Swindled by an RV Dealer

My husband and I decided to trade in our RV and get something larger. We found the new coach we were looking for just a short distance from our home at McMahon RV. We did all the paperwork, traded in our RV, gave a $25000 down payment and began planning our first trip. The RV we had selected had some slight damage and we left it to be repaired. While waiting we got a notice from the new lender saying they were not going to lend to us because of some issue with the dealer. When we went to check this out we were told it was all a misunderstanding and not to worry. We still could not get our new coach because while repairing it they did much more damage.

Pretty soon it seemed like everyone was suing McMahon and they locked the place down. We asked for our old RV but they would not give it to us. We asked for our $25000 but were told there was no one available to authorize a check. We asked the Westminster police to help us get our old RV but they said they could not. We discovered that there were 5 McMahon dealerships and many other customers were in a similar situation.

We contacted our original lender (US Bank) for the RV we had traded in and were told it had not been paid off and we were still responsibility for the payments. We paid them every month for an RV we did not have. We called and wrote them asking for assistance. We heard sympathetic words, but they did not help. A lawyer wrote a letter on our behalf, to no avail. DMV began an investigation and pulled McMahon’s license to sell vehicles.

After 6 frustrating months, we told US Bank we felt we had to default on the loan because we did not have the vehicle. They offered sympathy but again no assistance. And then, because things were not bad enough, they proceeded to ruin our credit. My husband’s excellent credit dropped over 200 points. And then to keep things exciting, American Express lowered our credit card limit without telling us and we were embarrassingly denied in front of friends. Oddly, the fact that we had paid American Express off monthly on time for 3 years seemed to not matter. The fact that we had never defaulted on a loan in our lives seemed not to matter.

I have written both Experian and American Express hoping an explanation will help with all this credit mess, but I have no idea if they will care.

My DMV Investigator said that he is working on over 100 cases like ours against McMahon.

US Bank wrote us last week and said they had our RV in their possession and if we made up the missing payments and covered some fees we could have it back and continue to make payments. I called for more information, like WHERE did you find the RV and why didn’t you help find it before? These questions were not answered. They said that they could not tell me the location of the RV, it was in California or maybe in Wisconsin. We could not see it prior to getting it back and if we did take it back it would not repair our credit. We had not seen the RV in a year and had no idea what condition it might be in and they would / could not tell us. We said, “no thanks”.

And FYI, if you read every word on a vehicle contract, yes I mean those long yellow pages, you will discover as I did that there is not ONE word protecting the customer, it all protects the dealer.

We had written the Attorney General, but apparently hundreds of regular people being cheated by a big company is nothing she can be bothered with and we were referred to DMV.

I feel very bitter about this, mostly because as a customer who has obviously been cheated, lied to and had money stolen from, there seems to be no real support. Sure we can spend a bundle trying to get back our $25000 and money to pay off the RV, but the lawyer fees will probably be more than we can get. Small claims, which allows suing a person for up to $10,00 reduces that amount to $5000 if you are suing a company, so that is no help at all.

We are blessed to be able to easily live on in spite of all this, we have no real need for high credit and will be fine with dumping American Express if they won’t budge. All in all it is extremely frustrating to know we are right and innocent and to be unable to do much about it.

Dogs and Leashes

Leashes are a wonderful invention. I am sure dogs have been tied up one way or another forever, but today with harnesses and collars, various lengths and types of leashes, the dog is much more comfortable.

My dog, Otis, is so happy when he sees his harness, he knows it means a walk. He happily ducks his head into the harness and dances all the way to the door.

Otis is a rescue, he is a great dog, sweet, gentle and loving. He smiles and wags his Aussie stub at everyone he sees. He is, however, very territorial and can be cautious around other dogs.

When Otis and I go to the park to walk, I am very leery of off leash dogs. Most of these off leash dogs are perfectly friendly, but when they see a new dog, they come running over. When Otis sees a dog running toward him he immediately becomes very aggressive, tries to rip the leash from my hand and if the dog gets close enough, he will attack. I will shout to the owner to get their dog and they will happily call out that their dog is friendly. I shout back that my dog is NOT friendly, but by then it is often too late.

