The camping season ended and I sent the $217 refrigerator repair bill to the dealer, Ballantyne RV in Syracuse NY. Within 1 day, Stefanie worked with Dometic, and I was notified that I would receive a check for $117. Dometic would not cover the service call, which I knew. I asked Stefanie if Ballantyne would pay the $100 balance since if a proper PDI were performed by Ballantyne, the defect would have been repaired prior to my taking delivery. She said she only works with warranties, but would send the request to management. After not hearing from management for a week, I asked Stefanie who I should contact, and was given the name Greg Jones. I e-mailed him and then received a response. Here is his e-mail:
"I have reviewed the e-mails that have been forwarded, In an Rv, just like a home , it is filled with appliances from many maunufacturers, all with their seperate warranties, We as a service center are required to follow each one when performing warranty service in order to be reimbursed for our work on their appliance. You the consumer need to be aware of their rules also. Dometic does not pay for service calls as a travel trailer is towable. You should have been advised of this by the service center. Testing the refrigerator is part of pur PDI process as it is prior to Dometic selling it to the the trailer manufacturer. If we had broken the refrigerator then this conversation would be a bit different. All repairs to the fridge have been reimbursed by the company who built it and warrantied it. The Service call you asked for is not covered and was never authorized, therefore it will not be reimbursed"
Below is my response, which was also copied to the President and Sales Manager of Ballantyne:
"I understand that all the appliances have their own rules and separate warranties. I was also aware that the service call was not reimbursable from Dometic, which is why the request for the balance from Ballantyne. Perhaps my issue is not with Ballantyne's service department per se, but the Dealership. One could argue that I was sold a defective trailer. Had the refrigerator been checked, as it should have been, and repaired as it should have been, this conversation wouldn't even exist, and I would not be out $100. Not to mention the aggravation. Two weeks before a planned trip, the trailer is de-winterized, and the refrigerator does not work--on a brand new, never used trailer! Try to bring it to a dealership in May, especially if it wasn't purchased there. Good luck.
RV dealers rely on "word of mouth" recommendations. This is a very poor business decision."
I have not heard back, and don't expect to. Based on my experience, I would highly recommend that any PDI done by the customer include requiring the freezer to make ice and having a dish of water in the frig and then check the temperature with a thermometer.
Kudos to Stefanie
; I received my check from Dometic about 10 days later!