Outdoorsy.com This RV Rental Listing Company will not give you your deposit back Sierra Vista Arizona

We rented an RV from an owner listed with this company. When we went to pick up the RV, there were several scratches all around the exterior. It was clear that this vehicle had been through a lot of use, and abuse. Interior cupboards would not close properly, carpets had stains, etc. But, we had already planned our vacation and the owners seemed nice. As we were getting ready to leave the owner's residence, he literally walked over to the front driver's side and put glue on the exterior trim, saying, "I just need to take care of this, really fast." During the trip, the dilapidated nature of the RV became more evident. The TV wasn't even properly hooked up to the antenna. The moulding inside the rear cupboards had come loose and insulation was sitting inside. When it came time to empty the black and gray water tanks, the black water tank sensor didn't go to empty. This concerned me, because there was a $50 fee for any unemptied tanks. In addition, we had paid a $50 cleaning fee. When we asked what specifically that covered, the owner answered, "just make sure that you empty all of the tanks."

So, after 2 weeks in the already well used RV, we returned it. When we arrived to drop it off, the owner's brother-in-law was there. He told us that, because we were dropping it off so late (it was 9:45, with no specified drop off time), the owner would inspect it the next day. Now, when we originally rented the RV, we had tried to get an extra day, because we wanted to have more time to unpack and get it turned in. However, the owner stated that someone was taking the RV the next day, so it needed to come back on the return date. At the turn in, we spoke with the brother-in-law about the tanks and the black water sensor not working. He said he would pass it along to the owner. The contract for the rental stated that they had 72 hours to return our deposit, or they had to let us know what else we would owe. First, the owner didn't get back to us for several days, and simply messaged us saying that they would be holding our deposit until further notice. So, that wasn't anything we had agreed to and we filed a report with PayPal to get the portion of the deposit that the owner was trying to keep.

We paid for overages on mileage and generator use, as agreed. It took 3 weeks to hear back about the deposit. The owner claimed that the interior was dirty. Uh, what was the cleaning fee for? In addition, he claimed that the front right wheel trim was damaged. That I knew for a fact was not true. We didn't cause any damage to the RV during the trip. Aside from returning it dirty, which we had already paid a fee for, the RV was in the same shape we picked it up in. Which was pretty sad to begin with. The owner then stated that the cost for cleaning and repairs would be magically the same as our remaining deposit, $477. He claimed that it was $7 more than that, but he "waived" that part, as though it was out of generosity, and not because he was a con artist. Naturally, as this was clearly a scam, we contested the claim with Outdoorsy, as well as PayPal consumer protection. Upon hearing that we didn't agree with his claims, the owner filed a claim for arbitration. With the evidence that we had, or the owner's lack thereof, we were sure that there was no way arbitration would agree with him. It was obvious that he was being dishonest. So, at arbitration, we told our side of the story. There was no evidence on the owner's part to corroborate his claim. Everything was circumstantial. A few days later the arbitrator returned in the owner's favor. The claim was that we were subject to the owner's standards and, therefore, subject to whatever fees they wanted to charge. While they agreed that the owner's fees were "convenient," it was still in their favor.

So, essentially, if you rent from an Outdoorsy listing customer, you're subject to whatever the owner decides, no matter how underhanded they are about their claim. This company is supporting their paying customers and clearly favoring them, regardless of false claims. This is a buyer beware situation. If you use Outdoorsy, you will be subject to the claims of their rental owners. Period. They can claim whatever they want, and you will be required to pay what they say. RV rentals are already a ripoff. I will never rent an RV from anywhere, ever again. But Outdoorsy and their users are supported in whatever claims they want to make. Do not use Outdoorsy.