I have found myself in an odd situation with our neighborhood park. Most, (and I do mean most) of the people who use that park let their dogs run around off leash. I get it, they want the dog to romp about and have fun and the dog will return when called. But there are leash laws for a reason, they exist for everyone’s safety. And most cities have dog parks where dogs can play off leash in a specific area.

I am unable to take my dog to the neighborhood park, which is just a few blocks away. Instead I need to simply walk along sidewalks, dodge bicycles and pick up poop off the cement. Cars and trucks drive by noisy and creating dust. Trees and bushes hang over walls and rotten fruit is all over the sidewalk. I really do not enjoy my surroundings.

It is true that I can drive to another park or the beach and I often do, but why should I have to? Why can’t dog owners obey this one useful law so that everyone can safely take their dogs everywhere?

I often think of contacting animal control, but these people are my neighbors and I don’t want to get them in trouble. I guess I will continue to grumble about this and walk Otis where we are safest. And I will continue to hope people become better pet owners (but I won’t hold my breath).

 

 

The Super Bowl

               

I admit I watch for the commercials. I tried to pay some attention to the game but I kept forgetting which team was which. I did however think that last interception was exciting. It was a pretty fast football game, I wish they were all that fast.

I liked some of the commercials, the Nationwide warning about childhood accidents was sad but I hope people will take heed. I enjoyed the Clydesdales and the puppy, as always.

I thought the other Budweiser commercial was too long and boring. I had already seen the rabbit and tortoise BMW on Ellen, didn’t think much of it either time. There was also a very long NFL commercial, I’m not sure why they bothered, seems as if the game is commercial enough.

The halftime show was ok, I like Katy Perry, the dancing sharks were fun. I did enjoy the robot tiger. I thought the National Anthem was well done, for a change.

There was a fight near the end of the game. I guess emotions were just running too high, but it shows a lack of class and reinforces stereotypes.

I suppose I’ll watch again next year, unless I can find something better to do.

 

Romance

 

What is romance? What is romantic? I guess everyone has their own opinion. Valentine’s Day, flowers, candy, jewelry….I guess those are all answers, but they are not my answers. Here are some romantic moments from my 36 years of marriage. The time Terry was saving to buy a muscle car and he used that money to buy my mom a car when hers broke down. The time my silly Fozy bear that lived in my car got lost and he put an ad in the newspaper to find one and paid a foolish amount of money. Once we were in Barnes and Nobel and he sat on a chair reading a car magazine and I sat on the arm of the chair, leaned against him and read a book. He was cutting down the top part of a cute bird clock I had bought so it would fit on a shelf and he painted the bird’s chests red (red Robin). When he sold his beautiful 1969 Camaro he gave me starter money so I could get my library built, instead of using it all for his next car. At a recent Thanksgiving he said he was thankful to be a part of (my) the family. When I had surgery recently he took good care of me at home and made me a special grilled cheese sandwich.

And to start 2015 and celebrate my birthday, in spite of disliking amusement parks, he took me to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and had a good time (or acted like he did). I recognize my husband’s style of romance and I appreciate it.

 

 

 

 

Weddings – Things need to change!

My 1979 wedding.

Long ago, when women were possessions, a dowry of stuff or money was given to her groom and her parents hosted a wedding. As time went by the dowry fell away but her parents continued to host the wedding. Today I see many young women having elaborate weddings, costing 25 to 75 thousand dollars, and more, and the brides parents are footing the bill with little or no help from the grooms family. This needs to stop! Unless there is a major economic difference in the two families situation, the wedding should be split 50/50 between both families, and if the wedding couple are working adults they should add a third to the pot. True I got married long ago and had a small, inexpensive, perfect wedding, I realize things cost more now and many young couples want more now, but that is no reason for the brides family to take on the entire burden. If the kids want a 50 thousand dollar wedding, the brides parents should say they will give 25 thousand and leave it to the groom to get the rest from his family. Or maybe the bride and groom will have a beautiful but small wedding and use the money for a down payment on a house, or is that too sensible? I don’t have children and I don’t have to pay for weddings, but I see my family and friends trying to give their daughters a dream wedding and the grooms family happily inviting lots of guests and contributing nothing. I really think this needs to change!

Jenni and Danny’s wedding. My niece.