UPDATE (from previous post)
Well... FINALLY, we were able to get our $988.49 refund, but only after much fighting and scratching for it. We contacted Giff Akins, who had identified himself as with Blue Compass RV (an RV dealer that we had never heard of, and only recently found out that it is a ongoing growing conglomerate of RV dealerships of which Motor Home Specialist is a part of (even though it retains its own business name 'Motor Home Specialist'. However, Giff Akins is the Customer Relations Director for ALL the RV dealerships under the Blue Compass RV umbrella. So one day, after threatening them with filing a complaint with the Texas Attorney General's Office, as what they had done is not only unscrupulous, but is actually also ILLEGAL, as it is FRAUD, Gifford Akins wrote us on Feb. 9, 2023 (40 days after purchasing our RV) admitting that after reviewing our purchase and our allegations (along with the supporting evidence showing their wrongdoing) that.... "In researching the file, it looks like some procedural errors were made. My recommendation is to refund to you the VIT tax from your contract."
Then getting it was another ordeal as apparently people in Texas are either very absent minded and unprofessional... or just STUPID. We had asked that the check be sent to us at our TT Lake Conroe campground, OR that it be held at MHS and we would drive the 200 miles back there (each way) if necessary to be sure that we get it, to pick it up, so we could rest assured that this matter has been resolved, as it has proven to be so hard to TRUST them. He PROMISED (stating that he had given very clear instructions to a Ms. Dabria Adcock (Office Mgr at MHS) to send it to the address we gave them at the TT Lake Conroe campground in Willis, TX. Two days later we get a notice of receipt of the check at our Mail Forwarding address in Crestview FL.
So back and forth again with MHS and Gifford Akins to get the submitted check cancelled and another check issued and sent again, but to our current address in WiIlis, TX. Finally it arrived and we took it too our bank and deposited it, closing the matter, though not without having to fight for our money, which MHS had tried to rip us off of.
Though this matter has been resolved, in this instance, we are firm believers that such is a policy of the RV dealership, Motor Home Specialist, if not of all the Blue Compass RV dealers, to try to extract additional profit from their customers. A selling point of MHS is that they do not tack on "Dealer Prep fees" (like many do, as well as most motor vehicles dealers do. So to recoup that missed additional profit they go about trying to pass the missed profit as a 'tax', claiming that it is beyond their control to charge that... because it is a tax. Well, the VIT Tax IS a TAX... actually considered a Property Tax, but it is a tax on the dealer, NOT on the customers, who are exempt of it, unless they want to participate in it. Texans probably are aware of their laws and would argue the charge, but because we said we were from Wyoming and would be registering the RV in Florida, they figured they could sock it to us, and LIE about it when we questioned it, saying it is a standard tax which applies to ALL sales of motor vehicle. Well, in part they were correct. It is a tax that applies to all sales of motor vehicles, BUT it is a tax on the dealers, NOT on the Buyers.
SO, BUYER BEWARE IF PLANNING TO BUY AN RV IN TEXAS. Do NOT fall for the VIT TAX charge. YOU do not have to pay for it. IF anyone tells you that it is binding on you, refer then to this....
SALES PRICE: If the dealer and buyer AGREE to
include a reimbursement of the VIT in the transaction, the VIT reimbursement
must be listed separately, because it cannot be listed in the sales
price." (It was listed separately, but not by mutual agreement, as we were
told it was a mandatory charge on the buyers.)
IF you have already paid the VIT charge,
1. ask for a refund. If they won't give it tell them that you willl be filing a Consumer Complaint with the Texas Attorney General, on the form below:
