We will be upfront about who is writing this. We are RV people. One of us sits on the Board of the RV Owners of America, and helping buyers get a fair deal is what we do every day. So when we went shopping for ourselves, we expected to know the playbook and to be treated fairly. We were right about the first part and wrong about the second, and that is exactly why we are writing it down.
What happened
On September 15, 2026, we made a $150,000 offer on a new 2027 Jayco Terrain 19YG listed at the Longmont store, stock #2695400. Chris Ortiz, listed as Business Development Manager at Camping World of Denver in Golden, acknowledged the offer. Camping World could not meet the price. That part is normal. A dealer is allowed to say no.
What came next is the part we want other buyers to see. The same morning, we asked about a 2027 Thor Sanctuary 19P in Golden and requested the basics any buyer should get: the build sheet, the window sticker, the equipment details, and the lowest out-the-door price. We also asked about including a boat in the transaction. We were told a colleague named Ray would reach out that afternoon. By evening we were asked whether we had connected. We had not. The next morning, September 16, we were told again that someone would reach out that day. That was the last message we received.
We had placed a $1,000 deposit. On September 26 we emailed to ask when it would be refunded. We received no reply. After further due diligence, we decided the Sanctuary 19P would not work for our needs, and we never signed. For the record, CMG Bank had approved financing for the proposed purchase on terms we considered unfavorable, which was part of why we walked.
By October 20, 2026 we had filed a chargeback and emailed the escalation directly to Matthew Wagner, the Chief Executive Officer and President of Camping World Holdings, Inc. As of October 21, 2026, we have had no response. The resolution we are asking for is simple: return the $1,000 deposit.
The part that bothered us most: we are not alone
We read 359 of the 2,354 Google reviews shown for the Golden store. We want to be careful here. Those are other people's accounts, we did not independently verify them, and a sample like that does not prove how common any problem is. But the patterns rhymed with ours.
- One reviewer described a $1,000 deposit they were told was refundable, then said it remained unrefunded about a month later despite follow-up.
- Another said they disputed a deposit charge with their credit card company after repeated calls and emails went unanswered.
- Another described waiting nearly four weeks for a consignment payout on a camper that had already sold, with inconsistent explanations for the delay.
Different people, different years, the same themes: deposits, silence, and follow-up that never comes. Those are summaries of other reviewers' accounts, shared to show a pattern, not to establish any individual case.
Why we are publishing this
A deposit is the one moment in a purchase where the buyer hands over money before anything is delivered. The terms should be in writing, refunds should be honored, and the phone should get answered. When those basics fail, the buyer is left chasing a company many times their size.
We had the experience and the industry knowledge to escalate quickly, to a chargeback and to the CEO's inbox. Most buyers do not, and they should not have to.
Dealers handle these transactions every day. Most buyers do it once or twice in a lifetime. That gap is exactly what a buyer's agent exists to close, by representing the buyer and never the seller.
If this happens to you
- Get your deposit terms in writing, including the refund conditions, before you pay anything.
- Keep every email and text. A written record is what makes a dispute winnable.
- If a refund is not honored, dispute the charge with your card issuer promptly, within the issuer's time limits.
- Consider filing with your state consumer-protection office or attorney general.
- Before you sign anything, have the unit looked at by your own independent inspector and line up your own financing so the dealer's offer is not your only option.
A note on fairness
This is our account and our characterization of events, supported by the email correspondence we reviewed. A deposit receipt or card statement is not reproduced here, and the allegations have not been adjudicated. We have invited Camping World of Denver to respond. If they provide a response, or resolve the deposit, we will update this page.
