Suncoast RV Rental and management I got ripped off by this company also Temple Terrace Florida

Sept 1, 2013

To Whom It May Concern:

About May 2013 I was looking to rent an RV for about 2 weeks and contacted several companies in the area.  One was Suncoast RV rental and management.  I spoke with Mrs. Williams and she said her husband would call me back with more info.   He did and we discussed many things on the conversation.   Among which was 6 hours per day free generator,  $95 prep fee upon return if cleaning was needed ,  $20-$25 per day insurance and 150 free miles per day.  He told me to choose a unit and an approx. mileage and he would send me an estimate.  He also invited me to the lot to view the available RV’s.  A few weeks later my husband went to the lot and saw 3 or 4 units that could work for us.  I went back a few days later and checked them out.   I signed the paperwork and offered my credit card to run through for the $1250 deposit.  He said he did not have a machine there but would take my credit card number and do it from home.  

That day Mr. Williams called and emailed me several times saying the card did not work.  I called my bank and they said the card was fine, he was putting in some incorrect info.  He tried it again with no success.  The bank told me they would send me a new card in case there was a problem with the card.    So I gave Mr. Williams my debit card with the understanding this was for the deposit only and I would give him the info when I got my new card.   This was approx.  June 20^th.  On July 15^th Mr. Williams ran my debit card again without my permission for the balance of $3500.81   I was not prepared and this cost me over $250 in bank fees.

My husband picked up the unit July 31^st.  Mr. Williams told me the first and last day would be free and to call when we would be returning the unit.  He usually is there most mornings but told me if it was later to let him know so he could meet us there.   Upon the check out my husband and Mr. Williams and his son tried to get the satellite dish to work. It had major issues and never worked but my husband wanted to get on the road so we took it as is.  Although the contract stated the propane tank should be full it was only a little over ½ full.  Mr. Williams stated due to the heat they do not fill them all the way and just to return it about the same way.

During the trip we found several items that did not work.  The refrigerator should automatically transfer from electric to propane while on the road.  I called Mr. Williams and he told me to manually change it which was fine.  We later found the gauges on the grey water and black water tanks did not work as the propane tank gauge was also incorrect.    Although we tried several times at many locations the satellite never did work.    The unit itself was not very clean but we figured not all people determine clean the same way so we just cleaned as we needed .

We returned last August 13^th.  My husband got up early the 14^th and started to clean the unit inside and out.  He is a car wholesaler and does excellent clean up so know exactly how to do this properly.   I called Mr. Williams and said we would return the unit about 2 or 3 and would call when on the way.  Never got a return call.  About 2 I called Mr. Williams and told him my husband was on the way.  He said fine he was at the lot.  My husband stopped and filled the propane tank to about ¾ tank plus filled the unit with gas.  He put on about 20 mile to the lot off that tank which would have been about $10 worth of gas.   When my husband got to the lot it was raining very hard and the check in consisted of asking if all was full and signing off.  We never got copies of anything at that point.  My husband asked for the deposit but Mr. Williams stated he had 2 weeks to return it.   I called later that day and asked if he could email or send me copies of  all and he said he would be sending a statement within 48 hours via email.

I did get the statement and there were several items I questioned.  When I asked Mr. Williams he stated over and over to check the contract.  So I did and could not find some answers.  He stated the free miles were 150 per day for the first 7 days only, then $.34 per mile.  I asked him several times where that was in the contract.  I was never told where except in the estimate it stated the free miles of 1050.   Then I asked why we were charged the $95 prep fee.  He said again “ the contract”.  When I stated the unit was cleaner than when we took it he said we should have said something then.   He also charged a nite return fee of $100.   I told him he told me to let him know when we would be returning the vehicle.  Never once did he say after 12 noon there would be a fee.  If we would have known my husband would not have spent over 6 hours cleaning the unit.  We would have saved the $100 and all the hard work since we were charged a prep fee no matter what.  He also charged for fuel of $62.   There was no way to put $62 more fuel in the RV.  After 3000 miles I think we can tell when it was full.  He also charged to fill the propane tank which we returned with more the when we left.  I asked for receipts to prove but he sent a receipt for gas of $42 plus a $25 fee.  This receipt had no date and there is nothing to prove he put that in our RV.  He also sent a receipt for $25.60 for propane again with no proof that it was for this unit.

I asked over and over for a compromise but Mr. Williams refused to budge.  I started checking and found many complaints about him on line for charges done after the fact so my bank suggested cancelling my debit card so he could not put more charges on it.  This was another $10 fee.

Therefore I asked for a refund for my bank charges of $260

Prep Fee of $95

Fuel of $62.46

Propane  $25.60

Nite Return  $100

And Miles charged of $663

For a total of  $1206.06

Of course I got nothing

Mr. Williams did credit us back for the satellite dish that did not work which to me was only good customer service.  Mr. and Mrs. Williams are an older couple who seem genuinely nice, fair and sincere.  That is why I chose them.  He did not get along with my husband but the contract was with me therefore personality conflicts should not enter into the picture at all.  However with all the other complaints perhaps they forget what they say and this causes problems down the road.   Thank you for your time.  Marilyn Koehler