Posted on 08/10/2005 9:36:39 AM PDT by MaureenPT
I was just wondering if anyone has had such an experience and what did you do about it. My friends had been saving and planning a trip to Anchorage,Alaska for 3 years. They were to leave 20th of this month.
Lo and behold the husband was not feeling good last week, legs were hurting, shortness of breath, wife took him to hospital emergency room. Cath was ordered and and they discovered major blockage, had open heart surgery right then and there.
Needless to say trip had to be cancelled, They realize the airlines would voucher the tickets for another time, they were okay with that, but they had put a deposit down on a motor home so they could travel through Alaska. The proprietor would not give them any compensation for the deposit, even after a medical report was faxed to him, showing the emergency surgery,and that this was not just a whimsical decision to cancel the trip. The proprietor said they are not responsible for medical conditions, and refused any type of compensation to them, very heartless and no compassion whatsoever. My friends would have accepted a partial refund, or a reschedule for the following year, but the man did not offer any comprimise to their misfortune.
Would appreciate any comments and opinions regarding this situation.
What is the dates of the rental and the unit size?
I am near Anchorage.
It could be both.
Allow me to rephrase: He may SEEM heartless, but he's probably on solid legal ground.
How about: He may SEEM heartless, but that's because the complaining would-be renters here aren't seeing the other side. They seem to expect a special entitlement and compassion because of their health problems, but they are unwilling to consider the other guy's situation.
Backing out of a deal and then claiming you are being ripped off is chutzpah. If enough people did this, as I already noted, the guy would be out of business. Or requiring payment in full upfront with no refunds.
SD
Honestly in my experience, if you cancel, you don't get your deposit back. Sucks but these guys have to cover themselves.
On that, my FRiend, we can agree!
Super advice!
You get the award for the most logical, moral response on the entire thread.
Deposits are deposits.. non refundable deposits are non refundable deposits... may not be compassionate of the company, but if their deposits are non refundable, then they have every right not to refund them, regardless of the reason.
True, it is peak season and realize the bills have to be paid by proprietor, but if it is peak season, dont you all think that it wont be sitting idle, that it could be rented out any how by people needing a camper last minute?
My friends received a check from Rental Co. for the taxes that they paid on the rental. My friend just read contract to me on phone and it stated, no refund, reservation not moved, rental not transferable, and there was a lot of other fine print. So that really sums it up
Travel insurance is a grand idea. I know my friends will look into that next time, and try to prepare for emergencies.
In reference to the title being bogus, "It did get your attention" LOL
My friends are not the kind to back out of anything, they are good solid people very patriotic to their country.
I think this was just a crushing blow to them with the unexpected surgery and cancelled trip all at one time. Very overwhelming.
Again, thank you for your intelligent responses. There is a lot of great people on here with much wisdom.
Maureen
The last frontier is really dead when you hear about a ***hat like this. But then it is "Los Anchorage" as it is known up there. the rest of the state is nothing like that place.
One of the great things about Anchorage is that it less than an hour drive to Alaska.
True....But the traffic sucks all the way to Palmer nowadays
What the heck is the Chamber of Commerce going to do? The Chamber is made up of local businesses and has no enforcement powers. If anything, they would be supportive of the RV's companies position.
What will probably happen is that the RV company lost the money from the RV rental, then be guilted into returning a deposit, and then have it's reputation tarnished by these folks.
Instead of telling us the RV companies name, let us know your friend's names so that we can avoid doing business with them next time they want to rent something.
My husband and I rented an RV several years ago....we had to put 1/2 the amt of the total rental price down, as a deposit....the people who ran the rental place, told us very adamantly, that before we sent them our deposit, and signed a paper, sealing up the reservation, that we should be aware, ,that if for any reason whatsoever, we had to cancel, our deposit was absolutely NOT refundable...they wanted to make sure that we understood that, before we committed ourselves...
I can understand your friends being upset as it is very expensive to rent RVs, ,and the deposit, I am sure, ,was a very hefty expense to have to lose that deposit...
"One of the great things about Anchorage is that it less than an hour drive to Alaska."
As an Alaskan, I completely agree with that statement! We like to say that the best thing about Anchorage is that it's close to Alaska. :)
andysandmikesmom
You had a good RV Company.
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