Extremely Deceptive Sales Practices - Buyer Beware
Our experience with Bish RV was incredibly disappointing and raised serious concerns about their business practices.
My father-in-law visited Bish RV earlier today to look for a camper. A salesperson immediately showed him a unit that had just come in as a trade-in. We were told that the camper had not even been listed yet and likely would not be listed for several days, which gave the impression that we had the first opportunity to purchase it.
After looking it over, my father-in-law decided he wanted to move forward. We exchanged information with the salesperson and texted them our offer. The salesperson accepted the offer and even sent us a contract reflecting the agreed price.
We then left to go to the bank to get the funds to complete the purchase and kept the salesperson updated about our ETA the entire time.
While literally two minutes away from the dealership, we sent a final text confirming we were arriving to finalize the deal. The salesperson responded "okay."
However, when we arrived less than two minutes later, my father-in-law walked inside and was told the camper was being sold to someone else right then and there.
The same camper that had been verbally agreed upon and for which we were already on our way with the money in hand.
There was no warning, no phone call, and no message indicating that the deal had changed. Instead, they allowed us to drive back with the cash while selling the unit out from under us.
To make matters worse, the staff showed little to no concern about the situation and immediately attempted to steer us toward a different unit -- which felt very much like a classic bait-and-switch sales tactic.
Practices like this raise serious questions under consumer protection standards, including deceptive trade practices. In Alabama, the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (Ala. Code §8-19) prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct in commerce, including misrepresenting the availability of goods or inducing consumers with offers that are not honored.
Because of this experience, we are currently exploring filing formal complaints with the Alabama Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division and the Better Business Bureau.
If you are considering purchasing from Bish RV, I strongly recommend proceeding with caution or considering other dealerships that treat customers with transparency and integrity.
Our entire day was wasted, and it was made clear that our business meant nothing to them.
Buyer beware. read more
