Complaint Review: Morgan RV Resorts

I have a seasonal site at a Morgan RV resort in Old Orchard Beach, ME.  I have been there since 2006 when I purchased a used park model directly from the owner.  Morgan RV had absolutely nothing to do with this transaction, nor did they have any ownership interest in the camper that I purchased.

I was forced to pay a $2000 fee to Morgan RV because the Seller of the camper refused to pay it.  This fee was (and still is) part of each owner's contract.  When I contacted Morgan RV about the Sellers refusal to pay the fee, I was told that this was my responsibilty and if i did  not pay it my family and I would lose our site. 

We had no choice, as we loved this particular site, and the cost to move a park model camper would have been astronomical, so we grudgingly paid it.

Morgan RV informed us that this fee was for "marketing expenses" that they incur in assisting with the sale of campers.  In speaking with others who have since sold their units, I have been told that Morgan RV does absolutly NOTHING to assist in this process, and that many sales, including marketing, are handled directly by the individual unit owners.  When we purchased our unit, we NEVER received any assistance from Morgan RV.  We were informed that the unit was for sale by friends who knew the sellers, not by any ads that Morgan RV had, and the whole process, including all pertinent documents, was completed by us and our attorney.

We have since purchased a new park model camper, and it is on our current site.  When shopping for a new unit, we were told by Seacoast RV (a wonderful company) that they were no longer able to sell us the model we wanted because Morgan RV only allowed those types of units to be purchased directly through Morgan RV.  We were infuriated at this, and instead purchased a model that was not our first choice, rather than cave in to Morgan RV's extortionary tactics.

We are now hearing rumor that Morgan is extorting people into joining their "time share" club for exorbitant fees, or, once again, risk losing their sites.  This has been happening at a neighboring Morgan RV resort with much dismay.

However, thanks to Attorney General Martha Coakley, of Massachusetts, we are now confident that Morgan RV will pay a costly price for bullying families and elderly folks who work hard for a small place to vacation relatively inexpensively.  Ms. Coakley and her team are lauching a full-out assault against Morgan, and my hope is that every state with a Morgan RV campground follows.







 

By EMILY DONOHUE
edonohue@saratogian.com
BOSTON Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is suing the owners of Saratoga Springs-based Morgan RV Resorts, alleging the company is intimidating members to collect exorbitant fees in a Cape Cod manufactured housing community it owns.

According to a press release from Coakley, the companys sales team aggressively solicited homeowners at Peters Pond to pay up to $16,000 as a membership fee to remain in the community. The fee was on top of the $6,000 annual fee owners paid to lease their properties at the Sandwich, Mass., housing community.

Morgans RV Resorts officials did not respond to a message seeking comment by press time Wednesday.

Coakleys lawsuit seeks to end the collection and also return fees already paid by residents. She alleges the practices are a violation of the Consumer Protection Act and Manufactured Housing Act.

According to the lawsuit, nearly 100 homeowners have paid to join the club out of fear that they would lose their home.

Morgans RV owns and operates several RV parks and campgrounds in the Saratoga region, including: Coldbrook Campsite Resort on Gurn Springs Road in Gansevoort, NASCAR RV Resorts at Adirondack Gateway on Fortsville Road in Gansevoort, Lake George Suites on Lake Shore Drive in Lake George and Lake George Campsites on Route 9 in Queensbury. The company also has several properties in vacation spots in New Jersey, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, Maine and Indiana.

The Peters Pond manufactured housing community is the seasonal home for dozens of retirees and elderly residents.

While it is true that what is in a contract "usually" takes precedence they still have to be truthful. When they lie and misrepresent themselves then that's "Deceptive Trade Practices" and they can and should be sued. In this state consumers have some of the strongest rights anywhere in the country.

" The thing about running a business is that when you're selling someone anything that's requires signing a contract, YOU CAN'T LIE."

  Says who?

  In the real world, a salesman will tell you anything to get you to sign a contract.  Nothing that person tells you is applicable unless it's actually in the written contract.   Salesmen know that the contract takes precedence over anything they are alleged to have said, so you can bet they will lie their butts off to get a signature.   This is common in many areas of consumer sales that involve contracts.  Most notably on this site are cars, gym memberships and home security contracts. 

Robert even renters have rights. The thing you don't realize is that Morgan RV doesn't own the land. They are leasing it. Everything this person has stated is the truth. The thing about running a business is that when you're selling someone anything that's requires signing a contract, YOU CAN'T LIE. Morgan has yet to learn this. True it is up to consumers, but when it is accompanied with threats and intimidation, IT'S AGAINST THE LAW. Not getting someone to touch the property is part of the problem. Apparently some people get some kind of joy by thinking they can forcibly remove someone from their property, but again, IT'S AGAINST THE LAW. Yes you can decide if you want join or not but not all "cottages" are easily moved around and that doesn't even account for the fact that a lot of people have bought these "cottages" from Morgan with not a single word about them starting a time share. I'm sure you wouldn't be happy if you had bought a unit at the beginning of this year and after then you find out they want another 13k. The internet is a wonderful thing but it does have it's problems. Like giving people a voice that really don't have all the facts of an issue and therefore don't know what their talking about.

You apparently rent the space and do not have any ownership rights.  So if the landholder wants to charge more or require some sort of membership they are more than free to do so.  It is up to other consumers as to if they want to pay those prices or not.

You appear to indicate that this deal is a very bad deal.  Well if it is really as bad as you seem to be painting it how big of a threat is this really?  Because if you see this as a bad deal then everyone else would as well right?  So you don't have to worry about anyone wanting to touch your property with a 10 foot poll.

Now, if this is just a case of where you are upset that you have to buy into a membership and will be forced to use their trailers.  Then perhaps it isn't really a bad deal and you will be forced out.  But that is NOT a RipOff.  You were still given an opportunity to "buy-in" to the new membership and CHOOSE not to.

This actually happens quite often.  A good example is when an apartment decides to go "condo".  At that time the renters have two choices.  To either "buy in" to the Condo or leave.  It doesn't matter if they have been there 45 days or 45 years.  But just like your case the existing tenants are being given first shot at the units(lots).