Camper broken into last night

[farmall130]

Our camper was broken into along with many others at our dealership last night. Door was popped and both TV's taken. I will need to go look at it tomorrow to see if anything else is missing. My next question will be does the dealer's insurance pay or will mine have to. Not a happy camper right now!

[BB_TX]

You would hope they would have it covered. But would not surprise me at all if they had signs up "Not responsible for losses due to theft or damage occuring while on this property" or some such CYA.

[MDL]

So sorry to hear that! I just spoke with my Allstate rep, and he said typically the RV owner's insurance covers it. You might be able to work something out with the dealership however. It's probably worth having that conversation.

[DQDick]

What degree of security did the dealer have?

[farmall130]

quote:Originally posted by DQDick

What degree of security did the dealer have?

As far as I can tell, very little. I really like my dealer, but this has happened before. they need a guard or at least cameras.

[richfaa]

Few dealers have any security and will not take responsibility for theft. We did have our truck broken into at our Ford dealer last year. It was parked outside and they refused responsibility. However it was clearly stated on the repair order that the truck would be parked inside overnight and a employee forgot to do that so the dealer did cover the loss.

[scott-pati]

The dealer no matter how nice, or any dealer for that matter should have security measures in place. Especially in this day and age. And to be robbed twice and never did anything after the first time! NO COMMENT!

IMO, every dealer should have surveillance systems with signs to help deter some theft anyway, and it shows at least that the owners care.

Scott

[nosticks]

Having just experienced a break in, I know your frustration. The TV's are an easy fix, but it's the damage done by them getting to the tv's that's the real bummer. I think we need to bring back the chain gangs and have these bums learn a new skill, like breaking rocks.

[1retired06]

Sorry to hear about the breakin.

[bethandkevin]

My agents statement-"The insurance always follows the vehicle". Meaning, no matter under what cicumstances, at least in Michigan, the claim is against the owner's insurance. That said, the dealer should step up to the plate and cover your deductible. JMO.

[Rainer]

About 35 years ago I was a professional commercial photographer with a photo studio. I was shooting a line of clothing for a manufacturer. We didn't get it done all in one day, so I was asked if it would be alright to leave the clothes in the studio overnight so that we could easily start afresh the next morning. I said sure.

The next morning when I arrived at my studio I discovered the clothes were all missing - but nothing else, not even one piece of the thousands of dollars of photographic equipment. including a camera and lens combo on a tripod worth about $4000 sitting on a tripod just feet away from the clothes. I thought it was odd, and so did the investigating police officers.

Well the clothing manufacturer demanded that I reimburse him for the clothing with a stern letter from their attorney. I had to hire an attorney, who happened to be in my same building, who introduced me to the term "gratuitous bailee". Which simply meant I was not in the business of storing clothes and was only doing the clothing manufacturer a favor, and therefore wasn't financially liable for his loss. My attorney sent their attorney a letter and the matter went away.

In the RV dealership story, I would suggest that the RV dealer IS in the business of storing RV's for repair and is therefore legally responsible for the loss/damage, even if he there are signs posted that claim otherwise. Unless one signs a document to the contrary at the time of dropping off their RV, I'd go after the dealership. A small claims action may be an inexpensive way to make the dealer see the error of his/her ways.

[Irlpguy]

The dealership where I purchased my Montana has a completely fenced yard, and a locked gate to enclose all of the RV's in his yard. In spite of that they tell you not to leave any "valuables" in your RV and the work order underlines the fact they accept no responsability for break in's.

You might want to read your work order and "always" get a copy of it before you leave.

[davidaf]

What a yucky way to start the day. We've been fortunate to this point with the RVs anyway. One more reason added to the list as to why I'll use mobile repair guys if at all possible. Or, should that be the why I avoid the dealer if at all possible list. Hope everything works out in the end.

[richfaa]

the primary reason we still have a home that is far to large for just the two of us now is that we have a RV pad right along side the home with full hook ups. I do not trust Rv storage areas as they are no matter how secure subject to break ins. Of course that we spend most of the year living in the 5th wheel helps.

[farmall130]

Well, GOOD news! We went to look at our camper. The guys popped the latch not the door, so a new latch will fix that. They evidently used a drill to remove the screws and even unscrewed the cables, so no internal damage. And, to top it off, our dealer says HE will cover the damages. They tried pretty hard to get into some high dollar motor homes, they tore some of them up pretty good. He is installing a 12 foot fence and says he's going to put electric wire across the top. Don't know if that's legal, but it is a happy ending for us and another gold star for our dealer.

[scott-pati]

Thanks great news! 40,000 volts across the top should do it.

[The Weekenders]

Awesome news. Glad your dealer is a stand-up one!

[Rondo]

Glad to hear the dealer is taking the responsibility on the units broke into! The electric wire at the top of a 12 ft fence is fine but there is one problem. If the thieves have a good pair of heavy duty cutters they can cut a hole right through the fence and still steal what they want. A good pair of security dogs works real well along with good security camera set up!