LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Memorial Day weekend, considered the unofficial start of summer, means road trips for many Las Vegas locals who will spend the weekend outdoors. More than 22 million households are planning to camp, according to the RV Industry Association.
However, gearing up to get out there is not always an easy road. A retired Air Force veteran and his Henderson family tells 13 Investigates that Camping World, located off of Las Vegas Boulevard and St. Rose Parkway, tried to scam them out of thousands of dollars.
WATCH | Darcy Spears looks into the billing practices of Camping World after family reaches out to 13 Investigates
For the Bivins and Subbert family, an RV represents mobility and the freedom to travel.
"We all have some physical issues and my mom hasn't seen her sisters in decades and most of them are in North Dakota," Rebecca Subbert said. "So our first major thing was to get her to see her sisters."
And for Subert's father, David Bivins, it's a chance to relax and enjoy time with his family after a distinguished military career.
"I was in the military for 20 years. I'm retired Air Force and I retired in 1993," Bivins said. "Now, I just hang around and do things with the family."
Unfortunately, the family's cross-country trip had to be cut short.
"Our RV had a major malfunction," Subbert explained. "At that point, my dad felt it was unsafe to take us without getting the RV checked and done. We bought it used so it needed a lot of repairs. It sat while we saved up money."
For the past couple of years, the family has been saving. They took the RV to Camping World in April to get an estimate for the work.
| "We had to talk about that a little bit because it was almost $10,000 but we talked about it and said okay, let's get it fixed," Subbert's father, David Bivins, said. "I called [Camping World] and I really did give them the approvals to go ahead. But during our conversation, sort of towards the end he told me it wasn't the $9,000 number. It was this other number, which was almost $16,000." |
The family shared the paperwork from Camping World with 13 Investigates and we found discrepancies in the billing. The subtotal at the bottom of the estimate is $9,189.10. However, when you add all the line items together, it is $15,803.63.
After realizing the total was different than what the family says they discussed, they say they called Camping World and asked them not to do any work on the RV. They ultimately decided to take the RV elsewhere. But when they went to Camping World to pick it up...
"At that time, he told me you can't pick it up today," Bivins said. "We have to 'put it back together'."
Camping World also charged them a fee to pick up their RV.
| "When I talked to somebody, they said it was a $1,500 number to get it back. It bounced twice. From the $900 to $1,500 to $900 to $1,500," Subbert said. "While I was making the phone calls between [my dad's] first attempt to get the RV, apparently, they did work without approval and that's at least what they claim." |
The family had no choice but to take the financial hit to reclaim their vehicle, which they then took to another shop. The other shop found an additional issue with the RV's roof, which was leaking. The total cost for repairs was ultimately $13,600.
"While it was more than $9,000, this guy was upfront," Subbert said. "He found the roof problem during the inspection, had dad come to the shop, and since he couldn't climb the ladder, they took pictures [to show us the issue]."
The RV is now fixed and back with the family but they still feel broken by the experience, which they hope serves as a warning to others.
"I just want them to treat people fairly, especially our seniors," Subbert said.
We reached out many times to Camping World's Las Vegas location and its national headquarters to ask 'What's The Deal' with the bouncing bill amount. They did not respond to any of our calls or emails.
If you have a problem with a repair shop here in town, you can contact the DMV's Compliance Enforcement Division.
You can learn more about the division here or submit a complaint using this form.
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