream Vacations (ADV) for $5600. I dropped off my unit for service on 11.14.21. They agreed to perform all service that was needed as I was assured that it was all included in my policy. After four months of no communication, my ********** Coach was still barely touched by the service department, and after getting the owner of the facility involved, I was told I owed a signficant amount of money for items that were not included with my warranty, but had already been done on my rig. After going around and around about the situation, I felt I had no other option than to have them finalize a few repairs that they said were necessary. However, multiple of these items were not broken when I dropped off the rig. Further, when I came to pick up the rig, I was told I couldn't take possesion of the rig until I signed off that all repairs were complete. I hadn't even seen my $75k coach and was being forced to sign this obscene document. Upon getting into my coach, multiple items that I paid for to be repaired were not working. 1. The catalytic converters that had no problem but I was told needed repair were not functioning and throwing check engine lights. 2. The generator I paid for to be serviced was still throwing the same code and not functioning. 3. The deductible I paid for was not refunded.Lastly, multiple items that were in the coach when I dropped off the unit were no longer there, including $300 in drills and tools, $250 in camping chairs, and multiple other items. I sent multiple requests for reimbursement with no help from ADV.

  Business response

  07/08/2022

  I would like to begin by first apologizing that we failed to satisfy you.  Your account of what transpired appears to have left out some important details while other claims are blatant untruths.  Fair and complete reviews, unpleasant as some may be, are accepted and encouraged; however, direct attempts to damage us is unacceptable. The vehicle was purchased in June, w/ 100K miles on it, upgraded custom upholstery, a brand new windshield, and a new engine. The vehicle was in excellent shape. We managed to get you an extended warranty despite the high mileage.  The contract produced by the warranty company was provided and agreed to. The vehicle's high mileage reduced the coverage but you accepted the warranty nonetheless. Unbeknownst to us, as you later informed us, the intention was to privately rent the vehicle thru online peer to peer platforms. During the next 5 months of ownership and your private rentals, the vehicle was damaged and experienced major component failures such as the slide out, leveling jacks, headlight, and generator.  In addition, the windshield had popped loose thereby exposing a large gap.When the vehicle was brought in for service in  Nov 2021, supply chain was more restricted than ever causing major service backlogs.  During the delay of repairs, your vehicle was kept safe without assessing storage fees. Your regular, persistent texts and phone calls requesting that the work be expedited, were understandable but did not change the nationwide parts delay which thereby caused service delays. Regardless of the delays, some work was still completed during this time, including the remounting of the windshield.  ******************* did not warranty the work from 4 months prior.  Too much time had passed and it was possible that the displacement was due to your private renters or even yourself driving in rough terrain or improperly using the jacks.  Our vendor cost to correct this safety issue was passed along to you without markup.Following service delays and elevating your requests, ******* got involved, walked the unit and produced a total repair estimate of approximately $20k. Approx $4k had been completed, $1.8k of which was covered under warranty. Shocked that the all of the work was not free or covered, you demanded that we leave the vehicle outside letting you pick up without seeing us or paying the ****.  We said No.  We offered to halt the work, cancel the warranty, refund the warranty funds to cover the repair costs OR consign the vehicle, proceed w/ additional safety/functionality related repairs, float the cost and recoup them from the future sale of the vehicle. You chose the latter of the two options, reviewed the estimate, authorized and signed it along with a consignment agreement.  Thousands of dollars worth of parts were ordered, installed w/ systems repaired.  Simultaneous to this, the vehicle was being listed, shown and marketed for sale. Subsequently, we refused to release the vehicle without payment.  This is not uncommon in the service and dealership practices without confidence that the balance for the completed work would be satisfied and no vehicle to sell in order to recoup the balance. However, we did again offer to refund your warranty funds to apply towards the now larger balance OR for you to pay the balance and pickup the vehicle. You requested cancellation and refund of the warranty, agreed to pay the remaining balance and pickup the vehicle.  Given the history, we wrote up a 2 sentence release stating that the vehicle repairs had been satisfactorily completed so that we wouldn't later find ourselves in a sand-shifting situation again. You had the opportunity to review the rig and you did because we sent a tech out on the lot to address some concerns and answer questions.  At no point prior to leaving was there mention of incomplete work or missing items. Only weeks later did these new claim arise.

  No further concessions or refunds are due in this case at this time. 

  Customer response

  07/08/2022

  Complaint: 17484110
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Much of what was said is patently false  

  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  06/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In March 2022, we placed a $200 refundable deposit on a travel trailer as part of American Dream Vacation's purchase & lease back program (we would purchase the ** and then make it available to ADV to rent to others when we were not using it). We were assured by the salesperson, *****, that our deposit was fully refundable. We were in ***** on other business and informed ***** that we needed to get thru that event before we'd have the bandwidth to finalize our decision. On 14 March, we notified ***** in writing that we were not going to purchase the travel trailer. He told us he'd process our refund that day. I've checked in with ***** several times in the near 3 months since to ask about the refund. We still don't have our $200. After telling us many times that he'd processed the refund, he finally came back and told us that his controller needed the full credit card number to do a refund. Which begs the question, were we lied to on each occasion when he assured us the refund was processed? If they needed the full credit card number, why wasn't this asked for during any of the other communications? By this time, our trust in the salesperson was zero. So, I asked that the controller call me and I'd give him/her the number directly, I still haven't received any call back. Nor have they sent a check by mail. Sadly, we would've purchased a travel trailer under their program but after this experience with a simple deposit refund, we would never recommend that anyone do business with this company.

  Business response

  06/16/2022

  Good Afternoon, I sincerely apologize for this. As soon as I finish typing this I will call you personally and get your refund processed on the spot. I will have conversations and apply consequences for any employees that dropped the ball here. We have been dealing with the departure and replacement of said, Controller after fifteen years of loyal service, since mid April. I see how it happened but there is no excuse for a valuable customer to spend time and effort getting this sorted out.    

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