Camping World challenged its customers, “Dare to compare!” Now the results of that challenge have led to a $3.5 million settlement that Camping World must pay after Oregon investigators found the big RV dealer’s claim bilked buyers with inflated charges. Camping World may owe you money.
Real savings evaporate
Multiple Camping World dealerships in Oregon were involved. Dealerships drew in customers with huge discounts, but they made up for it. How so? Oregon’s Attorney General describes it as a “claw back” scheme, where any real discounts evaporated after Camping World doubled the charges for freight and dealer preparation. Since those charges were already included in the advertised price, in essence, customers never got their “dare to compare” advertised price.
Oregon’s Department of Justice got wind of the matter. After investigating for several years, the agency’s Civil Recovery Section came to an agreement in the case. Under the terms of the settlement, of the $3.5 million, Camping World will be required to pay the state $3 million which will be refunded to certain consumers who purchased an RV from Camping World between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018 who paid more than the advertised price.
Camping World may owe you money
Did you buy a rig and pay more than you should have after 2018? Camping World may owe you money because you may be eligible for a refund under the agreement. Customers who bought a vehicle after December 31, 2018 who believe they paid more than the advertised price could be entitled to a payback. If you believe you’re among them, you should submit a written complaint to Oregon’s Department of Justice within six months of this announcement. Your written complaint should include any information that you have to demonstrate you paid more than the advertised price.
Do you have questions about the settlement or believe you’ve been affected by Camping World’s actions? Contact the Oregon Department of Justice Consumer Hotline at 1-877-877-9392. To learn more and file a written complaint, visit here.
Camping World also had to agree…
That’s not all there is to the settlement. Camping World agrees that it cannot charge any consumer more than the advertised offering price of the vehicle. That excludes optional goods or accessories, license and registration fees, or other taxes. The offering price must be available to all consumers. It cannot be contingent on whether a consumer is paying cash or financing the deal.
The settlement agreement includes several additional protections for future customers:
Camping World is prohibited from double-charging consumers for any good or service already included in the MSRP, including any amount for freight and prep. To ensure consumers know what they are being asked to pay, Camping World is required to disclose these charges on a label attached to the vehicle.
Camping World must use clear abbreviations in its purchase orders so that consumers can tell what they are being asked to purchase. DOJ’s investigation found that Camping World would often use the term “environ” on purchase orders. “Environ”? That described what amounted to a limited warranty against weather damage.
Camping World cannot make a free offer in conjunction with the purchase of a motor vehicle, unless it is offered by a manufacturer or another party that is not Camping World, including its Good Sam Club. Because Camping World owns both companies, such “free” offers could be illusory.
Is Oregon just the tip of the iceberg?
All of this raises another question. Was the Oregon “Dare to compare” then “double-’em-up on delivery and dealer prep charges” done in other states? If you bought a rig elsewhere and suspect you might have been a victim, you might consider contacting the consumer protection agency in the state of your purchase.
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I would suspect State Attorneys General will be giving this a close read and looking at the laws within their own State.
I know the one price with financing and undisclosed higher price for cash is ubiquitous in the industry. And the financing is chock full of junk fees. I have walked with this kind of ‘deal’ more than once.
I posit those tactics are not unique to RV sales.
Why am I not shocked by this practice at Camping World?
That fine is pocket change to Lemonis.
Camping World’s “Member Only Pricing” on merchandise is also sketchy. Most of the time even the discounted price is higher than other places.
I have completely given up on Camping World for anything.
So a few stores in Oregon “dared” purchasers to compare. The purchasers didn’t compare using the final price and it’s Camping World’s fault? I realize it’s often cheaper to settle a complaint than fight but I think CW could have won this one and should have fought.
Cellular and multimedia companies do this all the time. It’s annoying because one has to do some math to determine who is actually more economical but forcing the consumer to calculate affordability is not illegal.
Cripe even Recreation.gov doesn’t give you the full price until checkout.
Another example of why to shy away from ANYTHING Marcus Lemonis has ties to.
Camping Workd like all companies are corrupt. Yet they received the largest tax giveaway ever in 2017.
That’s a pretty broad sweeping statement. Not “all” companies are corrupt. Camping World clearly has a longstanding history of shady practices, and bilking consumers for every last cent; that much I can agree with you upon.
But I had to search for “the largest tax giveaway ever” to CW (whatever that means) and came up empty. Can you offer any citation, or is your comment simply thinly disguised political hyperbole?
It’s political. Going on eight years now and he can’t let it go.
I don’t live in Oregon and didn’t shop at CW, but when we bought our last RV, most dealers would not honor the advertised price for cash purchasers. We bought at one that did.
A row of fools on a row of stools waiting to get suckered by CW….I was one of those fools …once…but never again.
The only folks that benefit from Marcus Lemonis takeover of a company are the shareholders. His focus is strictly limited to profit and has nothing to do with the consumer experience or customer satisfaction. So nothing about this article comes as a surprise. I rarely do business with Camping World anymore and I no longer purchase any of the services offered by the Good Sam Club. I’m pretty sure Art Rouse, the founder, wouldn’t recognize the company today.
Yes, Art Rouse founded Good Sam and eventually his sons engineered a takeover and squeezed him out. Dave Garven founded Camping World. I have forgotten how or when Good Sam bought Camping World. Before Lemonis Good Sam had Trailer Life and Motorhome magazines that I enjoyed. When the Lemonis replacement magazine came out, after a few months I found it lacked any in-depth articles and didn’t renew.
Thank you, Russ and Tina! Good news! Happy new year and safe travels! 🙂