We’re writing to you as a last resort. We made reservations and paid in advance for a month’s stay at Rancho California RV Resort–Outdoor Resorts in Aguanga, California, starting on January 12, 2012. Upon arrival, we parked and plugged into the 50-amp service. It didn’t work, so we called the office. Bruce, the maintenance man, said the 50-amp receptacle wasn’t working, but the 30-amp was and told us to plug in and he would see that the 50-amp was fixed. Brian, the manager of the park, arrived and assured us that things would be taken care of.
I plugged into the 30-amp receptacle and went into the coach to let my wife know we were on 30 amps. We then heard a big bang. I knew that wasn’t good and checked the breakers. Most of them were blown. Brian, the manager, was still there and immediately called Mike Chavez of West Wind mobile RV repair, who happened to be at the park. The findings were not good. The transfer switch was blown, the inverter was blown, and the refrigerator was not working. We did not know yet if anything else was wrong.
On January 13, Mike showed up in the morning after I had gone to Temecula to get new batteries and a transfer switch. He told us that the owner of the RV lot had put in a 240-volt dryer hookup to the existing 30-amp receptacle, and we had plugged into this illegal outlet and got 240 volts, even with a surge protector. This was not good news. Mike spoke to Newmar and Oasis heating and received instructions on how to repair the damage. Oasis felt sorry for us and sent out the needed parts at no charge, which was much appreciated. We did not have use of our coach until February 2, after paying in advance $750 for a month at Outdoor Resorts.
We kept talking to Brian about the responsibility for the expenses, and he said to give him a statement and he would work on it. We left on February 11 without resolving the matter and continued on our trip to Yuma, Arizona. Upon arrival we found out that our refrigerator wasn’t working on electric, and we had it checked by Don’s mobile RV service. Don said we had only one element working in the refrigerator, and he had to order one, so we extended our time until the part came in.
We called Outdoor Resorts on February 14, and Brian said that the lot owner, Jim Mowry, offered a payment of $1,000, and Outdoor Resorts would not pay anything. This is not acceptable to us. The repairs amounted to $2,213.09.
Our motorhome is a 2008 Newmar Mountain Aire, and we have always been so careful in what we do and how we take care of it. We were only able to enjoy it for three weeks out of a paid month. We feel that Outdoor Resorts is responsible for their site they rented to us.
After Action Line contacted General Manager Brian Boersma at Rancho California RV Resort–Outdoor Resorts and explained the Rosenquists’ situation, we received the following message from him:
Mr. Rosenquist was sent a check to the address he gave us in the amount of $2,213.09. I have notified
Mr. Rosenquist of this via e-mail.
Action Line then received the following note from Terry and Karen Rosenquist:
Thank you ever so much for helping with this very distressing and expensive mishap. We received the check on March 15.
Since 1981, the Good Sam Club’s Action Line has helped resolve thousands of disputes between members and businesses. If you have an RV-related consumer issue and would like assistance, contact Action Line.