Update: Camping World working on resolution for couple whose Winnebago was stolen off lot
HOLIDAY, Fla. (WFLA) – The last few weeks have been a nightmare for Kevin and Beverly Hunt.
Last month, the couple’s RV was stolen from Camping World in Holiday. Now, they claim the company won’t do anything to make the situation right.
When the Hunts called Camping World last month, an employee told them the camper was “lost.”
“Failed to let us know, ‘hey your camper is missing off the lot,’” Beverly Hunt said. “And now, a month later, and you’re telling us to file a police report.”
Authorities say they found 24-year old Matthew Evans driving the stolen Winnebago on Aug. 1. When Florida Highway Patrol troopers tried pulling him over, they say he refused to stop.
Troopers deployed stop sticks and, eventually, the camper was disabled and he surrendered peacefully.
In the back of the patrol car, he told a trooper the stop sticks weren’t necessary.
“You know you guys didn’t have to throw out those spikes,” Evans allegedly said. “I was about to run out of gas.”
When the Hunts finally got a look at their stolen “home away from home,” it was trashed.
“He smoked in it, there are cigarette butts everywhere,” Beverly Hunt explained. “There’s a moldy piece of lasagna in the microwave, there’s rotten food in the refrigerator, drug paraphernalia in the bedroom.”
According to a report from the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, the RV was stolen from the parking lot of Camping World some time in June. It’s unclear if the rig was locked and if the keys were left inside.
The report also indicates that there were no working cameras that would have captured the theft. The employee interviewed by detectives told them to check surveillance video from a nearby pharmacy.
The Hunts assumed because the camper was stolen from Camping World, that the company would make things right. So far, that hasn’t happened.
“We’ve tried calling Camping World, we’ve left messages with the corporate office, we’ve even gone to Camping World last weekend,” Beverly Hunt said. “And they basically will not talk to us.”
An employee at Camping World, who refused to give his name, said he was aware of the situation.
“It’s, right now, in between insurance companies. I don’t know that much about it, to be honest with you,” the employee said. “I think corporate is working with their insurance company.”
In the meantime, the Hunts are still making payments on a trashed RV they don’t possess and are telling fellow RV owners to be wary of Camping World in Holiday.
